A while into the afternoon, my phone buzzes from across the room. I let it ring - after a while it stops. And then it starts again...
I sigh and slowly make my way across the room. When I see the name, I frown - mum. Why would mum be calling me? Either it's bad news or she wants a moan. I press answer and put the phone to my ear. "Hi mum, what is it?"
"Hi Allie," I can tell immediately something is wrong from her voice. It is hoarse and almost at a whisper.
"Mum." I pause, "Are you ok?"
"Not really." It's too short. Too forward.
"Mum, talk to me, what happened?" My voice is frantic now.
Silence.
"It's your Gramps."
I don't say anything. My mind is a hurricane.
She takes a breath. A long one, dragged out. It gets caught in the space between us. Stagnant. A moment of stillness as my world comes crashing down.
"He was in pain." Its barely more than a whisper.
He was in pain. It's in the past tense. She used the past tense.
YOU ARE READING
Joining the Dots
Ficção Geral"Life doesn't come gently, it hits you all at once. A tsunami of events." "Anxiety makes being a musician hard. Anxiety makes life hard. My passion, my dreams seem so far away. I could touch it all once, but once is distant now." "I want to be happy...
