ABOVE THE STORM

The room smelt of death. Twenty year old Amelia stood by the doorway and assessed the situation. Both her parents lie on the bed, dead. Her mother's death she could easily understand, she had gotten seriously sick after childbirth, and her health had continued deteriorating at a very fast rate. At some point she became so weak that she couldn't breastfeed her newborn baby, now in Amelia's arms happily drinking from his bottle, oblivious of what had just happened. Before she slept the previous night she had a very high fever, so high that she slipped in and out of consciousness, sometimes muttering incorrigible words. Her father had promised to take her to the hospital in the morning but Amelia went to bed wondering whether she'll make it. Amelia's father was a construction worker and he was the sole breadwinner, a very strong man, heavily built, handsome and of very few words. His love for their mother was immense to the extent that he stopped going to work when she was pregnant, to take care of her. The pregnancy came with all sorts of complications and when finally the baby came she was too weak . Amelia helped her father with the duties, mostly taking care of young Thomas. Her father tended to her mother, so jealously that he didn't want anyone else near her. She had another brother, Willis, younger by a few years but that one liked playing with other boys from dawn to dusk. What she didn't understand as she stood watching their parents bedroom was the death of their father. He lay next to their mother, his eyes closed, very peaceful in his death. In a note on the bedside table, which she had already read, he had outlined the reason why he had decided to take his life. He had explained how much he loved his wife, his journey through life with her and how he had suffered watching her getting weaker every passing day. He blamed himself for her death, writing that it was his financial weakness that hindered him from seeking for better medical care for her. Now that she had died, he found no reason to be alive and he couldn't live without her. Therefore he had taken some poison. He didn't indicate in the note which poison he'd taken. In the final paragraph he'd pleaded with Amelia to take care of herself, Willis and the baby Thomas. He had instructed her to inform her grandma about his and her mother's death immediately. The note still lay at the table where she'd returned it after reading. Her grandma lived a few blocks away and she had already send someone to inform her that she was needed urgently. She would have sent Willis but true to his nature he was out playing with his peers, unaware of the disaster that had befallen them. “Why dad? Why did you do this?" She found herself speaking to him loudly, after which she burst into loud sobs and cried. Thomas, still in her hands, continued drinking his milk, taking a break once in a while to utter a few baby words, that no adult understood. The good thing about Thomas was that he rarely cried. She didn't know how long she'd been standing on the doorway, but it was a long time. Her subconscious brought back very old memories, when she was a child and her mother was in good health. She loved her very much and one particular incident stood out when her parents took her with them when they went on an holiday. She had enjoyed the sandy beaches, the ocean breeze and the salty ocean waters. “I will miss all that, but dad, why? Why were you so selfish? You only cared about yourself, your feelings. Now what am I going to do?" She asked loudly. “Don't worry my child," a voice from behind her said, “Everything will be fine. Come, let me have a look." It was her grandma, shorter than her and with her head full of gray hair. For how long she had been standing behind her Amelia did not know. Her words came as a surprise and Amelia turned to face her. Grandma walked past her and into the bedroom and Amelia stepped aside and fixed her eyes at the old woman, concentrating on her face. Though she tried to conceal it, the pain that hit her was immense, and Amelia could see through it. The aging lady tried very hard to suppress her tears, to look strong, but the tears still came. She produced a white handkerchief and wiped them away and just then she moved her eyes to the table and saw the suicide note. She took it then walked out, beckoning to Amelia to join her in the sitting room. “I need to drink something. What do you have?" She asked as she sat down. Her father had a bottle of alcohol that stayed untouched for long, until recently when he would take a little every evening. The unmarked bottle was now half full and Amelia brought it to her grandma. “And what is this my child?" She asked, removing her moist eyes from the suicide note she was reading. “I don't know but it's some type of alcohol." Amelia answered. She had placed Thomas on the coach and now she picked him up back into her arms. Her grandma brought the bottle to her nose and took a breath, then announced that it was brandy to the uninterested Amelia, then drank straight from the bottle. She returned her attention to the note and a moment later she had gone through it. “Here is what we're going to do, you need to find your father's phone and call the police. I'll be with you through this. All of you will be fine. Speaking of which, where is Willis?" “I don't know, I'll look for him later, I think he needs to know." Amelia said as she went back to the bedroom. She had lied unknowingly, because she knew exactly where Willis spend his free time with other boys. A moment later she emerged holding her father's phone. Her mother didn't have one. She dialed the police hotline and talked with them, breaking into a sob at some point. “They'll be coming in thirty minutes." She said. “Put that child to bed now, we need to talk." Her grandma said as she took another swig from the bottle. She looked at the sleeping child in her arms and wished she was a kid herself, without a worry in her mind. She had felt so secure herself until this morning when her parents delayed in waking up and she decided to find out why. Now she sat there devastated, wondering how she was going to pull through with her two young brothers. She had happily taken care of Thomas with the hope that her mother would recover and take it up from her, but obviously that was not going to happen, she was now stuck with him for good. “Amelia!" Her grandma's voice woke her from her reverie and she shot to attention, still holding the baby. She walked to the bedroom they shared with Willis and put Thomas to sleep on her bed. Then she went back and sat facing her grandma. “Amelia, my child, everything as you know it has changed. Everything. You and I need to be strong than ever because things will be tough. But don't worry, I'll be with you to the end." She said. Amelia fought back her tears, and finally gave up, and with her head between her hands, she burst out in loud sobs.