"The surprise" tells about an unpleasant and tragic turn of events ...
The surprise.
A memorable day. What was Father going to
bring back home? I had done well for my final year examinations. My raven dark
hair danced in the light breeze as though it was celebrating my success with
me.
“Amy, stop jumping around! You will soon
collide into something. And what if it is fragile?” Mother warned me. “What if?
I do not care!” My loud reply reverberated throughout the otherwise silent
house. I was simply on top of the world! I am the apple of my father’s eye – he
would definitely bring back something nice I had thought to myself.
A few hours later, my sheer happiness soon
began to die down. My eyes which were sparkling like stars soon stopped.
Anxiety engulfed me. When is Father coming back home? He should be back by now.
I tried to contemplate positive thoughts but it was impossible. All at once, I
began to feel as though something had happened. The question was – What was it?
Then the call came through.
It all started with the shrill ring of the
telephone. It seemed to ring with deathly shrillness. When Mother answered it,
the sunny smile of hers which always brightened up the room seemed to fade
away. What followed next was not music to my ears at all.
“Are you serious? Can I ask if you can give
me more information? My husband could not have been fatally killed in the plane
crash, could he?” Uttering out the words seemed extremely tortuous to her.
The words of doom.
The words struck me like a sledgehammer’s
blow, My heart wrung in seething pain. I simply
could not take it any more. Reality seemed to hit me like a tonne of
bricks.
“Really! Is that all you can say? May be
you are calling the wrong number. I am hanging up.” After placing the receiver
down, Mother folded her arms and looked down. She was as quiet as a mouse I
cannot believe what I had heard. Apparently a police offer had called Mother
telling her that Father was fatally killed in a plane crash. This was
atrocious! How could a police officer fabricate such nonsense?
With bated breath, Mother switched on the
television. At that time, the news channel was talking about the SQ006 plane
which had recently crashed. Wait – SQ006 was the airline that Father was
returning home in.
Oh my God, oh my God! Why on earth is God
so unfair to us? On hearing the news, Mother began to sob, a picture of
inconsolable devastation. Father who has
been her companion for thirty years has been taken away from her life. My heart
fell like a tombstone, my chest unable to bear its weight.
Till the next time,
Elijah Wee, Singapore
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