Small Town, Illinois: June 18th 2012

The fierce wind is blowing through my hair as Misty’s car is cruising through the outback country roads. The mid-size Jeep Wrangler was always a fun ride because you can remove the windows and the rooftop, even though it made you feel a sense of nakedness. We are heading to Misty’s house to switch vehicles. The ride back to her house is a bit rocky because of the gravel roads. The speedometer drops when she turns off the engine. It dropped just like a helicopter would from the sky.

Once my feet hit the ground from jumping down from the Jeep, I heard the voice. I heard that familiar gentle yet firm voice that belonged to the man who considered himself my protector. The voice repeated because I didn’t hear him the first time.
“Mia, where are you heading?”
I didn’t even need to turn around to know that it was my older brother, Alex. I slowly turn around to face him. It is hard to miss his six foot four inch athletic structure. His hair is a dirty blonde color, and his eyes are a piercing green. His arms were folded against his chest; I knew that he meant business. His eyes were burning a hole in my soul, past my light crystal blue eyes. In a serious tone of voice, he asks me a third time.
“Where are you going Mia?”
I knew that I could not win this fight, and even if I tried to run into the SUV, he would catch me like a gazelle that is trapped in the jaws of a tiger. In my mind, I had no other choice but to be honest with him.

I tried to use my angelic voice and play the “baby sister’ act as much as I could, as I tried to see into his eyes which is hard considering I am only five feet and four inches, a whole foot shorter than him. I let out a light sigh and confessed where we would be going.
“You see Alex, we just wanted to go have some fun and go to a casual party that would be held at Austin’s house”.
We stood in silence as I waited for his response; I looked down at my feet nervously waiting his answer. I kept looking down at my feet until I feel a small nudge on my hand. It is the back of Alex’s hand. I look up to glance at his face, and he gives his nod of approval which is his way to tell me that I can go as long as he can come with and make sure no boys try any funny business. I take his huge hand in my little kid sized hand, and we join my friend Chrissy in the second row of the Yukon, while everybody else piles in.

Everybody buckles up. There are eight people in the car. Misty is driving us. Her boyfriend Jason who plays football with Alex called shotgun like a little child would. In the row ahead of us are Jennifer, Jessica, and Amy. Then in the last row are Chrissy, myself sitting in the middle, and Alex on my right. The music is blaring through the car speakers playing the latest hit by Nicki Minaj. We are racing around tight curves of the winding forest road. I feel a bit uneasy with the speed and my stomach is tying into a tight knot. Alex is watching like a hawk. He notices that I feel uneasy in the current situation. Alex taps Amy who is sitting in front of him, Amy turns around to respond.
“What Alex?”
Alex looks at Amy and in a hushed yet firm tone he says.
” Tell Jason to turn the music down and that Missy should stop having a metal foot on that gas petal.”
Amy nods then faces forward to tap Jason to turn down the music and to slow the car down. Amy nods and then taps Jason. She then tells him what Alex had told her. Jason hesitates for a minute, but then reluctantly turns down the music and tells Misty to slow down on the speed because of the dangerous winding curves that were up ahead. The car slows down and my stomach slowly unknots itself.
Just as soon as my stomach finally settles, Misty starts to goof off and serve in the wide two lane road. I hold onto the seat in front of me, because it is the only thing that I can get my hands on. Alex is barking at Misty to pay attention to the road and to stop fooling around. Misty lets out a light huff because Alex ruined her fun. She decides to be pouty about it and turns the music up so all the voices around her are drained out and she can only hear “I Don’t Want This Night to End” by Luke Bryan through the speakers.

The car has been going through the winding road with ease with no goofing off coming from Misty, which kept my stomach at bay. I started feeling slightly tired, so I decided to rest my head on Alex’s shoulder. He placed a soft kiss on the top of my head; I closed my eyes just to see if I could get in a few minutes of sleep. Of course trying to sleep in a car with loud music is impossible. So after less than five full minutes my eyes fluttered open once again; I was awake. This time a new music artist who I never heard of was playing, and the song was called “Little Bird” by Ed Sheeran. I started enjoying the beat of the music; its beat wasn’t as hard as any auto-tuned song, because he plays acoustic music only. Although Chrissy and I started having fun and goofing off slightly in the back seat, Alex’s eyes were focused on the road. It was almost as if he could sense that something was going to happen any minute. He wrapped his arm around my shoulder in a relaxed style. He pulls me in and kisses the top of my head. Then he lets go and I began goofing off with Chrissy again, but my mind pondering what could possibly happen.

Misty had gotten bored again and she decided that we should go faster. The speed limit in this straight road area was thirty miles per hour, but Misty, whose foot was pressing on the gas pedal, was almost reaching fifty miles per hour. We all knew that we were going over the speed limit, but we are young and like having that thrill of danger. It always seems like you can’t get enough of it when the adrenaline starts to pump through your veins, or maybe it is just Misty who can’t get enough of it. As the speed seems to be increasing, everybody has their eyes on the road, nervously.

We are speeding down the straight road like the cars in the movie Fast and the Furious, then suddenly a deer jumps out of the tree covered area to our right.
I can recall every moment of what happened next. I screamed as Misty swerves to miss the deer. However, now our problem is that she has lost control of the car. We prepare ourselves for a hard impact! Next thing we know the car has flipped not only once, but twice. I scream and I feel a heavy body over my own, almost as if it was protecting me. I hear Jason let out a loud “ump” as he crashes into the dashboard, and we smell the rusty scent of blood in the air. I’m surprised I’m okay. I look to my left and Chrissy is there. I then look to my right, but Alex isn’t there. I look behind me and the glass has shattered everywhere. I look outside through the open gap where some small shards of glass are holding on by a thread, and I see Alex. Alex had been launched out of the back window. So that explains the load of weight that I felt on my body was him trying to protect me. Amy takes her cell phone out, and calls the paramedics and police.

The police help everybody out of the death trap vehicle. Police officers take Misty aside to speak with her in private about what had happened. All I can hear is the officers asking her questions.
“What happened? What caused this to occur? What speed were you driving at?”
I run to where Alex is laying on the pavement. I hold his head in my lap cradling him and right before he goes unconscious he looks up at me through dazed eyes and says softly.
“I love you”.
I kiss the top of his head, praying to God that he will be okay. The paramedics take him from my arms, and I slowly get up. I kiss Alex’s forehead one more time, not sure if he’ll survive his injuries.

Everything around me was happening in a whirlwind, as if it was a whirlpool in the middle of the ocean, starting off slowly then increases speed. The paramedics took me inside separate ambulance and check me to make sure that I am okay, but I have only suffered some slight bruises and scratches. I get into a police officer’s car to get a ride home. Misty and Jason have to stay back at the crime scene to talk to detectives. Everybody else was given a ride home, but my mind was at the hospital, wondering if Alex made it or not.

When I arrive home once the officers’ step into our house to explain what had occurred to my parents, they hug me in a tight hug and all I could do is hug them back. One of the officers removes his hat and looks at my parents with true sorrow in his eyes for what happened.
“I’m sorry for your loss Ma’am.”
My mother nodded, a look of shock appears on her face and she closes the door. My parents sit me down on the couch and my heart immediately had a sinking feeling. I could almost predict what they were going to tell me. That Alex had not made it. That he made it to the hospital and that his conditions had worsen rapidly in the ambulance that he just couldn’t hold on longer. On the ER report it stated that he had put up a strong fight for survival. On the way they gave him medication that to stay alive even for a few minutes more. The paramedics had then contacted my parents through telephone to tell them that Alex had written a small note to me. I looked at my hands that were clasped in my lap. I felt as fragile as a baby bird when they are first born. The parents cautiously hand me a few pieces of paper which was the final ER report from the doctors.


ER Report
Small Town Central Hospital, IL
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Patient: Alexander James Harris
Age: 20 years old
Gender: Male
Race: White
Injuries: To the head, in the chest, damage to the lung, as well to the spinal cord and vertebrae
Cause of death: Car accident
Medication: Morphine
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I just slowly stood up and then I ran upstairs to lock myself in a room; not just any room, Alex’s room. Where the scent of the cologne he was wearing still lingered in the air.

I eat my dinner in his room that night. It’s hard to believe that he is actually gone forever… that I’ll never see him again. As I was sitting on top of his bed, I realize that I was only alive because he risked his own life to protect me. If he hadn’t tried to protect me, I would have been showered by the glass window. I feel a warm sense of calmness in the air around me. Maybe it’s because I feel like he will never leave my side and that he’ll always be my protector. It is around one o’clock in the morning, until I get a wave of tiredness. I slowly get up and leave Alex’s bedroom. I take his senior portrait photo with me to my bedroom, and set it on my nightstand table. I kiss the photo, and then curl into the covers, which feel like the arms of my protector, who wasn’t just a big brother, or a protector, but he is my hero.



Small Town Inquire
Obituary
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On June 18th, twenty year old hometown native Alexander Harris, passed away. He made it to the hospital and then he fell under a coma and later passed. He was a quarterback on the football team for Small Town Central High School (SMTCH). He was a loving friend, cousin, uncle, brother and son. He was the older brother to Mia Harris, and the son to Paul and Gina Harris. The family came out to state that the event that had occurred is tragic. But that they will slowly move on, keeping him in their hearts forever and cherish every memory they have of him and of his life.

One of his sport coaches gave the quote, “Alex was always a hard worker, nothing could stop him from getting something he wanted bad enough.” Information is below if you would like to say one final good-bye to a beloved person in our community.

Information:
Wake Procession:
At Johnson and Smith Funeral Home
Located: on the corner of the 1900 block of Elm and Oak Road
Time: 4:30-9:30
Funeral: St. Edwards Church
Located: on the main road of Harlem Avenue
Date: June 25th 2012
Time: 9:00 A.M.