Ashes to Ashes

            I gasp for air and wake in a cold sweat. What a horrible nightmare. I saw my father die.......again. I move my fingers around in my hand and they stick together from the sweat. Disgusting. I slide my arms around me and encase myself in a self created barrier of safety. Closing my eyes I try to erase the painful memories that replay over and over again. Then I am sucked into them and it's like I'm reliving them. Raining. A crack of lightning followed by a ground shaking blast of thundering. In the car with dad and sis. We are on our way back from the movies. I remember having so much fun; and laughing on the ride home and dancing and singing to music on the radio. That's when it happened. On a large curve in the cliff road as we call it; dad must have hit a pocket of water and we are sent spinning out of control. Soon we hit the rail of the road. Our only safety net from the treacherous water below. It's broken as we slam into it. I feel the impact as we hit the monstrous waves of the ocean and the air is knocked out of me. Drowning. Choking for air. I try to scream but water fills my lungs. I frantically look around and see my sister struggling to get out of her seat belt. I try to open the door but it's locked. There is no way to open them or the windows. I quickly unbuckle and practically swim over the middle console to get to her. I go to the roof where there is some air left. After a large gasp of air I head back down and unbuckle her. I see a large gap in the window beside her I glide over and start punching, pulling, kicking, and scratching at the glass, splitting open my hands and arms from the shards. The adrenaline kicks in and I tear a large enough hole for her small frame through safely. Not me. I go for more air and come back and breath into her mouth and give her my oxygen. After she slips through it as I go back for one more, I gasp of air then I swim back to the front of the SUV where my father was. He looks at me. I see trails of blood flowing around; he's bleeding; he must have slammed his head on his window from the crash. I try to unbuckle him but it's jammed. I keep trying to click it and get it off of him but it wouldn't budge. I tug and tug as hard as my cut hands will allow, sending waves of blood from my wounds to seep into the water around me. It won't budge! I claw and tug but it won't move. I scream at it in frustration, which sends a wave of water into my lungs again. I look at him as he puts his hand on my cheek and makes me look at him. I can see it in his eyes. He is trying to say goodbye. One last column of air bubbles escapes his lips as he tells me he loves me, and then he is gone. He died. Nothing more. The SUV continues to sink and the bottom of the ocean is far below. I frantically get a grip and with what is left of my energy I look for a way out. I swim around frantically but unfortunately there isn't one. Not big enough for me without getting fatally cut up by the jagged glass of the window. My vision starts to slip away but not before I see him. A figure of someone busts through the passenger window and gently grabs my arm and pulls me out. I close my eyes as he pulls me close in his arms. Warm lips then come over mine and air flows into my lungs. I grip his black shirt tightly as I open my eyes to see his eyes closed as he fills my lungs with more air. Bubbles escape every now and then. My grip loosens as my eyes close and I let my body go limp. His grip tightens on me. Then we swim up. I count in my mind the time it takes to reach the top. Forty seconds. We break the surface as I gasp.      

  Air finally. Burning. I hear him trying to talk to me but his voice is muffled. "Are you okay?", I hear him ask. I numbly nod. He tightens his hold on me as we reach the shore. My body feels immensely heavy as he pulls me effortlessly from the ocean. Then nothing. I wake up disoriented in a hospital. Looking over I see my mom flailing her arms around and what I am guessing to be yelling at the doctors my hearing hasn't kicked in. I fade in and out of consciousness for the rest of my hospital stay.       

 My name is Ash Isabel Marie Tate. I am seventeen years of age and I live with my younger sister May Tate, who is fifteen and we live in our parents' three story home in a secluded part of Louisiana a little ways away from New Orleans. I have grown up practically raising May. Our mother works at an antique shop in New Orleans and travels to meet with business partners all over the globe, so, she isn't around but maybe three days a month if she gets to come home. Opening my eyes I peer over at my digital clock. 7:37 pm. I groggily stumble out of bed and head to my bathroom. I step over what I think is dirty clothes. I pick a shirt up and bring it to my nose. As suspected. Dirty. I throw it and it lands half way out of my hamper. I continue my tired stroll to the bathroom. I wash my face and brush my teeth. I then strip down and step into the walk in shower. I pull the cold water knob and the water gushes out. I close my eyes and focus on the water droplets hitting my skin. It feels marvelous. I moan as the sleepiness washes away with the cold water. Yes, I'm one of those types of people who loves cold water. Then I turn around and see a man. I cover my mouth and scream into my hand as I see my deceased father. I plummet backwards and slam my head on the tile wall of the shower. My vision blurs as I struggle to salvage my composure. I shakily stand up and frantically look around for a sign of my father. Nothing. I do this often. I don't know why I freak out anymore. It happens so regularly. Tears stream down my face and merge with the comforting water as I slide down the cold tile wall and bury my face into my arms. Why? Why must I go through the torment of having to see him? Why can't he just be gone? As I sit there the water washes over my burning skin. I focus in on the sound of the water flowing over me like a waterfall. The peaceful quiet that surrounded me filled the air. Enveloping my very being. Is this what it is always going to be like? I hear a muffled sound. I listen harder then I hear a faint voice of my sister."One sec!" I loudly say so she can hear me. I clumsily get back to my feet and slide the shower curtain to the left. I almost trip over the rim of the shower and slam my face into the sink, which I managed to avoid. I grab a towel from the towel rack and quickly dry off. I hear her muffled voice again.        "What?" I yell out hoping it would reach downstairs. I hear a faint answer and take a minute to process what she said. She said she had to leave.