Over summer vacation, a big change happened in my family, we lost one of our pets. He wasn’t our family’s pet, he was actually my sister’s. Otis was my older sister Heather's bird. His soft feathers were pumpkin orange faded to sunshine yellow topped of with a little scarlet beak. His vibrant colors made him look like a sunset. Otis was a rather timid and shy bird, but friendly to anyone and everyone he met. He was obviously closest to Heather though. Otis had been sick for a couple of months and had to be hand-fed medication daily. It was really only a matter of time before it happened, but the timing was awful. My other sister Amanda found him dead while Heather was at work. That night that our dad brought her home from work was horrible, he told her what happened in the car ride home from work. When she came home I could see the sadness in her eyes, her eyes were red and puffy, and her well-done-eye-make-up was dripping from her face.

My sisters and I all talked about the events that unfolded that day. Soon all of our eyes were red and puffy. We all took turns talking and when it was my turn, I explained to her that none of this was her fault and he had a happy life. He really did have a happy life. He loved to do a little twirl-dance to the music when it was played. He even had a favorite song, “Wouldn’t It Be Nice”by The Beach Boys. I had to say that because I could tell she thought it was her fault, and that she wasn’t there when it happened.

Later that night I went downstairs to check on Heather. She was on a loop of sad songs on her playlist, including “Wouldn’t It Be Nice”. One specific song was playing that had an insurmountable effect on her. She was listening to “You’ll Be In My Heart” by Phil Collins. The song worked two ways it could reassure her to stop crying because she’ll be okay, 

“Come stop your crying

It will be alright.”

But is also worked in a way of Otis always being in her heart,

“‘Cause you’ll be in my heart

Yes, you’ll be in my heart

From this day on

Now and forever more

You’ll be in my heart

No matter what they say

You’ll be in my heart

Always”

The song is soothing and reassuring for both her and I. I used to listen to the same song but rather when I was little and upset over something unimportant. But yet, it helped calm me down and get through my insignificant child problems. But for her, it helped her get through tougher problems now. I typically see my sister to be tough as nails ,so it was peculiar to see her in such pain.

I couldn’t stand her being so hurt. It hurt for me to watch her hurt. So her and I hugged, we were both teary-eyed and waterfalls of tears streaming down our faces. Sometimes big changes are scary, maybe even sad. But this big change brought us closer together.