A Change of Heart.

           I stood there, staring at the answering machine on the night table in my mother's room. Her room was dark, no light shinning through her windows or the usual smell of coffee. I could feel my mother's presence in the room without having to look back. The house was silent and all I could hear was the sound of my breath, inhaling and exhaling. I pressed the blinking red button to hear the new message. It began to play.

"Hey Wanny, it's Shana. I am calling to tell you that Acia's house caught fire early this morning and passed away with her little sister Sophia. Raymond survived the fire but he is in the hospital. All the eighth grades are all meeting at school today at 10 AM. Bye." said Shana.

            My mind went blank as I stood there, still. The room suddenly got cold. The hairs on my neck rose. My hand began to tremble as I reached to press "stop". I turned around to leave the room, trying to keep myself together. But as soon as I walked to up to my mom, standing next to the door, I fell into her arms. Tears ran down my cheeks, my heart began to ache as my cry's got louder. My mom held me tight and rubbed my back. I hid my face in her chest to cover my pain. But you could hear it. Throughout the house, you could hear my pain. But I pulled myself together, wiping my tears with my shirt and began to get dressed.

"We are going to wait for you in the car. Take your time." said my mom.

            When I finished, I walked outside and got into the car. I looked out my window, gazing into the dark, gray sky. There was no sight of the sun anywhere. The cars made splashing noises as they drove through the puddles on the ground. The car ride was quiet and all you could hear were my sobs.

            Arriving to school, I seen a groups of students huddled together. I looked around noticing everyone dressed in black with red eyes and noses. Tissues were passed left and right. Every time someone arrived, the cry's got louder. Her name was called out several times."Acia, Acia, this can't be true. Tell me this is not true." one said. Hearing about her death was not even the worse part. A couple days earlier, I was displeased with her and her choice of friends. I distanced myself from her like normal friends do at times, not knowing what was going to happen to her that Sunday morning.

            The moment I heard about her death, I had a change of heart. I let go of all the anger and frustration that caused me to push her away and others whom I care about. I became an expert at holding grudges without realizing that it might be the last time I speak to them. I never got a chance to tell her I still cared, that I was not really mad, or even a goodbye. From that moment on, I brought peace with those who I pushed away before and began to cherish each moment as if it was the last.