Inklings 2020

family, and all they did was lay you in a creaky bed. I felt like leaving. I did not want to see. I tried not to imagine what my world would be like without you, but in a time like this, I did exactly that. What will happen to Mamá? Will she be okay? I imagined her crying to herself, thinking of you and never being able to accept this horrible new reality. Would she have to sleep alone at night or get two jobs like you have? Would she turn to alcohol to numb her pain? I have heard of what grief can do to a person. What about me? Would I spend my days crying? Would Vince blame me for taking you away from him? And what about my sisters? Without ever having the chance to say goodbye, how might they receive the news from more than one thousand miles away in Chicago? I imagined that I ought to be in tears at the thought that you probably wouldn’t see me grow up, that you wouldn’t witness any of your children get married or have their own children. However, I did not cry. I left the room to collect myself, except I could not for out came my brother Vince: he is a tall, intimidating man with a short fuse, yet I cannot blame him for any of his personal flaws when he tells me he loves me. “I need you to take your mother to the cafeteria on the first floor.” “What?” I snapped. “I need you two to be away. Dad has obviously been keeping some emotional stress within him. He’s been building it up for years because of you two, and I need to speak with him alone. I need him to open up and unload all of that.” Unfortunately, I allowed this nonsense because he pushed me to comply. I walked into the room and whispered to Mamá, but she was offended and refused to leave you. Vince was visibly irritated by this and a small fight ensued. He insulted her for being “selfish and stubborn,” but she didn’t get to say anything in retaliation. I checked the heart rate monitor again and noticed that it was red. It began beeping urgently as you convulsed on the bed, and Vince ran to get help. After 28