Putting it into Perspective

A short story by: Candace Jane

It's not everyday when something happens so sudden that time seems to stand still, and in that moment, you think of all the terrible things that happened in your life... and they don't seem so bad anymore. That's what happened to us, Candace and Daniella, this Friday.

After I, Candace, was having the crappiest week of the summer , and thought that nothing worse could happen, Daniella made me (and our ride) wait an extra half-hour just because she was taking her sweet, sweet time in the shower after dive practice. What was the consequence of her inconsideration? My friend (and ride) was running late for work, so she couldn't take me to work later, and so my mom had to come home from work early just to take me. At that moment, I thought Daniella was the worst thing that had happened to all of us.

You know how they say that the size of the explosion is directly proportional to the length of the fuse? Well, my fuse was 12 years long, and it finally reached the explosive. I still can't believe I did this, but I did. I slapped her hard across the face and yelled "BITCH!" God, it took every bit of willpower not to look in her eyes and see the tears I had caused.

At that point, I knew that the day couldn't get any worse. Wednesday sucked, Friday was turning out to be even worse, and it was just a matter of time before my mom would come home and find out about what I just did to my own sister. When that moment came, my mom dragged me out of the shower, and I had to stand up and apologize to Daniella... wearing a huge fluffy bathrobe and a towel turban. I had been teaching myself to hold my head up high and not cry, and I just barely succeeded. The lecture was sob-free on my part, although my lip was twitching uncontrollably, trying not to contort into a sob. At that point, I just wanted to lock myself up in my room and not go to work. Things had gotten bad enough...

I stared at my reflection. My eyes were red and tearstained, but my face never contorted into a full-blown sob. Good for me. I was showing strength. I was trying to keep my mind off how bad the day had gotten by doing my nails.... but nothing helped. I had just slapped my very own sister! That had never happened before! Sure, we'd gotten into fights, but this was different... much different. Just as I thought I'd had enough, the door to my room opens, and there's the house maid standing in the doorway. I'll never forget the words that escaped her lips.

"William is dead."

Remember when I said I was showing strength by being sob-free? Well, at that moment, time stood still, and the words broke the dam of my emotions. I began sobbing. No, not even sobbing. I mean throwing myself onto my bed and bawling uncontrollably. This had never happened before. William was autistic. He was my brother's classmate and best friend. I remembered the times he came over to our house. He was just so innocent! Damnit, I watched him graduate from middle school! I never really spent a lot of time with him, but just then, I wished I had spent hours with him. I just never imagined that he would be... gone.

It turns out that his parents got in a fight, and his dad blockaded the house so no one could have access. He locked himself in the same room as William. Once the mom got the police at 3 AM, they heard two gunshots... and the man killed his own son, then he killed himself. William's dad couldn't accept the fact that his son was different, and the result... I couldn't believe it.

Suddenly, it seemed as if my week wasn't so bad. Daniella never did anything so bad that I had reason to lose my temper on her. I could see that finally, because someone that I knew well was now dead. Sure, lots of people have died in my lifetime, but I never really knew any of them. William, I knew.

When we broke the news to Daniella, she broke down too. William had touched all of our lives. We couldn't imagine him gone. And then, for the first time in years, my mom, Daniella, and I were caught up in a group hug, as a close family. All of the things that made us go separate ways dissolved. My mom even forgot about punishing me for slapping my sister. We were just... together, for the first time in a long time.

Now, whenever something bad happens, think of this experience, and its effect on me and my sister. You gotta admit. It really puts things into perspective.

-End