My Familiar Experience
My eyes flutter open as they try to adjust to the brightness of the morning sun reflecting off of
the iced over snow. I stretch and rub the sleep from my eyes As I take a deep breath in I am greeted by a sweet aroma that I hope is coming from our kitchen. My body sunken into the plush, silky smooth bedding beneath me as if the bed is about to swallow me whole, with an oversized heavily filled down comforter wrapped around me. I am so comfortable and warm I dread getting out of bed on this cold winter morning. But along with the wonderful smell which has now awoken my stomach, I hear chatter and laughter coming from downstairs and it peaks my curiosity. As I slowly and strenuously drag myself from my cloud like bed, I am quickly awoken by the brisk air chilling me to my core. I quickly grab a soft fluffy robe that was hanging on the post of my bed and wrap it around me, tie the belt so the front stays closed. I wrap my arms around myself and rub my arms a moment to warm myself. I walk across the room to an antique hand carved dresser, The dresser is old and slightly damaged. The drawer with my socks in it is missing the knob so I use the tips of my fingers to pry it open. I find a pair freshly washed socks and put them on. They must have been a newer pair because with every step my feet sink into the thickness of them. I open the door to my room the chatter becomes louder. I make my way down the stairs, with every step there is a slight creek of the aging wood beneath my feet. I reach the bottom and look out upon large sliding doors onto the backyard. The pool, gazebo, patio, and shed all cloaked in a thick layer of white sparkling with icicles randomly hanging on each. I go around the corner to find my mom, my step-dad, my step-brother and my best friend gathered around the breakfast table. On the table were freshly made pancakes, french toast, eggs, bacon, sausage, and ham that were neatly put out on our nicer serving dishes. I sat down with my loved ones and enjoyed that most amazing breakfast I’ve ever eaten. Every morsel melted in my mouth. Normally I am not a breakfast person, but something was different this time. I don’t know if its the fact that Christmas is a couple days away, the company, or maybe my parents became phenomenal cooks overnight. Whatever it was that breakfast was so great that we tried we recreate it around the same time every year.
My Unfamiliar Experience.
Silence …There are no sounds, no voices, nothing … I know my surroundings, I've seen them before but something has changed, something is different. As I look through my blurry tear filled eyes, there are many faces , faces that are familiar and some that are unfamiliar …. I see people moving trying to keep busy, and others talking uneasily to one another. But still no sound, its as if my life is on mute. The house is cluttered, and all the shades are drawn so that only the smallest bit of light is peaking through the window. As I slowly make my way through the house, I am stopped by a few people for a quick hello and a brief hug. I am almost through the crowd when I set my sights on an older disheveled woman, she is sitting on a recliner surrounded by a few more people who seem to be offering there sincerest condolences, This woman looks different from what I remember a once radiant, stunning,strong woman now looks worn and broken. Her once beautifully shiny, tidy salt and pepper hair looking dull and unkept, her eyes bloodshot and glassy, the skin surrounding her eyes is red and irritated there are tear stains on the top of her blouse. She was looking out at nothing in an empty gaze. As I stood directly next to the recliner where she sat,I placed my hand on her shoulder. Her gaze shifted to me, something snapped inside her, it’s as almost as if her brain switched on. She gabbed my arm that was resting on her shoulder and pulled me down to her bosom wrapping her arms tightly around me. I feel her heart pounding. The sound comes in I hear and feel her sobbing uncontrollably. The words “she’s gone, she’s really gone” cracked out of her mouth in-between deep sobs. As she said those words my mind went into a total free fall and all I could think was “this is a nightmare, someone please wake me up”.That moment felt like an eternity and I realized then that this house and this woman who was wrapped around me would never be the same because my best friend, this woman's daughter was gone at the age of 26.
My eyes flutter open as they try to adjust to the brightness of the morning sun reflecting off of
the iced over snow. I stretch and rub the sleep from my eyes As I take a deep breath in I am greeted by a sweet aroma that I hope is coming from our kitchen. My body sunken into the plush, silky smooth bedding beneath me as if the bed is about to swallow me whole, with an oversized heavily filled down comforter wrapped around me. I am so comfortable and warm I dread getting out of bed on this cold winter morning. But along with the wonderful smell which has now awoken my stomach, I hear chatter and laughter coming from downstairs and it peaks my curiosity. As I slowly and strenuously drag myself from my cloud like bed, I am quickly awoken by the brisk air chilling me to my core. I quickly grab a soft fluffy robe that was hanging on the post of my bed and wrap it around me, tie the belt so the front stays closed. I wrap my arms around myself and rub my arms a moment to warm myself. I walk across the room to an antique hand carved dresser, The dresser is old and slightly damaged. The drawer with my socks in it is missing the knob so I use the tips of my fingers to pry it open. I find a pair freshly washed socks and put them on. They must have been a newer pair because with every step my feet sink into the thickness of them. I open the door to my room the chatter becomes louder. I make my way down the stairs, with every step there is a slight creek of the aging wood beneath my feet. I reach the bottom and look out upon large sliding doors onto the backyard. The pool, gazebo, patio, and shed all cloaked in a thick layer of white sparkling with icicles randomly hanging on each. I go around the corner to find my mom, my step-dad, my step-brother and my best friend gathered around the breakfast table. On the table were freshly made pancakes, french toast, eggs, bacon, sausage, and ham that were neatly put out on our nicer serving dishes. I sat down with my loved ones and enjoyed that most amazing breakfast I’ve ever eaten. Every morsel melted in my mouth. Normally I am not a breakfast person, but something was different this time. I don’t know if its the fact that Christmas is a couple days away, the company, or maybe my parents became phenomenal cooks overnight. Whatever it was that breakfast was so great that we tried we recreate it around the same time every year.
My Unfamiliar Experience.
Silence …There are no sounds, no voices, nothing … I know my surroundings, I've seen them before but something has changed, something is different. As I look through my blurry tear filled eyes, there are many faces , faces that are familiar and some that are unfamiliar …. I see people moving trying to keep busy, and others talking uneasily to one another. But still no sound, its as if my life is on mute. The house is cluttered, and all the shades are drawn so that only the smallest bit of light is peaking through the window. As I slowly make my way through the house, I am stopped by a few people for a quick hello and a brief hug. I am almost through the crowd when I set my sights on an older disheveled woman, she is sitting on a recliner surrounded by a few more people who seem to be offering there sincerest condolences, This woman looks different from what I remember a once radiant, stunning,strong woman now looks worn and broken. Her once beautifully shiny, tidy salt and pepper hair looking dull and unkept, her eyes bloodshot and glassy, the skin surrounding her eyes is red and irritated there are tear stains on the top of her blouse. She was looking out at nothing in an empty gaze. As I stood directly next to the recliner where she sat,I placed my hand on her shoulder. Her gaze shifted to me, something snapped inside her, it’s as almost as if her brain switched on. She gabbed my arm that was resting on her shoulder and pulled me down to her bosom wrapping her arms tightly around me. I feel her heart pounding. The sound comes in I hear and feel her sobbing uncontrollably. The words “she’s gone, she’s really gone” cracked out of her mouth in-between deep sobs. As she said those words my mind went into a total free fall and all I could think was “this is a nightmare, someone please wake me up”.That moment felt like an eternity and I realized then that this house and this woman who was wrapped around me would never be the same because my best friend, this woman's daughter was gone at the age of 26.