I look at myself in the mirror in the black robe. I look better now; it’s incredible how much I can change in two weeks. The thought of Tobias still makes me hurt but it’s less now. The presence of my sister, my mom, Charlie and Ally have helped so much, somehow.
Whenever I feel like I’m about to break down I just call Tom. He listens quietly as I tell him everything and then he finds a way to soothe me. I fall asleep listening to him talk, and as always, I wake up to a message from him. I can see that Tom misses my brother too, but he doesn’t say anything just for my sake.
Mom, Jaz, Charlie and I ride in the car talking excitedly about my graduation. I hope Tom will be there. I haven’t seen him, not even after he proposed to me live on camera, so the thought of seeing him after so long makes my stomach clench with giddiness.
I stand in a line with my class as the salutatorian student walks up to the microphone. The graduation is being held outside. The sun is dim against the clouds covering it, making the sky look golden orange, with highlights of purple.
Charlie steps up on stage. I’m not paying attention to his speech until I hear, “…We lost a student of our class this year.” His voice trembles and everyone goes silent. “Tobias Hamilton was one of those students who didn’t study and he still got good grades. It was because he was a good listener…” He takes a shaky breath and I feel my lower lip tremble. “He was not only our classmate but part of our family.” I see all of my class is either crying or trying hard not to cry and I realize that I was not the only one who lost him. “We all lost a friend…a son…and a brother. He will be missed forever by us…”
I feel my chest tighten to the point that it’s painful but I don’t allow the tears to come. I don’t listen to the end of his speech because I know that I will break down and I don’t want to. Many of the girls are crying as they go by and get their diplomas. All of my class seems to be comforting me as we wait in the back and I appreciate it.
“Ciara Hamilton.” I snap to reality when I hear my name. The pain in my chest starts building up when I hear the cheering and clapping as loud as it had been throughout the whole graduation.
I stare at the crowd. I see Allison, my mom, Jazmine, Charlie and even Dr. Rivera standing amongst the crowd. The whole town seems to be here and I wonder why a graduation is such a big event this year.
As I’m about to step off the stage I hear Tom’s voice boom through the speakers and pierce the quietness.
“Sia Hamilton, Jazmine Hamilton and Tobias Hamilton’s father serves in the army of the United States of America.” When I see Tom standing a few feet away from me holding the microphone the pain in my chest increases and I feel like I’m about to explode. “He could not attend the graduation due to his services…. so that is why her family has organized a special surprise for her.”
I’m shaking badly right now…what is going on? Suddenly everyone gasps and their attention shifts to a figure standing behind Tom. I look at the person with green eyes, jet black hair and with the frown I know well. For a second I see Tobias staring at me and then I realize it’s my dad.
I run to him and everyone starts to cheer. I see flags lift up, I see people crying, I see fireworks go off…the pain in my chest intensifies and when I collide with my dad I feel it break and finally that piece of me that seemed to die with my brother, comes back to me as his arms wrap around me.
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well hello my lovelies!! This is not the end by the way but I'd just like to say thank you to you all readers and voters! I left a link here just incase you wanted to watch a video dedicated to all those people fighting for their country
-Eliza xoxo
