The Night My World Fell Apart

I had sat there for a number of days and nights. The dreaded inevitable was drawing nearer. The one thing in life I wondered if I would ever be able to face or accept.

Sitting there in the dimly lit room, the lemon walls seemed dull and gloomy the cream curtains were closing in around us. Normally a bright airy room, though the warmth enveloped us I was chilled to the bone. My dark trousers and check shirt did not protect me from that bitter cold feeling. My other family members were present almost like shadows as to me it was only him and I. He slept peacefully but I continued to talk to him as if we were having one of our usual hearts to hearts. The devoted bond we had for each other was more precious than one can know. We had soldered a long road together and whatever life would bring he was always there to carry me through.

At 1.10am I drove to the 24 hour shop for milk. The shop attendant almost begrudged my custom as he had to put down the book he was reading and serve me. He certainly had not learned any customer care skills.

Back to the house again we replenished our coffee cups and I stayed close to him once again. He continued to sleep but occasionally he would open an eye as if to check that we were all present. He looked so serene in his blue pyjamas and his grey short beard was perfectly groomed. As the dark began changing to dawn, amid his loving family he drew his last breath without any fuss just as he had lived his short life.

Sometime later, I had to go back to the same shop and there was the same assistant sitting in the same seat reading the same book. As he went to get my goods I realised that his world had not changed in those short few hours but mine had fallen apart. Little did he know I had lost my one and only brother whom I loved with all my heart.

To this day that shop attendant still stays in my mind. I expected the whole world should have stopped when my loved one had passed away.