Page 10 of Follow My Voice
It was just a few weeks later that my mother died. I went into her room with breakfast to find a scene that will remain etched in my brain forever. She was lying in bed, clutching her chest, not breathing. I dropped her breakfast on the floor, shouting for my sister to come, and rushed over to help her. But there was nothing more to be done. My mother was dead. Her body, thin and weak, grew cold in my arms as I held her and sobbed.
“Mom, please, I love you so much. Please don’t go.”
Kamila tried to pull me away, crying.“Klara…”
“No!”I shouted, hugging my mother tighter, kissing her head.“I won’t leave her alone! I can’t, she needs me.”
When I looked down and saw how pale her face was, I realized that I would never see her smile again, I would never hear her voice. An overwhelming pain blazed up inside me. She was gone.
Kamila and Andy pulled me away. I cried and wailed until I ran out of breath, until I couldn’t take it anymore and I fainted.
7Message Me
KANG IS BACKand once again I have something to look forward to every other day. I decide to do things differently: Instead of staying cooped up in my room, I go out into the backyard and watch the puppies play as I get ready to listen to tonight’s program.
“Good evening, folks. This is Kang, your friend and companion for this evening’s radio program,Follow My Voice. I missed you all this past week.”
I missed you more, I think.
“But I’m back now, ready to play you some songs and discuss some important topics with you, as usual. Today I want to piggyback off a previous topic and talk about the people we miss when they’re not around, whether it be a partner, a friend, or someone who is no longer with us. But, before we get into it, I want to welcome a special guest who’s stopped by to visit us tonight. You already know him, none other than Erick Lamb, who was gracious enough to sub for me on the show while I was away.”
I frown.
“Hey, guys, it’s me, Erick, hangin’ out with my man Kang tonight.”
Kang laughs. “So, in case you’re wondering what’s going on, I’ve decided to have special guests on the show every now and then, so we can get different perspectives on our daily topics.”
Why? You’re perfect all by yourself, I think.
Erick clears his throat. “Don’t worry, I won’t steal all your time with Kang. I’ll just chime in every once in a while.”
Kang starts talking about what it feels like to miss someone, but just as I’m beginning to relax and enjoy his voice, Erick interrupts, spoiling everything.
I send a message to the show, praying that Kang will read it. You don’t need Erick. The show is perfect with just you. —K.
Kang reads out some messages without mentioning mine. But then, unfortunately, Erick speaks up. “Wow, okay, we have a message here from K and, apparently, she is not too happy to have me here.”
“She?” Kang asks. “What makes you think K is female?”
“It’s crystal clear. I’ve seen all the messages she sends you and this last one talks about how perfect you are… I mean, theshowis. It’s obvious that she’s a chick. And I think the audience would agree with me.”
I’m mortified. I wrote that message for Kang. Even though I wantedhimto see it, I knew he wouldn’t read it out on the air, because that’s just not the way he is. Erick is another story; he likes drama and is constantly creating awkward situations.
Kang is silent for a few seconds. “Well, K, is Erick’s sixth sense correct?” he finally says.
Erick laughs and the sound is grating to my ears. “Yeah, babe, just confirm for everyone that I’m right and I promise not to interfere with your darling Kang’s show ever again.”
I bite my lower lip. I really don’t want Kang to have Erick back on the show, and confirming that I’m female doesn’t seem like a big deal.
“We have a message from K,” Erick says. “But, since I like tokeep you on the edge of your seats, we’ll play the next song and when we come back, we’ll read it to you.”
Fear…
In your world of love, and sadness,
let me fear you.
Let me heal you.
