He was briskly walking along the filthy, trash-strewn sidewalks of New York City. His body began to tense and shake as the police station came in proximity. The footfalls on the pavement hastened, creating distance between himself and the station.___________________
My presence in that room that day was an accident. Whether it was a good or bad one was something I found hard to decide...
I was hiding inside the closet in the living room, which was stuffed with toys and shoes we never used. I was hiding from my sister, from my parents, from everyone. Since I decided I would stay there for as long as possible, I thought I might as well make myself comfortable. So, I brought my cell-phone, IPod, snacks, soda, and my video camera, to watch the movies I made. That’s why I was in the closet hiding; I wanted to become a director. My family disapproved, they didn’t think it was a “stable career choice”. My parents and I fought that day, before they left to take my younger brother to his Little League game. After they left, I was alone with my sister, who thought that becoming a director was stupid. How like an older sister. I thought she was a hypocrite for going out every Friday with her friends to the movies.
A knock came at the door, interrupting my thoughts. My sister opened it and let someone in. I tried listening in on what they were saying, but it was barely audible. I opened the door a crack and watched. Then turned on my camera and recorded, hoping to get some dirt on my sister. My usually talkative sister was sitting meekly next to a boy about her age. He started begging her to take him back and looked so pathetic and pitiful. I felt bad for the boy who fell for someone like my sister. She quietly told him in a soft voice, she had found someone else. She began crying with a devastated expression on her face. I found her acting commendable, I thought of making her an actress for my next movie.
Then an uneasy feeling began creeping into my thoughts. His expression quickly altered with a deranged look casting over his face. However, it was fleeting; I don’t know if she even caught it.
Saying he understood, he calmly stood up to walk out the door. She thanked him for understanding and moved to walk him to the door. Suddenly, he turned around with his hands balled into fists and struck her repeatedly, while she defenselessly raised her arms in a futile attempt to protect herself.
“Did you really think it was okay?” he shouted in a distraught voice.
Before a scream escaped her lips, he grabbed a nearby lamp shattering it as it came in contact with her head. Laying there on the floor she stayed completely still. Defunct. Blood seeped out from beneath her, dripping down her forehead as her blank eyes stared at me as if to say ‘Why didn’t you stop this?’ He yelled at her still corpse─blaming her.
In a chilling voice he said, “You broke my heart, so I broke you.”
He lifted her body, caressing her as he carried her over to a rug and gently laid her down. He wrapped her up and took her out the door. Shortly, he came back to clean up the blood and broken lamp pieces, and then he left.
I stood up and walked out of the closet shaking and quivering. Everything felt numb as tears welled up in my eyes. Unable to breathe, I looked down and saw a charm that had fallen off the bracelet I’d given her on her 18th birthday. I could feel the repressed emotions gathering up in my heart releasing in an explosion of sobs and angry screams; cursing him, cursing myself, cursing my stupid legs which had refused to move as I watched everything that monster had done. I held the charm tightly against my chest. This charm and my video were the only remnants left of her.
_______________
He was briskly walking along the filthy, trash-strewn sidewalks of New York City. His body began to tense and shake as the police station came in proximity. The footfalls on the pavement hastened, creating distance between himself and the station; when he was abruptly grabbed by an officer. He was told his Miranda Rights and arrested for the murder of Melissa Clark.
Following his arrest was his trial and me, facing him in court, trembling in a mix of fear and anger. As the prosecutor stood up to and presented the video, my video I stood up and wordlessly walked out of the room hearing my sister’s voice telling someone to come in…
_______________
I never forgave myself for not doing something. I often wondered what would have happened if I had stepped out of the closet and said something. Maybe, I could have helped. I didn’t even get to say goodbye. She was a terrible sister, a bad friend, and an even worse person, but I still loved her; she hadn’t deserved to die in such a cruel and brutal way. I still have a copy of that tape, but I’ve never been able to bring myself to watch it or throw it away. It’s hidden in a box along with the charm. Her death destroyed our family and she haunted my nightmares, my memories, my world and would continue to…until the day I draw my last breath.
