Rebirth

Loss and Rebirth

Summer 1918

I came home from school to hear the devastating news that the Spanish Influenza had infected my parents, and my older brother Edward had to be the man of the house until our parents got better. I knew that it was a lot for a seventeen year old boy and a sixteen year old girl. We didn't know what to expect. We had to grow up sooner than we expected to, but we had to do what we needed to survive.

Later that evening...

Edward and I were making dinner and we sat at the dining room table to eat. It was so quiet that it was almost unsettling.

"Are you doing alright?" Edward asked after a while. I looked up from my food and shrugged, "I guess so, I just hope that Mother and Father are getting better," "I do too," he agreed. I could tell that he was stressed, and I couldn't blame him. "Until then, we'll just stick together and help each other," I said trying to be optimistic.

"You're right," my brother smiled. "How is it you always see the bright side of things?" he asked. "I don't know, it just comes to me," I laughed. "I admire that about you," Edward complimented. "Thank you, and how is it you know what people are thinking?" I asked with a teasing manner. Even when we were younger, I noticed that Edward always knew what people were thinking without having to say it. "What can I say? I'm fairly proficient at reading people's expressions," he said in a haughty tone. "Maybe you should consider a career in fortune telling instead of enlisting in the army," I teased. We both laughed until we couldn't breathe.

Later, we both took a walk along the riverbank that was by our house. The old wooden fishing boat rocked lazily on the shoreline of the water; which held wonderful memories. Father would take me and Edward fishing when we were little; I remember seeing Edward strive with all his might to get a huge fish that caught the line of the fishing pole, and I would laugh when the fish would break the line; I was four and didn't know how badly he wanted to catch a fish. I did cheer extra excitedly when he finally caught the fish.

We stood in silence, staring at the water and watching the sun go down. My heart felt heavy, because neither Edward, nor I knew if our parents were going to survive.

"Edward?" I looked at my brother, the heaviness in my heart was worsening. "Yes, Lilly?" he asked concerned. "If we lose Mother and Father, promise you and I won't get separated," I told him as if I was five years old again. "I promise," he hugged me. "You're stuck with me," he promised, and that made me feel better. "Thank you," I hugged my brother back. Edward was my best friend, and we always stuck together since we were little.

Suddenly, the circumstances grew worse. I woke up in the middle of the night with a hacking cough and I couldn't breathe. "Edward!" I gasped for air and fell out of my bed still coughing. My forehead began to bead with sweat and my throat began to hurt. "Lilly! Are you alright?" he had ran from his room and into mine to check on me. "I-I-I c-c-can't...breathe," I croaked.

He put his hand to my forehead to check my temperature like Mother would whenever one of us would get sick. "Lilly, you're burning," he warned. I was growing too weak to notice, and I stared at my brother with worry, "You look paler than usual," I used the last bit of strength I had to check his temperature by putting my hand to his forehead, and his skin burnt my fingers it was so warm. "I think we both have the influenza," I told him. That was the last thing I remembered before we both passed out, and we didn't know that our neighbors had taken us to the hospital. It was the next moment that would change things drastically.

Death...

I woke up in a room surrounded by whiteness. I heard the low roar of conversation in the room, and some of it was cries of grief. I realized that I was in the hospital, and my mind instantly went to my family. "Mother...Father...Edward..." I tried to speak, but when I tried to call for each member of my family, I would always be interrupted with coughs and wheezes. My breathing had grown raspy, and the strength to even lift my head was draining from me. I knew I was going to die, and that was when I began to panic. "Edward!" I desperately called for my brother, and before I could sit up, a doctor gently laid me back down. I hadn't seen him by my bed.