"At this point everything turns black, ....."
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Final Essay Non-FictionStruggle of a ManThe names of the people have been changed to protect their identity.
It’s a freezing Tuesday night. The cold wind blows what makes the windows rattle in a tiny middle class apartment in Cherry Hill. There is a couple fighting over a misunderstanding; jealousy played a role in the quarrel, a hand with a knife has been raised, tempers begin to increase. Tiffany drowning in tears holds the phone. ----------------- |
A sunbeam goes through the window at 7:30am; the morning of a sunny Saturday has arrived. The Thermostats displays 75 degrees. Inside of a burning hot room Dylan and Maya with their miniature pincher are cuddling in, in a deep sleep with no blankets on. An IPhone 6 is hidden under his pillow; he likes to fall asleep with it in his hand. Next to him her hand is stretched all the way up to the top reaching his pillow; she likes to sleep with her hands above her head. Their hands are soft and restful in a peaceful room.
A sharp Buzz sound comes out from the pillow, Dylan moves his head facing the wall above him. His big blue eyes are wide open; he is awake now.
-Buuuuzzzz-.
The bed vibrates; the iphone hide under the pillow sends a reminder of the unread text message that needs to be read.
Before he takes the dog out, he slightly moves his hands around the bed looking for his phone while she is still sleeping. He grabs it and walks to the bathroom. Minutes after, a smooth sniff with a cold nose wakes her up Ace the dog let her know it’s time to be awake, the usual Saturday morning has began.
Maya opens her brown eyes.
On the other side of the bed Dylan is lying down with no shirt on. His white pale chest is exposed. The glow of his phone screen shows anxiety on his face. He hasn’t noticed Maya is awake.
Quietly Maya gazes at Dylan; she likes to look at his thick brown eyebrows and get lost in his blue yes, but this time his eyes aren’t speaking, they are lost in a plain sight.
A few minutes passes before Dylan realizes Maya is staring at him. She moves her body in a baby position and she touches Dylan’s feet with her leg.
“What is the matter?” Maya asks.
Dylan turns his face to her and with a concern look. He says,
“My dad hasn’t gone to work for the last 3 days.”
Dylan’s father, Sam is a 50-year-old hard-working man who says that he will retire only when pigs fly. He never skips a day of work, even if he is sick.
Maya takes a deep breathe and make a quick answer
“How did you find out?” She asks with a hesitant voice, while she moves her body into a sitting position next to him. She knows something real is happening; even though her boyfriend is a guy who doesn’t speak to his dad everyday, she can tell by his face that something isn’t right.
“Brian’s son texted me this morning asking me if I knew where my dad was because he hasn’t been to work since Wednesday.” Dylan replied with an anxious voice.
Brian is an old, Hispanic fat man with a white thick mustache and his skinny, tall son works with Sam at the famous Italian restaurant in a well-known town in New Jersey. Brian, Sam’s best friend knew that this behavior is not like him, which made him worry something serious had happened to Sam.
Ring, Ring!! Grandma picks up the phone. It’s Dylan.
“Have you spoken to my dad recently?” - Dylan asks right away without saying hello.
“On Tuesday he called me as usual, he sounded happy and cheerful, why?” Grandma replies, her voice breaks at the end.
As the conversation continues Dylan explains what the situation is and the reason he is calling her.
Maya jumps in the bathroom for a quick shower when she hears the tone of the conversation and realizes the situation is getting worse. Minutes after, the water in the shower stops running and Maya hears Dylan saying goodbye with a deep sigh he hangs up the phone.
As she is getting dressed Dylan is standing next to the coffee pot in the kitchen. The apartment has a strong aroma of Colombian coffee. The traditional weekend morning starts.
Four pieces of bacon and two sunny sides up eggs are about to be ready. The Sizzle sound of a frying pan is coming from the kitchen; an assortment of fruit and orange juice are waiting on the table, Maya has cooked breakfast for Dylan as the traditional morning weekend. The plate is resting on the kitchen counter next to the stove before She places the last piece of bacon on the green plate next to the two eggs. The last piece of bacon is about to be done. Dylan eats two pieces and one egg in a big bite. He grabs his keys and they get in the car. Today is not a regular Saturday morning. There will be no lingering.
10:30 am, Maya and Dylan have now been on the road for 30 minutes driving towards Paul’s house who is Sam’s young brother in Cherry Hill, where all the members of the family have agreed to meet up.
“Frank is on the way here,” Grandma welcomes Maya and Dylan as they arrived at Paul’s house.
“Who is Frank?” Maya quite disconcerted ask to grandma, she hasn't met him yet.
“Frank is Sam’s middle brother, Joyce’s husband” Grandma reply.
Joyce is well known in the family for her crazy behaviors of being hypochondriac that even Maya recognize her without meeting her yet.
Shortly after, a loud manly voice came shouting from the door away.
“Hello everyone!!!.”
Frank along aside his wife and daughter have now arrived. Immediately, ideas and thoughts were being put together. Dylan took the lead voice to explain what had happened and what his assumptions are.
One of my thoughts is that my dad can be lost, I called Tiffany’s phone and his phone this morning, and both went right to the voicemail. Dylan remarks.
Frank and grandma also contribute to the conversation with what their ideas are and their concerns to Dylan. Maya listens carefully to all the situation.
“We need a recent picture of Sam”, grandma says
“Or,………Sam can be in jail”, Frank says.
“I don’t think so, how is that possible?” Maya gives her opinion immediately to grandma.
“Tiffany’s brother is a police. She has been threaten Sam many times before with he taking Sam to jail if something ever happen to her” Grandma complement frank’s thoughts
Maya with vague thoughts starts to understand the size of the situation. She always feels a weird energy with Tiffany.
“If it were thinkable, he would call us from there, don’t they have one call???, we would have known by now if that is the case” Maya adds.
“That is very true and he hasn’t called nobody yet, or has he?” Dylan replies staring at the rest in the room.
“What about is they cut him off from calling” Joyce adds.
“Under the law they can’t do that” Frank replies.
Only a deep exhalation is what Maya could hear on the room right now
Not long after the group has finished deliberating all the different scenarios, and grandma with a shaky voice and looking the picture on her phone said she has a recent picture of Sam that she can use to go to the police station to place a missing person report.
Silence filled the room.
A quiet moment takes place in the big living room as only the sound of breathing could be heard in the apartment. The anxiety starts to rise.
After a few long minutes had passed the baby’s laughter broke the silence, its Jackie, Paul’s daughter who is now hugging innocently grandma.
Ring, Ring, Ring, grandma’s ringtone is now playing Hispanic music.
“Hello”.
“Your crazy son is in Jail, whatever you need to know you can get the information at Camden County prison, also all of his family members, friends or relatives have a restraining order” on the other side of the phone a furious and rough woman’s voice communicate to grandma.
As the conversations remains everybody in the room is staring at her, while she is talking on the phone, a slightly tear felt on her cheeks from her eyes.
Maya fears are true, something devastating happened. She keeps holding her sight at the floor; Maya doesn’t want to look at Dylan.
With sad lost eyes, Grandma breaks into tears when she hangs up.
-------------------------
Sam and Tiffany are cleaning up after dinner is done. The apartment still smells like five stars Italian restaurant. The initial conversation turns into something else. Offensive words go back and forth in the room; everything is been said. At this point they have lost their mind by the argued.
Tiffany is sitting on the couch next to the balcony on the other side of the living room crying, while Sam is trying to explain what his intentions are from the kitchen counter.
“I want to trust you babe, that’s why I’m doing this” Sam shouts out.
She doesn’t understand his point, Sam gets frustrated because nothing what he is saying makes sense to her.
“I decided to stop caring about the way you dress up, I want this to work” Sam continues
Tiffany is a 43 years-old woman who likes to dress Jersey Shore, a little top of the line for her age. She likes to be noticed in any place she goes.
“You met me like that and you liked it” Tiffany replies disillusioned with watery eyes before she breaks into tears
At this point everything turns black, the next thing Sam knew Tiffany is calling the police.
Right after, Sam then sees himself walking through the door with only a T-shirt and a pair of slippers on. He is shocked; the only thing he can hear now is the clacking of the metal from his handcuffs. He can feel the icy wind blowing through his shirt, and the cold sensation of the handcuffs against the skin as the officers escorting him to the back of the car. Sam realizes he has been arrested. It is Tuesday night.
The court day hasn’t arrived yet, and as the days are passing by at grandma’s house Sam disconcerted is trying to put his mind together. His eyes are empty and lose. The vigorous fifty-year old man is not there anymore. Sam tries to keep a normal life while his heart is drifting. They have broken up.
A sharp Buzz sound comes out from the pillow, Dylan moves his head facing the wall above him. His big blue eyes are wide open; he is awake now.
-Buuuuzzzz-.
The bed vibrates; the iphone hide under the pillow sends a reminder of the unread text message that needs to be read.
Before he takes the dog out, he slightly moves his hands around the bed looking for his phone while she is still sleeping. He grabs it and walks to the bathroom. Minutes after, a smooth sniff with a cold nose wakes her up Ace the dog let her know it’s time to be awake, the usual Saturday morning has began.
Maya opens her brown eyes.
On the other side of the bed Dylan is lying down with no shirt on. His white pale chest is exposed. The glow of his phone screen shows anxiety on his face. He hasn’t noticed Maya is awake.
Quietly Maya gazes at Dylan; she likes to look at his thick brown eyebrows and get lost in his blue yes, but this time his eyes aren’t speaking, they are lost in a plain sight.
A few minutes passes before Dylan realizes Maya is staring at him. She moves her body in a baby position and she touches Dylan’s feet with her leg.
“What is the matter?” Maya asks.
Dylan turns his face to her and with a concern look. He says,
“My dad hasn’t gone to work for the last 3 days.”
Dylan’s father, Sam is a 50-year-old hard-working man who says that he will retire only when pigs fly. He never skips a day of work, even if he is sick.
Maya takes a deep breathe and make a quick answer
“How did you find out?” She asks with a hesitant voice, while she moves her body into a sitting position next to him. She knows something real is happening; even though her boyfriend is a guy who doesn’t speak to his dad everyday, she can tell by his face that something isn’t right.
“Brian’s son texted me this morning asking me if I knew where my dad was because he hasn’t been to work since Wednesday.” Dylan replied with an anxious voice.
Brian is an old, Hispanic fat man with a white thick mustache and his skinny, tall son works with Sam at the famous Italian restaurant in a well-known town in New Jersey. Brian, Sam’s best friend knew that this behavior is not like him, which made him worry something serious had happened to Sam.
Ring, Ring!! Grandma picks up the phone. It’s Dylan.
“Have you spoken to my dad recently?” - Dylan asks right away without saying hello.
“On Tuesday he called me as usual, he sounded happy and cheerful, why?” Grandma replies, her voice breaks at the end.
As the conversation continues Dylan explains what the situation is and the reason he is calling her.
Maya jumps in the bathroom for a quick shower when she hears the tone of the conversation and realizes the situation is getting worse. Minutes after, the water in the shower stops running and Maya hears Dylan saying goodbye with a deep sigh he hangs up the phone.
As she is getting dressed Dylan is standing next to the coffee pot in the kitchen. The apartment has a strong aroma of Colombian coffee. The traditional weekend morning starts.
Four pieces of bacon and two sunny sides up eggs are about to be ready. The Sizzle sound of a frying pan is coming from the kitchen; an assortment of fruit and orange juice are waiting on the table, Maya has cooked breakfast for Dylan as the traditional morning weekend. The plate is resting on the kitchen counter next to the stove before She places the last piece of bacon on the green plate next to the two eggs. The last piece of bacon is about to be done. Dylan eats two pieces and one egg in a big bite. He grabs his keys and they get in the car. Today is not a regular Saturday morning. There will be no lingering.
10:30 am, Maya and Dylan have now been on the road for 30 minutes driving towards Paul’s house who is Sam’s young brother in Cherry Hill, where all the members of the family have agreed to meet up.
“Frank is on the way here,” Grandma welcomes Maya and Dylan as they arrived at Paul’s house.
“Who is Frank?” Maya quite disconcerted ask to grandma, she hasn't met him yet.
“Frank is Sam’s middle brother, Joyce’s husband” Grandma reply.
Joyce is well known in the family for her crazy behaviors of being hypochondriac that even Maya recognize her without meeting her yet.
Shortly after, a loud manly voice came shouting from the door away.
“Hello everyone!!!.”
Frank along aside his wife and daughter have now arrived. Immediately, ideas and thoughts were being put together. Dylan took the lead voice to explain what had happened and what his assumptions are.
One of my thoughts is that my dad can be lost, I called Tiffany’s phone and his phone this morning, and both went right to the voicemail. Dylan remarks.
Frank and grandma also contribute to the conversation with what their ideas are and their concerns to Dylan. Maya listens carefully to all the situation.
“We need a recent picture of Sam”, grandma says
“Or,………Sam can be in jail”, Frank says.
“I don’t think so, how is that possible?” Maya gives her opinion immediately to grandma.
“Tiffany’s brother is a police. She has been threaten Sam many times before with he taking Sam to jail if something ever happen to her” Grandma complement frank’s thoughts
Maya with vague thoughts starts to understand the size of the situation. She always feels a weird energy with Tiffany.
“If it were thinkable, he would call us from there, don’t they have one call???, we would have known by now if that is the case” Maya adds.
“That is very true and he hasn’t called nobody yet, or has he?” Dylan replies staring at the rest in the room.
“What about is they cut him off from calling” Joyce adds.
“Under the law they can’t do that” Frank replies.
Only a deep exhalation is what Maya could hear on the room right now
Not long after the group has finished deliberating all the different scenarios, and grandma with a shaky voice and looking the picture on her phone said she has a recent picture of Sam that she can use to go to the police station to place a missing person report.
Silence filled the room.
A quiet moment takes place in the big living room as only the sound of breathing could be heard in the apartment. The anxiety starts to rise.
After a few long minutes had passed the baby’s laughter broke the silence, its Jackie, Paul’s daughter who is now hugging innocently grandma.
Ring, Ring, Ring, grandma’s ringtone is now playing Hispanic music.
“Hello”.
“Your crazy son is in Jail, whatever you need to know you can get the information at Camden County prison, also all of his family members, friends or relatives have a restraining order” on the other side of the phone a furious and rough woman’s voice communicate to grandma.
As the conversations remains everybody in the room is staring at her, while she is talking on the phone, a slightly tear felt on her cheeks from her eyes.
Maya fears are true, something devastating happened. She keeps holding her sight at the floor; Maya doesn’t want to look at Dylan.
With sad lost eyes, Grandma breaks into tears when she hangs up.
-------------------------
Sam and Tiffany are cleaning up after dinner is done. The apartment still smells like five stars Italian restaurant. The initial conversation turns into something else. Offensive words go back and forth in the room; everything is been said. At this point they have lost their mind by the argued.
Tiffany is sitting on the couch next to the balcony on the other side of the living room crying, while Sam is trying to explain what his intentions are from the kitchen counter.
“I want to trust you babe, that’s why I’m doing this” Sam shouts out.
She doesn’t understand his point, Sam gets frustrated because nothing what he is saying makes sense to her.
“I decided to stop caring about the way you dress up, I want this to work” Sam continues
Tiffany is a 43 years-old woman who likes to dress Jersey Shore, a little top of the line for her age. She likes to be noticed in any place she goes.
“You met me like that and you liked it” Tiffany replies disillusioned with watery eyes before she breaks into tears
At this point everything turns black, the next thing Sam knew Tiffany is calling the police.
Right after, Sam then sees himself walking through the door with only a T-shirt and a pair of slippers on. He is shocked; the only thing he can hear now is the clacking of the metal from his handcuffs. He can feel the icy wind blowing through his shirt, and the cold sensation of the handcuffs against the skin as the officers escorting him to the back of the car. Sam realizes he has been arrested. It is Tuesday night.
The court day hasn’t arrived yet, and as the days are passing by at grandma’s house Sam disconcerted is trying to put his mind together. His eyes are empty and lose. The vigorous fifty-year old man is not there anymore. Sam tries to keep a normal life while his heart is drifting. They have broken up.