Silence, do you actually know what that’s like? Not a sound from anything, no cars on the roads, no phones ringing, no babies crying. You might think you do but you don’t.  I know exactly what silence is, and it’s the most horrifying thing in the world.


   I was on my way to Christmas dinner, a dreadful and unavoidable event that I had to attend every year. It was always the same, my Grandma would babble on and on about her  grandchildren and her new sewing kit. All of my Aunts and Uncles would ask how I was and I would reply “I’m ok”, even though I never meant it. My Mom died in a car crash 3 years ago when I was 15 and it hasn't been the same since. I haven't spoken a word to my Dad in years so I’m on my own. I don't have much to remember my Mom with, just a gold bracelet with my name Claire, engraved on it that she gave to me when I was twelve.

    As I drove to my Uncle’s house in the northern part of Seattle, I could barely see the road in front of me because of the heavy snow. Hours later I pulled into my Uncle Paul’s slippery driveway admiring his nativity scene and corny decorations on the front lawn.
      “ I would do anything to get out of this” I huffed
 The very thought of going inside to dinner made me want to go on an exotic vacation, far, far away. I parked my blue jeep in the crowded driveway and grabbed the cookies and the presents out of the back seat of my car. Holding them in my hands I made the slippery saunter to the door. I could feel the sheet of ice beneath my feet as I walked and before I could blink I lost my balance and my feet slipped from under me. I felt like I was moving in slow motion, the decorated cookies fell promiscuously around me and the nicely wrapped presents were launched behind me. My left shoe came off and my long brown hair was getting tangled in my face. My head violently crashed into the pavement, and it felt as though it was about to explode. Painfully smashing my right elbow into the ground I exposed my skin making it bleed, turning my purple blouse into black. Suddenly my eyelids became heavy and everything went black.

  I woke up in a haze, my body was numb from the cold and my head ached, and I opened my blue eyes to a typical Seattle gloomy sky. I sat up from where I was lying down and patted the back of my head, no bumps and no blood. I turned my head to get a look at my elbow expecting a scrape but everything was fine. It was like nothing even happened. I then realized I wasn't at my Uncle’s house, I was sitting in the middle of the street. I darted my head left to right to check for cars but there was nothing, no cars, no people, just street lights changing colors for nonexistent cars. I shakily got up and looked for my phone. Seeing it emerged in a snow pile I picked it up and wiped the snow off of it. As my thin fingers wrapped around my iPhone I started to worry why no one was around. I decided to call my Uncle Paul and quickly dialed his number. Anxiously waiting for him to pick up the phone, I noticed the phone wasn't ringing.
     “Hello? Uncle Paul? Anyone there?” I cried, still no answer.
  “Ok then, I’ll just call Aunt Marge, she’ll pick up” I told myself as confidently as I could.
  For the second time the phone didn't ring, and silence filled the air.
  “Hello is anyone there!” I screamed.
Again no answer. The freezing wind wrapped its arms around me as I stood in the middle of the street pondering where I could go to get warm. I turned my head to see a big sign that read Nelly’s diner.
  “ I know where I am! My house is two blocks down!” I proclaimed.
  I made the short trek across the street to my favorite diner, the open sign swinging back and forth as I walked through the door.
Ready to greet my favorite waitress and expecting a hot chocolate I was instead welcomed with empty seats and abandoned plates.
  “Tracy? Anyone here?” I screamed “This isn't funny! It’s kinda freaking me out!”. I joked.
  Then it dawned on me, no one was there, I was screaming in a diner with no one listening to me. Grabbing the door knob to leave, a bell chimed above my head sending chills down my spine.
“Guess they weren't open” I muttered to myself.
With no luck at the diner I huffed my way down the street kicking piles of rocks and snow as I went.
  Within a few minutes I arrived at my house. I walked up the stairs holding onto the railing and was cautious of where I stepped. Before I grabbed my doorknob I noticed something peculiar. I had put a  nicely decorated wreath on my door two weeks prior and it was now gone.
   “ I swear I put a wreath there” I muttered opening my door.
   As my door creaked open my mouth dropped open and my heart started beating rapidly. I was staring at an empty home, all of my furniture gone, the only remnant left was my green painted walls.
    “Oh my gosh” I croaked, looking around my abandoned house.
  I couldn't control myself after that, I ran from room to room tears streaming down my face like a waterfall. I yanked open my white bedroom door hoping the pictures of my mom and I were still there.
“NO!!” I screamed
  My most treasured pictures were gone, vanished from my sight and from existence. Uncontrollably, I threw myself against the wall and let my lifeless body slide down onto the ground were I became numb. I curled up in a ball letting my scrawny knees touch my throat and sobbed for what felt like an eternity. I held my gold bracelet to my heart, trying to capture the feeling of when my mom gave it to me.

   I was 12 years old at the time and my Mom and Dad were around. We were actually a family and I was happy. My mom pulled up the driveway in her blue BMW after a long day at work, always managing to be an optimistic person even on her bad days. I remember how excited I was to see her everyday, to run to the front door to consume her in my hugs and love.
When she came through the door this day ;however, she had a present with her. She handed me the purple and pink gift bag and said it was something very special. I giddily went to the table to open it and inside I found the prettiest most treasurable gold bracelet I ever laid eyes on. My mom put it around my tiny wrist, the bracelet hanging loosely around it. She quickly reassured me saying
  “Don’t you worry Claire, in a few years that bracelet is going to fit perfectly.” she said
  I smoothed my hands over the engraving of my name and held it close, never to part with it.

  I got up from the cold floor and ran out the door and into the street. It was beginning to rain, the ominous clouds forming above my head. I knew what had to be done and before I could comprehend it, I started to run. My legs dashed beneath me trudging through the snow, I left the deserted streets and made my way into the woods. Every step I took was like a hundred daggers going into me, the thin sheet of ice on the snow stabbing my legs. Sprinting around the trees my gold bracelet became loose around my thin wrist and slipped off of my hand and into the snow.  An hour later I  reached my destination and went to grab my beloved bracelet.
  “NO THIS CAN’T BE HAPPENING!” I screeched searching frantically around for it. I started to sprint through the snow when all of a sudden something inside me glued my feet to the ground and told me to stare straight ahead. Thick clouds hung by my head and in front of me was a cliff that looked bottomless. I held my bare wrist in my hand and started to scream,
  “I can’t take this any longer! I wish I had my family with me, if only I could see them again. I was just scared of losing more people, I’m too fragile! ” I sobbed, the rain pounding on my face. I did miss my family,  and I did take them for granted.
Before I said another word my feet left the snowy ground and I leaped over the steep cliff.
  “I’ll see you soon Mom, no one will miss me anyways” I whispered as I jumped.
  As I descended to the bottom I felt peaceful, my hair waving around me like waves in the ocean and my arms spread into the air like a bird. Suddenly a bright light and the most intense energy was over top of me and engulfed me.

          “She’s awake!” I overheard someone say.
   I slowly opened my eyes, I was lying in what seemed like a hospital bed with things beeping behind me and tubes going into me. I turned my stiff neck to see my grandma holding my fragile hand tears streaming down her face.
“What happened?” I croaked. My voice hoarse.
“You slipped and bumped your head on the ground at Uncle Paul’s house, but you're ok now.” grinned my grandmother.
I turned my head to my left and saw my gold bracelet laying safely on my wrist.

  Was the deserted town just a dream? I didn't care, I was with my family and I was happy to be alive. And for the first time in 3 years I told my family,
              “ I love you.”