Chapter 0.5: Coping With Grief
It came out of nowhere, the car that claimed the lives of both my twin brother and mother. They were crossing the street under the bright light of the afternoon sun, headed to the grocery store. They dutifully looked both ways, my brother’s golden hair swishing due to the movement of his head. His overall bright appearance formed a deep contrast against my mother who had raven black hair and matching eyes. Everything was caught on a camera fixed to a nearby stoplight. They gave polite thank you waves to the cars that stopped, and dazzled all those nearby with their vibrant smiles. Halfway across the road, their crossing was cut short. A rusty truck passed the cars that stopped, hitting my brother and mother who had been walking side by side. I couldn’t help but wonder what they both felt in the brief moment, that second they realized they were going to get hit. They had no time to go backward or forward, they had no time to try to get out of the way. They collided with the truck with a loud thud, and rolled up over the hood. When that happened, the car came to a screeching stop. By then it was too late.Their blood stained the pavement a startling scarlet. There were shocked screams, and hurried phone calls to emergency services. In the end, everything was in vain. When the ambulance arrived, they were already dead.
DEAD.
GONE.
That was a year ago. It is amazing what can happen in a year. You wouldn’t believe how many cards I’ve gotten, how many pitying looks, and how many hours I spent crying. You wouldn’t believe how many days I spent traveling with my grief stricken father who, in his own way, was trying to cope with their deaths. His solution, his brilliant solution is to move to my mother’s home country of Japan. The college he works for has a campus there, a campus full of new people and new things. He wants to forget all of the old people, all of the old things that remind him of THEM, my brother and mother. In a matter of a few hours we are gone, leaving New York City for the unfamiliar country of Japan.
On the plane ride, amongst numerous other people, he seems to talk to everyone but me. My father, an outgoing man, isn’t too fond of me. I remind him of mother, a shy, quiet woman who spoke with a soft voice. I also remind him of my brother, because even though we are- weren’t identical twins, we we looked similar. We both inherited our father’s golden hair and ocean blue eyes.
My father, a sports recruiter for Sakura Sports University, primarily loves soccer, but enjoys watching and participating in all sports. He was proud of my brother, a strong swimmer that made it to a national competition in his second to last year of high school. My father even taped the meet, posting it to his facebook and an online video sharing site. He wanted the world to know that his family could dominate the sports world. My brother excelled at swimming, and was continuously able to improve. He was proud of my successful brother. He is ashamed of me, a girl who lacks the coordination required for most sports. In his eyes, my brother was his only child. In his eyes, I was just some rift-raft riding my brother’s coattails, hoping to get sports scholarships or recruitment too. Most of all, in his eyes, I am a painful reminder of the past.
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Smile (Free! Iwatobi Swim Club fanfic, RinxOC)
FanfictionAt seven years old, I didn’t know how to swim. At seven years old, I thought pools were monsters. At seven years old, I was saved by my brother. At seven years old, I nearly died. It was a shock to my father... My brother could swim so why couldn’t...
