That One Sound

• Sarah Durbin, Grade 7
• Short Story
• 2013

That one sound. The sound I love to hear. I love it because I know that they are there, they are there watching me and listening to me. It's been one year on since my parents had died. It was the anniversary or their death. I suppose it was a sad day to some people but not to me. They are still here, they are still here with me, in the wind. I miss them a lot but I know they are not far away. I’m Claire and I’m 14 years old. I live with my grandma who is very sick. She can hear them too. This is how it all happened...

It was the day of my 13th birthday. My parents were fighting because they hadn't gotten what they had called my 'Giant present of the year,' . They had forgotten about it. I told them that it was fine and they didn't have to worry about it. They said ok and they won't worry about it but the way they said it, it just wasn't believable. I was a bit concerned when my parents said for me to stay home while they supposedly went to get some bread and milk from the shop. I knew that they weren't doing that because when it's my birthday they never leave me at home, no matter what they are doing. If they go out on my birthday I have to come. It's a rule in our family. This time they told me to stay home instead of coming.

So as they told me to do, I stayed home. I wasn’t living with my grandma at the time, so no one else was home except me. I was really bored because there was nothing to do. I just sat on the lounge and watched some T.V. I must have fallen asleep because it was 12:30pm and the T.V was still on. I continued watching T.V for a bit longer when I remember my parents went out this morning. I got up to see if they were home. They weren’t. 'That's strange,' I though to myself. They had been out for a long time. I tried calling my mum's mobile. It went straight to voice message. I tried calling my dad's mobile. It went straight to voice message. Now I was worried. I decided to go out to see if I could find them. I went straight to the shopping centre because I had a feeling they were going to get my 'Giant present of the year.' Luckily the shopping centre wasn’t that far and was easy to walk to. As I got closer, I saw ambulances and police cars and even a fire engine. I thought that something was happening inside the shopping centre. But nothing was happening inside the shopping centre, it was a car crash. As I got really close I saw their car. My mum and dad's car. They had been in the crash. I ran as fast as I could to see if they were okay. They weren’t. There were two white sheets covering two people. I knew it was them under the sheets. My heart stopped. I fell to my knees, crying. Someone came over to me and asked “Are they your parents under the sheets?” I nodded continuing crying. I rang my grandma. She came straight away.

A few days later was there funeral. I just sat there thinking of how it was my fault that they died. If it hadn’t been my birthday then none of this would have happened. I cried and cried and cried all through the funeral. I kept crying. Everyday. Every night. I couldn’t stop. I wouldn’t stop.

So that's how it all happened. I miss them so much. But I know they are here all the time. They’re here through that one sound. That one sound I love to hear.