Nothing Left

Chapter Fourteen

January 10, 1972 3:37 p.m.
"Raymond!" Mom's voice wavered down the hallway. "It's time to go!"

I heaved myself off of my bed, looking at the one picture I had of my dad. I tucked it in my shirt pocket and grabbed my jacket. When I came downstairs, my mom was talking to someone on the porch. I went out, and doubled back. It was that policeman who had come the night when my mom had called the police! I still had an uneasy feeling about him, and he looked a little familiar. Their voices rose and fell, and finally my mom broke down. I burst out of the house, a rush of cool air greeting me b sending snowflakes of ice at me.

"Mom, come on, let's go." I gently took her arm, leading her to the car. The policeman followed us. I tried to ignore him, but what he said struck me as strange.

"I hope he died in peace. He deserved better." he said quickly. I turned and stared at him. Why would he say such a thing? My mom just whimpered.

"I hope you have a nice day." I said curtly, before helping my mom into the car. We left the policeman standing in our driveway, driving to the church. When we got there, everyone was wearing black and the flowers that decorated everything were ivory.

The funeral was over with a blink of an eye, and soon I and my mom were left standing beside my dad's grave. I had my arm around my mom, who was sobbing.

"Please guide us through this, Lord." I prayed aloud. "Please." My mom said 'amen' and sniffed loudly. It started to rain, and I led my mom back to the car. The roads grew slick as we drove, and we're just coming to the corner that led to our house.

There was a honking of a horn, a screech, and a blinding flash of light. Then I knew what being like nothing felt.