"Wounded" by Kimberly T.

I remembered the day that changed my life today, but why today? I kept hearing voices in my head, voices from 9 years ago; but why am I hearing them today? I kept wondering those things as I was sitting cross legged on my bed, hugging a pillow, staring out of the window, and listening to my iPod which was on full blast to try to drain out all of my emotions….

I remember the day so well, it was the 5^th of July; it was a gorgeous morning. I remember my father knocking on my bedroom door as I was in the corner of my room at my little writing desk, I was drawing Disney characters the best I could considering I was a 7 year old. My father tried to sneak up behind me but he stepped on the creaky floorboard so I knew instantly that he was there, and I quickly turned around. He was surprised that I knew he was there, he told me that I must have some sort of super power but I laughed and told him no, that I didn’t, that I am just an ordinary girl. He corrected me and told me I was extraordinary, not just ordinary. I remember the smile I had on my face, I was smiling so much that my cheeks hurt, and my father told me that my face was as red as a tomato as he placed a kiss on my forehead. And that was the last time I saw him.

The phone rang later that day but my mom was out in the back tending her rose garden, and she has a rule that if she was out tending her flowers that I should not disturb her. So I ran over to the telephone, stood on my tiptoes, grabbed the phone, and pressed the button the top right corner, underneath the screen. I held the phone up to my ear, “Hello? Who is this?” The lady on the other side responded, “Hi there sweetie, may I speak to your mom?” I was confused, why would this person want to speak to my mom? “She’s out back taking care of her flowers and she told me to not bug her when she’s doing that.” There was a moment of silence on the other side of the line then she suddenly took a breath and answered, “Well can you tell her that this is an emergency?” And without another word, I went to the back and handed my mother the phone.

The rest of the day was like a hurricane; it left destruction that I’d have to clean up for the remainder of my life. And it left a scar that still hasn’t healed, and that was the day my father died, the day that changed my life forever. And  6 years later I’m still trying to patch up my wound.