Spring Awareness - 5.21



Early one spring morning, Rosetta woke, showered and dressed before heading down to the kitchen for breakfast. The kids were not awake, nor her husband, so she decided to make some French Toast for her family. She was thinking of things to do for the weekend when she felt someone dash by her. When Rosetta looked up, she was startled to see David standing there in front of her - butt naked.

"What the..." She started, but was interrupted by a kiss.

It only took a second for everything she had been thinking to be wiped from her mind. All she could think of now was his hands on her. The rest of his body, still warm from being in bed, pressing up against hers made her head swim a little. He stopped kissing her, but held face close to hers. She concentrated on his lips, they looked as soft as they felt. She yearned to feel them again but instead, he spoke.

"I was hoping we could have breakfast in bed." David said with a grin.

Rosetta chuckled lightly. "Mmm, sounds good. I am hungry."

David smiled back and kissed her neck before letting her go, then he strutted off. His wife followed behind him, watching his toned muscles contract, loosen and contract again as he moved. Her eyes drifted from his head to his feet and she suddenly couldn't wait to have her hands all over him. When they entered their bedroom they locked the door behind them. Rosetta had assistance removing her clothes before the two of them slid between the sheets. The couple proceeded to enjoy a very good morning in each others company.

About an hour later, they had taken a quick shower together and went down for an actual food breakfast.

Coming into the kitchen for the second time, they saw Brenna eating some leftover waffles from the day before and Dayna standing on one of the chairs apparently making a speech. Dayna had already eaten and was now pretending she was a queen presiding over her royal court. She issued orders to Rosetta to cook her father a meal fit for a king.

"Yeah! You heard the Queen!" David winked at his wife. "Fire up the ovens."

Dayna and Rosetta both laughed, even Brenna giggled. Rosetta curtsied, "Of course. I'll get right on that."

She made some pancakes, since she was too hungry to wait for French toast. Rylan and Caylin came in as soon as the food was on the table.

After breakfast, while Rosetta tended her garden, the rest of the family watched some television in the family room. Caylin was the last to come in, but she had other plans.

"Dad, can we go to the park? Please please?"

"Uh, well. Let me check the weather. If it's to rain, the answer's no. Otherwise, I don't see why not." Caylin bounced up and down while she waited for him to change the channel. He obliged and looked for a weather update. "Nope, no rain. When do you want to go?"

"Now, oh now, now. Please. Every one's dressed! Can we go now?"

Rylan butted in, "Geesh, excited much? Do I have to go?" he asked. Apparently he wasn't feeling the family spirit this morning.

David rolled his eyes, but smiled. "Yeah, you know, you do. It'll be good for you. Loosen up dude. I'll go get your mom." He stood and left through the back door. Rosetta had just finished taking care of her plants and after washing up everyone left for the park just around the corner.

 When they arrived, each person went off and did their own things. Rosetta and David spotted a small pond and pulled out fishing poles to see if they could catch anything. They weren't expecting to, but it sounded relaxing. Both of them actually did end up catching some minnows, but threw them all back.

Caylin went off to the slide and happily climbed to the top. She threw her hands up in the air and squealed as she slid down. The giggles from her were heard by everyone, and each of them smiled at the joy she was expressing. Brenna had gone off to sit in the grass and play with her doll. She wondered what it was that triggered her doll to be a real friend, it seemed that whenever she carried it around - it remained a doll. Though if she put it down on it's own for a bit, it became her real friend. After a while she just laid in the grass and drifted into daydreams.

Rylan sat on a swing, just hanging out. As much as he thought he hadn't wanted to come, he was glad he had. It was a very nice day, and great to get out of the house and breathe some fresh air. Dayna joined him on the set and started swinging right away. She'd go as high as she could, launch herself off and land on her feet and then do it all over again.

Everyone was having such a wonderful time. Each one of the family members had a smile on their face and joy in their speech.  

Caylin was the first to see it. "Mom! Check that out!" She pointed to the sky. She hesitated a moment, "Wait a minute..." 

Rosetta had turned to look at what Caylin wanted her to see. She was smiling at something David had just said. That was quickly wiped from her face and replaced by utter terror. Her eyes darted around.

"Brenna!! Caylin!!" She screamed, but she feared it was too loud to be heard and too late for running.

A meteor had chosen that moment to strike the planet. When Rosetta had shouted, everyone did hear and turned to see. Each person only had a moment to realize what was happening before they felt the blast of air hit them. Everyone covered their heads to protect themselves from anything else.

Most everyone was far enough away to not get hurt by anything. Rylan glanced up toward where the huge rock had hit the ground, and dashed forward when he noticed his sister so close to it. He shouted for Brenna. Unfortunately he wasn't fast enough. He gasped a breath and covered his face so he wouldn't see the strike from a huge chunk of debris. He let out a wail.

The meteor had struck the more empty area of the public park, but it was not empty enough. Nearby was where Brenna had been laying and day dreaming. She had heard her mother yell and stood to come to her, but she hadn't been fast enough. When she heard the strike, instinctively she curled up in a ball to protect herself. In all the noise, she heard her brother yell and tried to see him. From out of nowhere a rock hit her, hard. She blacked out and went down, never to come up again.

"Oh my simgods! NO!" David screamed.

The disaster was over, but the true terror had just begun.

Rylan was still standing next to the meteor that had caused the death of one of his sisters. He was unable to move, or speak. He just held his hands over his mouth as he stood in shock.

Caylin had also been close, and her clothes had been shredded by flying objects. Her body was scratched as well, but mostly she was unharmed. She stood with her mouth open, unable to process what had happened. All she could hear was her father yelling and crying, pleading with Brenna to wake up. Her mother was begging both Brenna and David, unable to control her sobbing. She looked around for Dayna, and found her close-by, crying. What was even worse was what Caylin saw at her sister's feet. It was Brenna. Something wasn't right though, she was just a foggy image of her normal self. Caylin watched as Brenna tried to stand, and when she finally rose, she faded from sight. Caylin let out a breath of despair, she just knew that had been her sister's ghost and that she had now been taken from them forever.



David knelt by the now lifeless body of his once smiling daughter. He fought his tears so he could concentrate on what he was doing. His hands shaking, he checked for a pulse. Nothing. More blood than he ever cared to see in his life was staining the grass beneath her. He tried breathing life back into her. Nothing. He sobbed, unable to control it any longer. Involuntarily he shook his head as tears dripped from his cheeks. Close-by he heard a heart stopping wail, it was coming from his wife.

Rosetta had been watching her husband work on their little girl and saw the ineffective attempts at bringing her back to them. When he shook his head like he did, she recognized the slump of his shoulders to mean it was not going to happen. She screamed until all the breath was expelled from her lungs. Then she fainted. She fell face first onto the grass, causing David to jump to his feet and run to her.

First he checked her pulse, she had one and it was strong enough. Not really knowing what else to do, as he was a magician and not a medic, he glanced over his shoulder looking for his son. His heart shattered again when Brenna's body drifted into view, but he called out for Rylan to call the police. Rylan did as he was asked, though he wasn't sure what to say. David's attention went back to trying to wake his wife.

It wasn't long before police cars and ambulances arrived on the scene. The EMT's worked fast, but knew the little girl was DOA. A policeman was asking David questions about what happened while the EMTs checked over Rosetta. She was just unconscious but they loaded her on a stretcher and placed her in one ambulance headed for the hospital with lights flashing. The other ambulance was loaded with the small child and pulled out for the hospital too, though no lights or sirens were going. The police escorted the three remaining family members to the hospital as well. 

David, Rylan, Caylin and Dayna were told to sit in the waiting room as they looked over Rosetta and did what they could for her. A coroner approached and apologized about the situation.

"I understand you're still in shock, but I need to tell you about a few things. Can I do that?" He had said.

David numbly nodded his head.

"I'm sorry. Sir, your daughter didn't make it." David's heart sunk to the floor, even though he had known this fact, someone else saying it made it even more final. The man continued, "Her body is here for now, but we need to make arrangements to have her picked up. I'll give you some cards to look through at your earliest convenience. They are for funeral homes in the area. I'm so sorry for your loss."

David reached out and took the cards. His brain was foggy. It took everything he had to stand there and face this man telling him these horrible things. "What about my wife?" He asked.

The coroner shook his head, "I don't know but I'll have someone give you an update as soon as possible. Again, I'm so sorry."

David nodded his head and sunk into the chair he had claimed. His children surrounded him and collapsed in his lap, on his shoulder and at his feet. They were all crying.

After Rosetta had woken and been looked over, she and the rest of her family were advised to go home. It was the last thing they wanted to do, but they could do nothing where they were. So they went. Rosetta went straight to her room and collapsed on the bed, drifting into misery.

David wasn't sure what to do. Rylan, Caylin and Dayna were unsure as well. They followed their father. He paced around, trying to sort through the thoughts and emotions in his head. Sometimes he'd stop and stare out the back door - in the direction of that park - for long periods of time.

Rylan didn't know how to go about his day either. He'd try and do things, only to find himself staring at nothing, zoning out. He would always go back to his father thinking he would ask what to do, or if he could help. The moment he saw his heart broken dad though, his mouth dried up and refused to speak.

Dayna felt empty inside, something was missing from her and she could feel it. A space left unfilled would remain in her heart. She felt horrible that she hadn't played with Brenna more often, or believed her when she talked about her 'imaginary friend'. Dayna stuck to Caylin more than ever before, hardly ever leaving her side.

Caylin's heart was heavy. She replayed that day in her head over and over. Eating breakfast with mom and dad, begging to go the park. It was her idea. She should have never asked. Why did she want to go? She felt it was all her fault and she would never get past this. No matter how hard she tried.

My life is over. My baby, my baby girl. What happened? Why? I don't know what to do, how will I ever get out of this bed again? I feel like my heart's been ripped from my chest. There's nothing there anymore. She's gone, that's what they told me. I woke to a nightmare. She's gone. I didn't even get to hug her one last time. Just yesterday I worried about you spending so much time alone. Now you're more alone than ever. How can I help you now?

My body aches, I've got nothing left. I don't want to move, ever again. I feel David lay beside me sometimes. He cries. It hurts me more to feel and hear him this way. I need to help him too, and Rylan, and the girls. I just can't. I don't have it in me right now. There's nothing left in me.

You had only just begun. Your story ended too soon. Would you have gone to college? Met a great guy? Would you have been a doctor? An investigator? I'll never know. It's not fair. You shocked me when you came into this world and have ruined me by leaving it. I can't believe you're gone. What will your sisters feel? How can I help them? Will I ever be able to? I'm reminded of that movie "Flowers in the Attic" when one of the twins died. Back then I could never imagine how they felt. It was so sad. Now I know, I don't even have to imagine, and it's horrible.

A few days have gone by. Rosetta finally was dragged off her bed by hunger. She had lost a few pounds by ignoring the hunger pains for so long. Stress and sadness have elongated her face and have driven early wrinkles into her cheeks.

The house has turned unkempt. There are piles of dirty clothes everywhere, no one wants to wash them. Dishes from the morning of the disaster still sit upon the table. No one wants to clean them up. Rosetta's beloved plants suffer from lack of attention. Some have died completely. She doesn't care for them anymore. No one seems to want to go back to a normal life. The girls won't sleep in their room, they're too uncomfortable without their sister. They've packed up their favorite toys and moved into their parents room. Neither David nor Rosetta objected. Rylan plays his guitar, but nothing joyful anymore. All his notes are dismal and forlorn.

Brenna's toys sit on the floor, brought home from the dreaded park, relinquished and unaccompanied. Even the stuffed doll seems heartbroken.

David did call one of the funeral homes and made the necessary arrangements. The funeral was in one day. No one was ready for it.

To be continued...