I held my mother as she slipped away, powerless to stop it. I prayed, I cried, I begged—but nothing changed. I couldn't accept it, no matter how hard I tried.
The weeks after blurred together; I moved through them like a shadow of myself. But it wasn't until they lowered her into the ground that I understood—something inside me broke that day, and it never came back.
I was sixteen, a model student, already done with high school and waiting for college acceptance. I was young and full of dreams, but I couldn't imagine a future where she didn't exist. I got accepted. But the passion was gone. Still, I had to keep going.
A light tap on my shoulder roused me from my thoughts. I turned and saw a pretty, dark-skinned girl.
"Hi, my name is Grace. What's yours?" she asked.
"My name is Amy," I responded.
She kept talking. I nodded, mumbled a few words. My mind drifted—anywhere but there. She didn't seem to notice.
She led me to the faculty office to handle the paperwork. when everything was done, she smiled and said, "there's a party tonight. you should come." I gave a polite shake of my head. I wasn't ready for noise, for people, for smiling faces that didn't match how I felt inside.