One
How it all began.
It was a warm summer night. I was sitting in my room, reading the new Teen Vogue. I had just finished putting away my new clothes my parents had gotten me for my birthday - July 12th - bags were everywhere. I was thinking about the fight I had with my mom - it was about all the bags on the floor.
I was taking the personality quiz; when I heard a noise. It was more of a popping noise like popcorn. I ignored it because I thought they were popping popcorn. I didn't figure it meant anything. It began to get extremely hot so I got up to turn down the thermostat. When I opened my door I saw mounds of flames coming from the kitchen. I ran to the window to open it, but it wouldn't open.
I ran to my mom as she started screaming. She was pointing at the fire - my six year old sister was trapped in the fire. I don't think I even screamed; I started crying. I ran to my parent's room where my dad was sleeping. I shook my dad in pure panic, finally he woke up. I was crying as I told him what was happening. He ran to the kitchen where my mom was sitting on the floor crying. He looked in the fire you could see the pure shock and panic in his face. He jumped in the fire and I screamed "NOOO!"
His pants caught on fire. The fire slowly made its way up his side. I was in complete shock because all I heard was my mom screaming, the fire crackling, my dad screaming from the pain of the flames, and my sister crying. I ran to the bathroom, got a towel. I throw it to my dad but he had already passed out from the pain I started crying uncontrollably. I ran to the window - by then a couple people started crowding outside the house - it still wouldn't open.
I turned around as my mom jumped in the fire. "NOOO!" I screamed as I ran towards her. Three feet away from the fire I slipped on a pool of water and hit my head on the floor. I opened my eyes to paramedics around me, firemen putting out the flames, and policemen on handheld radios. Through all these people I saw my mom's hand lying on the floor covered in burns and foam. My heart sank I knew they had gotten there too late. So now it was just the painful fact that my 6 year old sister, my dad, and my mom were all dead. That was the day I lost my sister, my dad, and my mom - July 12th my birthday.
Two
The day after
I woke up in the hospital the next morning, but I couldn't see. I started to scream, and then I felt someone touch my arm I jumped. My sister - the other one - said "It's ok baby girl." that's what Jenna my 22 year old sister called me; I started to cry. I grabbed her arm and pulled her towards me for a hug. I asked her in a cry "Jenna, why can't I see."
She pulled away and said "Ava, when you slipped in the......when you slipped; you hit your head on the floor and it damaged the part in your brain that operates your eyes..." I cut her off "So what does that mean." She got really quiet that freaked me out because I couldn't see so I depended on sound right now. "Please stop being quiet it scares me." "Sorry, what it means is that umm you're blind."
Those words hit like knives to by chest. I just sat there I mean what else was I supposed to do I was blind now. I would never do anything I loved ever again.
I must have asked Jenna a million times if she was still there. But she kept the television on pretty load so I wasn't that scared. Everything was changing so fast. My sister, dad, mom, and my vision were gone. My house was too burnt to be salvaged. My stuff was gone and I would have to move in with my sister. I would also have to buy new clothes and I couldn't see so how am I supposed to buy something if I can't see if I like it. These last two days has to have been my worst nightmare.
"Rise and shine beautiful!" Jenna said with excitement. Ok I know I said I depended on sound right now, but that was just too loud. I got no sleep last night because nurses and doctors kept coming in and scaring me half to death. "Why are you so chipper?" I said with a lot of attitude. "Well, today we are going to go out to the garden." I stopped and said "Why? What's the point of going to a garden if I can't see it?"
Right after I said that the doctor walked in - of course I didn't see. "Hey does the doctor have an estimate on when we can leave?" Jenna asked. 'No sorry there are going to be many factors in when that will happen." "Like what?" "Well, like the senses test...." He went on, but the senses test? "Wait. What's the senses test?" I asked. The doctor looked confused "no one told you about the side effects of being visually impaired?" "Great! It just keeps coming." I thought. "Well, being visually impaired means your other senses will make up for the loss of your eyes." Wow that's cool; can god do that with my family? No! "We just want to check to make sure that they are doing what they are supposed to do." The doctor explained.
My sister insisted on us going to the garden after the doctor left. She said it would be good to get out of the room and smell fresh air. As you might have guessed I disagreed, but my sister is a very insistent and annoying person so I went - not by will. As we went out of the room I felt eyes all over me. It's the same feeling you get when you walk out on stage in front of a huge crowd.
It took like five minutes to get to the garden - a really long five minutes. When we were outside I could feel the sun on my face, the breeze in my hair, and the raindrops on my hands. Yes it started raining, but it felt good to feel the drops and imagine what they looked like. My sister said we should come back tomorrow, but I wanted to stay so I said "I think I want to stay and feel the rain." I knew that people would look and stare, but I didn't care. I was slowly but surely becoming depressed. I mean can you blame me I've lost everything. I felt Jenna smile she knew that all I needed was to be outside and feel the air, the warmth of the sun, and the raindrops she was right - which I will never tell her.
