Darkness instantly filled the room. A chill ran up my arm like a ghost was brushing itself against my skin. The shadows watched my every movement, ready to grab and pull me in. From somewhere in the room, a dull, white light shone but when I turned around, it was gone. I saw it again but it disappeared before I could focus my eyes. I closed my eyes.  It was just your imagination. This is all a dream. Now wake up! I was paralyzed; I couldn’t move. From behind me, someone– or something– dragged their feet as they circled around my paralyzed body. I blinked once and there it was, in front of me. Go away, leave me alone! I wanted to scream, but I couldn’t. I could do nothing but stare into its dark, lifeless eyes. Streaks of blood trickled down its face. Its muddy-looking hair and scarred, bloody skin made it look like a zombie. Then it suddenly leaned its head forward and opened its mouth, revealing rotten, pointy teeth. I forced my eyes open, my heart pounded in my chest like it was being strangled, and my body was drenched in sweat.

~

Large cotton balls fell from the sky, landing on branches and rooftops. The sky was like a white curtain, blocking the sun and everything behind it while letting light through. White waves of snow blew off rooftops as the wind lifted them up. Every second that went by, the snow fell faster and faster and the wind blew harder and harder until everything was white. The cars, the trees, the sky– everything.

The wind shook the windowsill. The lights flickered like it was sending a morse code. Tree branches creaked as the snow dragged them down. Terrified, I dashed towards the door but I wasn’t fast enough. Darkness instantly filled the room. A chill ran up my arm like a ghost was brushing itself against my skin. Then an image from my nightmare appeared. I violently shook my head and whispered to myself,  “This isn’t a dream.” Careful not to step on anything, I made my way out the room, scurried down the stairs, and followed the light at the end of the dark hall.

“Put your coat and shoes on,” my mom ordered as soon as she saw me, “we have to go home while we still can.” We didn’t make it far; the snow had knocked down trees and power lines, blocking the roads that led to my house.  During the U-turn back to my grandparent’s house, a sickly feeling made its way into my stomach like something bad was going to happen.

~

There was a tall man and his illuminating smile. When I looked at his face, I could only see a perfect smile. The rest of his face was a blur but it didn’t matter; his smile was all the world needed. Birds tweeted from the trees, the light breeze made the flowers dance, and the sound of laughter filled the afternoon sky. My legs kicked back and forth as he pushed the swing. I caught a whiff of the smell of hot dogs from the barbecue every time I swung forward. Everything was perfect, too perfect, almost like a dream.

~
My eyes fluttered opened as a beeping sound rung in my ears. I looked through a crack in the window blinds as I was blinded by the sun’s reflection off a sheet of white. The blizzard, I thought to myself as I remembered the events from the previous night. Too tired to worry about anything, I closed my eyes in attempt to continue my dream, but I couldn’t. Beep beep beep. There it was again. I looked across the room as my mom answered her phone. I watched in silence as my mom gradually widened her eyes and covered her mouth like our house just burned down. Tears streamed down her face as her lips began to tremble. She then got up, straightened her back, wiped away her tears, and walked out the door.

Thoughts immediately filled my head. Did my dad safely make it home? Is my house okay? What’s wrong? I jumped out of bed and, as quietly as I could, followed her voice. I walked down a dark hall, towards a sliver of light. “Th-There was an accident,” whispered a barely-audible voice, “he-he’s in the hospital.” Silence. “They don’t know if he’s going to make it.”

Everything became blurry as tears welled up in my eyes. My legs could barely hold my weight. My hands shook uncontrollably. This can’t be happening! Was it because of the snow? Who got in an accident? Was it my dad? My grandpa? My uncle?

Moments later, my answer was delivered. It was my great-uncle. The person who always took my side whenever I got in a fight with my siblings. The person who made me laugh until I cried. The person that was always there when I needed him. But where was he now that I needed him most? The thought of seeing him wearing an oxygen mask and lying on a bed surrounded by monitors and iv poles tore my heart into pieces.

I silently made my way back to bed and pulled the covers over my head like a fire blanket, hoping it’ll take all the sorrow away. Instead, I thought of him more. How did he get in an accident? Was it his fault? Questions appeared and left like fireflies on a summer night until I fell asleep.
~
I was back in the dark room. The creature was circling me again. It quickly dragged its feet along the cold cement floor as if it was in a hurry. Then, it appeared before me. Streaks of blood trickled down its face. Its face! It was no longer the face of a monster but the face of my great-uncle. By the look on his face, I could tell he was suffering, suffering for the light of life but the darkness around us closed in and everything went dark.
~
The snow sparkled in the sunlight as if it was teasing us. We– my mom, my siblings, my cousins, my grandparents, and I– sat around the living room as my grandpa told us the detail of the accident. My great-uncle was driving in his little car and when the stoplight turned yellow in the distance, instead of slowing down like he should’ve, he sped up. The light turned red and was followed by a large truck. His car rammed into the side of the truck and it didn’t stop there; his car went under the truck. Shards of glass scattered everywhere and metal tubes from the bottom of the truck impaled his car. This all happened before the blizzard.

We all jumped when my mom’s phone rang. We all knew what we were going to hear but we didn’t want to believe it. “He’s…dead.” The room was silent aside from the occasional drops of melting snow from the rooftops. The electricity buzzed back to life as if on cue but no one seemed to notice. Birds tweeted and cars zoomed by like it was an ordinary day. It wasn’t. We stared at the run-down wooden floors like there was a part of my great-uncle left in them. That’s when I began to picture him.

It was like the dream I had that morning except this time, the face was no longer a blur but the face of my great-uncle. His radiant smile made me forget about all the things that had just happened. I wished things could be like that forever but things change.

A door slammed and, for a second, I thought it was my great-uncle but it was my dad. No one had the heart to deliver the news but he could tell from the teardrops on our faces that it wasn’t good. Eventually, my cousin pulled on a brave face and delivered the news as we all sat by with sad, gloomy eyes. Too sad to hear the story again, I thought of how I will never see my great-uncle again. He’s gone. He’s gone and we didn’t –I didn’t– get to say good-bye. I didn’t tell him how much he meant to me. I didn’t even get to tell him how much I loved him.

Life was never the same after he left but his absence eventually became part of our daily lives. We’ll never forget him or all the wonderful things he has done and he will always be part of us– a part of me.