3. A TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE P2
•||"Our dead are never dead to us until we have forgotten them" ||•
•||Flashback||•
"Our session is over. You may go play with Carina." Father said, almost making me leap from joy. If I did, these sessions would start all over again. I should be as stoic as possible. No emotions.
As soon as he turned his back, I slipped out of the room and skipped straight toward her room upstairs. Carina hasn't been feeling well lately. I hope she's better.
A couple of maids walked past me, and their faces resembled an emotion that sent shivers down my spine. There was something about their demeanor that scared me.
They disappeared into a different hallway, murmuring and some turning to look back at me cautiously.
I continued my trip to my sister's room. I opened the door slowly and saw her in her bed. The blinds were closed, making me wonder. I immediately opened them, expecting to hear an annoyed groan from Carina. It never came.
"Carina?"
Her body moved to expose her face. "You're here?" She asked, smiling. I walked towards her and jumped on her bed. "Can we go play?" I asked pouting. I heard her chuckle and saw her swing her feet off the bed. "Okay. Let's play hide and seek." She said.
I was excited and ran out of the room as she counted. I speed ran up and down the stairs looking for the perfect place to hide.
I found a spot beside the staircase and crouched down in the corner, covering my mouth so that only muffled giggles could be heard. I waited for about 30 minutes. It is expected because this mansion has a wide variety of hiding places, including the chandelier.
I heard voices from up the stairs and held my breath. "Our girl has cancer. Damn it all to hell! How are we going to tell Ambermin?" Mother's voice sounded. This is the first time I hear her voice in such distress. "She doesn't have a lot of time. She doesn't even have a MONTH!"
"Calm down, Fiorella," Father said, he didn't sound secure either. What is going on?
Their voices traveled far until I couldn't hear them anymore. What were they so upset about? What is cancer? And who are they talking about?
"Found you!" Carina screamed, grabbing my shoulders and jumping onto my back. I gasped and fell forward, laughing when I figured it was Carina. "That was fast," I said laughing as she joined me. "Well if it wasn't the chandelier it was the staircase, between 3 floors and you happen to choose the lowest floor level."
We had lunch and headed to her room, to take our nap. On our way there, the maids and butlers gave us weird sympathetic looks.
Once we got to her queen-sized bed and covered ourselves. She snuggled closer to me. "I don't think I am well, amber. My head hurts a lot, often."
I turned around to face her. "You'll be okay, I'm here. Whenever you're in pain, let me know. I'll let you squeeze me as hard as you can so that I can feel what you feel. Okay?"
"Okay." She whispered in a tired tone, signaling to me that she was drifting off to sleep. I stared at her face. Bags under eyes and pale skin. It seemed like all liveliness has left her.
Suddenly feeling fear, I pulled her close to me. If this continues I don't know what I'll do.
As time went by Carina was taken to the hospital.
Here we were. The three of us were seated in a hospital room. Watching Carina breathe through tubes and all these things were attached to her. I didn't understand why my sister was in that condition. My parents left the room saying they had business to attend to. They didn't love Carina as I did, but they still did love us both very much. We did go out to eat and have picnics at parks as a family.
Right now It was just me.
"C- Carina?" I whispered, moving closer to her. I made sure to watch out for these wires in her arm so that I could hold her hand. Why does she look like this?
"How did this happen?" I said my voice breaking. I felt a tight grip on my hand, this made me look up to find her face. Even in pain, she was smiling at me. She was unbelievable. A sad smile appeared on my face.
Not knowing what to do or say, I laid my head on my arm, on the bed. She removed her hand from mine and placed it on my face, caressing it. She knew that I loved the action. Something about it made me feel loved and cared for. We stayed in that position for what felt like a while.
It's like my mind couldn't keep up. Things were moving very fast and it only slowed down when it happened. In these times I wished I was smart enough to realize how much pain she was in. I stayed awake, wondering what would happen next.
I shouldn't have. I should've at least said something random. Something that would make her smile. She only smiled because she didn't want me to worry. Now the last memory she will have of me is a sad smile.
Her hand suddenly became limp and fell from my face, followed by a long beep. I didn't know what was happening until a doctor and nurse burst into the room. He just checked the computers and turned to me with a sad frown etched on his face.
She's gone. She's gone. This isn't real.
I realized a lot that day. Many things made sense when I thought of it. It all came together but straight after that, denial set in. She was gone. My sister isn't with me anymore. I got flashes of her smile, and her annoyed facial expressions, including the times she cried. It's like our shared memories were replaying over and over again.