Promises

Old Goodbyes Reward New Hellos

 Is this how it ends? One minute I'm sitting in the car listening to music with my siblings and mother, and the next I'm here- wherever here might be. I can see a light glowing. I'm standing in a small white hallway surrounded by a faint light coming from straight ahead. It's so small, yet so bright. It's growing bigger by the second and stops when it reached the size of the doorway.

"Mom! Aaron! Shiloh! Is anybody here? Can you hear me?" I look through the doors in the hallway, seeing each of them left open and abandoned with not even furniture left. I sit halfway through the hallway and burst into tears. Where are they? Where am I? Why can't they hear me?

I look up to the light. Could this be the possible light at the end of the tunnel? I glance back to the other end of the hallway and see a wooden door with voices and a light under it. Could that be my family?

"You can do this. Stay strong, you decide." I could hear the voice. It was almost as if whoever said it was right next to me. It was someone I didn't know. I look back at the white light wondering what each meant. When I see glimpse of Shiloh and Mom's face in the bright white light, I race toward it, crying as it gets smaller and smaller.

"Mom please!" I cry out to her as the white light disappeared seconds before I got to the wall. "Shiloh! Come back! I need you here! Don't leave me alone!" I fall to my knees, sobbing, as I pound on the wall with both fists, hoping this will magically bring back that white light. What if I'm separated from them for eternity?

"We lost them. This poor child is going to-" I tune the stranger out. She just adds on to my pain as I sit her sulking. Can I just rewind the clock and not have mentioned a missing Jeff? Maybe they would still be here. I get up and trudge to the wooden door checking every room I pass for clues they could've possibly left behind as their return, but there was nothing.

I hold on to the last moments I saw them, repeating the scene over and over in my head. This was my fault. I will have to live with the consequences now. I open the door and stick my hand out into the much dimmer light.

I leave my eyes closed, filled with such a sudden rush of pain. "She's back with us!" the recognisable voice says with glee. "How are you feeling?" I open my eyes slowly, to see the mixed nurse standing over me with a smile.

"In a lot of pain to be honest, I said.

"Well, that'll be normal. You've got a few broken bones, a concussion, and a few scrapes, but we've gotten those all taken care of. It doesn't look like you have any internal bleeding, though, so that's a good sign. We've filled your IV with some fluids and medicine to keep you hydrated. The medicine will help speed up the healing process. Would you like anything to help numb the pain?"

"Where's the others? Did Jeff ever show up?" I asked, panic rising. Maybe I was imagining their figures in that bright white light.

She looked at the nurse who walked in with a clipboard and papers and took it before saying, "I'm sorry. I know this is going to be hard, but most of them are gone. We lost your parents and sister a little after-"

"Wait, only one of my parents were in the car. That was my mom. We went back to look for Jeff thinking he got stranded..."

"The other car you crashed into... That was Jeff. He had some car trouble, and he was speeding to catch back up. That's when the wreck happened."

"But... no. That can't be. You're lying! I only saw Mom and Shiloh! What about Aaron? I suppose he's dead, too?" Tears were welling up at my eyes and threatened to pour over like a waterfall.

"Actually, he's in this room across the curtain. I can pull it back if you would like."

"Yes, pull it back. I need to see him. I need to know he's okay." My emotions were getting the best of me. I needed to be there for him if he really was alive. The doctor pulled back the curtain and revealed my little brother who was asleep on the bed beside me. He had an IV in one arm and a cast on the other. There were only a few cuts on his face.

"He only came out with a fractured wrist and broken radius. Of course, a few scratches, too. He seems to be making incredible progress. It's odd how little injuries he had compared to how badly the car was totaled. We would keep him longer for some extra testing, but he's ready to go. You're Uncle Andrew came by. You can choose to go with him or your aunt, Allyson."

"Thank you." I was speechless. How had we not have known to wait a little longer for him to drive up? If only I hadn't told her he was gone...

"Allyson!" That was Aaron's voice.

"Hey guys!" She looked at both of us, forcing tears back. "Are you going to come stay with me, or are you going to go to Uncle Andrew's? I'm so sorry guys. Don't worry, though. We'll all get through this together." She stopped talking, clearly choking on tears. She was never too good at small talk. It was something I loved about her. She looks so alike to my mother, too. The resemblance was striking. "When you get out, do you guys wanna go for some ice cream?"

"Ice cream!!" Aaron shouted. It startled me. "I love ice cream! But afterwards, I want to go to Uncle Andrew's so me and Kyle can play with the monster trucks!"

"Okay, that's fine. Uncle Andrew can come with us. What about you, Delilah?" She looked at me wondering if I was going to stay with Aaron or go with her, knowing I don't necessarily like where they live because of the cold weather. Andrew and Allyson were my mom's siblings. Andrew was the oldest, followed by my mom, then lastly followed by Allyson.

"I will go with you," I said showing her a small smile. She came here all the way from Florida. I wasn't going to leave her empty handed. Plus I hated the cold, so there was no way I was moving up north to Canada.

She smiled slightly knowing she didn't have to go home alone during this time. "Okay, sounds great! The funeral will be next week on Tuesday, so whether you're out or not, they're allowing you to go." She glanced at the monitor connected to me and let out a sigh. "Hopefully you guys aren't in here too long. They said they normally wouldn't let me stay the night since it's a shared room, but since it's you both in here out of some luck, that I'll be able to. Now go ahead and get some rest while I talk to the doctor." She smiled shyly and walked out the door.