"Pronounced Dead" by Kaydee Harding

            It had happened so sudden. I was looking at him from the front row. He was on his death bed. People everywhere, talking about the tragedy while a few babies cried. My mom was sitting next to me, she was crying, but I couldn’t hear her. All I could hear her do was sniff, like when she’s sad. Almost her entire face was red. Like my mom, I couldn’t help but cry.

            About a week before, my family and I went to Old Navy to pick out our American Flag shirts like we had done for the past years. We had finished choosing our shirts and we were now waiting in line at the register. My mom got a call from someone. It was my grandma. My mom got worried and asked her, “Mom, why are you crying?” She handed the phone to my dad. I couldn’t hear what she was saying because he went outside to talk to her. He came in crying. He whispered something into my mom’s ear. She emidiatly started to cry, took my youngest brother in her arms and went out to the car. My dad got all of the shirts, and told us to get in the car and he’ll tell us what’s going on. We got in the car, dad looked back still crying. In a quiet voice he said,” Grandpa Rudd is dead.” My older brother Tevan and I emidiatly started to cry. The three younger ones didn’t know what to do.

             When we got home, my grandma came over and told us how he died. She said” When I get the call, I went to the hospital as fast as I could. When I got there, they leaded me straight to him. As soon as I saw him, I rushed to his side. I asked him what happened and he told me that he hurt my back when I fell off of my motorcycle. Some people found me and called 911. Then I came here. The day after, I was holding his hand and he said that he loved my hand and me, just not then because he was in so much pain. A little while after that, the doctor came in, noticed that his eyes were closed and thought that he was sleeping. He looked at the monitor and pronounced him dead.

            When we arrived at the burial site, the wind was blowing as if he were there. I heard my brother ask my mom, “Mom, are we going to be able to see him again?” My mom told him,” Someday, sweetheart. Someday.” Now, it doesn’t ever feel the same without him.