Amber

(8) Broken

Till date, I remember that cloudy summer afternoon perfectly. And perhaps, it'll reside in my memory till I die.

I was sitting on my bed with earphones plugged in my ears, blasting some good pop music. I was a reformed person, with a strong dislike for slow and sorrowful songs. I wondered how I could listen to 'Gloomy Sunday' on loop for the whole day. I was shaking my head to the uplifting beats of the song. At the dance break, I couldn't resist the temptation of getting up and dance to the lively tune.

Being an amateur at dance I was, I jumped and threw my arms and legs in the air like a lunatic. Deeply immersed in my personal concert, I barely realised when Grandma entered my room. She very well saw me frantically moving my body. Our eyes met for a moment followed by a creepy silence and the next moment, we burst out laughing!

I hugged Grandma. "Such a sweetheart you are, Amber." she lightly said. A sheepish smile automatically formed on my lips.

We were cracking jokes when I felt the bed below me shake for a moment. I laughed, "Grandma, was that you?"

"No Amber, what are you talking about?" She asked.

"Nevermind." I shook my head.

Grandma asked, "Ah! Do you remember where I kept my glasses? I've written a poem for you, honey."

"They're right above your head as always Grandma," I said, smiling like a freak. "Carry on, Grandma, I'm sure you've written it in this diary you never let me see."

Grandma was always fond of literature and art. She spent hours pouring her heart out into her self-created diary that she never showed anyone. As for me, I found it extremely aesthetic. I always thought that the time-worn yellow pages caused an enhance in its beauty.

So she quickly put her glasses on her nose, that was initially trapped in the fringes of her wispy bun and opened her diary.

But before she could start, the floor beneath our feet slid away. For a moment, I couldn't even understand what the hell was happening. I tightly held Grandma's hand before we fell to the ground. That didn't stop there. Once again, there was a rumble below our bodies that were lying at odd angles on the floor. I saw the ceiling fan above Grandma starting to fall. Without wasting a second, I gathered all my strength and pulled her to my side. The fan fell with a loud thud, terrifying me and Grandma.

"Oh dear!" Grandma cried.

I grabbed her hand and we ran towards the lawn. All the furniture was displaced from its position and there was absolutely no chance for our walls to stay any longer.

Just as we reached the front door, Grandma turned back towards inside the house.

"Where are you going?!" I cried at her.

"T-that diary." She said and ran inside.

I thought she had gone crazy. At this hour, she was running inside to get a diary. Had she lost her mind?

"It's dangerous!" I yelled but it was of no use then.

No, I wasn't leaving Grandma back inside the house. Sure, outside was just as dangerous but the walls inside could fall any time. I followed her inside to see a huge crack separating my room in exactly 2 pieces. On the other side, Grandma stood with her diary clutched to her chest, terrified by the landslide. I never anticipated jumping over that 4-foot gap to rescue Grandma. I was in panic mode, and people do wonders while panicking. I perhaps forgot my limitations as a human and leapt forward without a single thought.

I didn't notice the bruises I had got on my shin or the blood flowing like crazy from my elbow. I could just see Grandma, hopeless and calling for help.

I grabbed Grandma's hand and pulled her away from the lop-sided almirah she had been using to stand steady. The giant almirah lost balance as the earth rumbled again and fell on Grandma.

"Ahhhh" She let out a painful cry and fell silent. Caught in a frenzy of fear, I pushed the almirah with all my might but it won't budge.

"Please. Please no." I said to myself between heavy breaths. The rumble didn't stop, this time with greater vigour.

In no time my fear turned into reality as I saw the wall of my room falling right onto me, with no way to escape. Death lurked before me. Finding no better way to escape, I covered my head and crouched to get as little hurt as possible.

Face to face with Grandma, in the same position we were, trapped under the fallen walls of our house. Grandma mumbled, "Amber, Amber I can't breathe. Please get me out of here." She was trying to take deep breaths. I gathered each last bit of my energy to get out of the bricks but it was all in vain. The stinging pain in my back was unbearable.

"No pain is greater than to lose your loved ones," I said to myself and jerked once more. Perhaps the luck wasn't in favour of me at that time. No matter how exhausted I was, I couldn't bear the sight of Grandma struggling to breathe.

This made me try to get up one more time but it only made things worse. The last thing I remember was getting hit by a brick on my head. After I don't know how long, I regained my senses to see Grandma lying right in front of me. It was all quiet now, the earth didn't rumble nor did the birds cry. 

I tried to speak but ended up in a whisper. "Grandma."
She weakly opened her eyes and tried to smile, though it didn't reach her eyes. "It's time sweetie, time for me to go."

"No Grandma!" I tightly held her hand, "You can't!" and started sobbing.

"Listen to me, dear," she said urgently.

"Take this diary of mine, will you? It has some very important information. This area is not worth living anymore." She tried to take a deep breath, "Read my letters. You'll know everything. Promise me, you will not live here after I go."

"Grandma!" I burst out crying.

"Shh. You must not close your eyes to reality." There was a strange coldness in her eyes. The warmth I had been seeing in her seemed to be lost somewhere.

"I promise you'll find answers in here. I see you growing up each day. You'll one day you'll turn to be like your mother. Now I'm going, tell me you won't come back here."

A mixed feeling rose in my gut. I was never so angry. I was angry at Grandma, for saying again and again for having to go. At the same time, I feared that she would leave me alone at this point. Immediately, I was struck with the feeling of guilt for being selfish and not letting her go. I was clutching onto her, like a frail and weak person.

"Amber," a tear rolled down the corner of her eye, "I love you. God bless you."

She closed her eyes, and let out her last breath.

How selfish she was, to leave me all alone in this menacing drama.

With no shoulder to rest my head when I cry, with no arms to wrap around me to feel secure.

Even today, I don't understand why I cried that day. Because my beloved Grandma was gone forever, or I had no family left for the rest of my life.

The government sent rescue forces in our area and my wounds were treated in the hospital. I lay unconscious most of the time, and when I came to my senses I wailed.

I wailed and grieved for my messed life, cursing God for keeping me alive when all he could give me was misery and grief.

I was wrong. I was wrong all the time. I thought that the good times had come, but it was just the silence before a storm.

A/N:-
This chapter was literally too difficult for me to write. What do you think will happen now? Everything was going good. Trouble arrived from nowhere.