Just One Drink
Disclaimer: I don't own digimon. Toei does.
There's a small fork in the road just outside of the Japanese city of Odaiba. If it could talk I'm sure it would tell this tragic story.
This is probably one of the most painful memories in my mind. It happened just a few months ago but it feels like it was a few seconds ago. I guess that's what happens when you lose someone close to you. And to think this whole incident could have been avoided. Well, I guess I should get on with the story now.
A couple months ago my older brother Tai went over to a party at his friend Izzy's house. It was just for the older guys of the digidestined so Sora, Mimi, Yolei, Cody, Davis, TK, and I weren't invited. Anyway, the oldest guy in the digidestined showed up at the party late with a case of beer. Normally my brother had good judgement but he gave in to peer pressure. Joe, being the designated driver, only had one beer. Everyone else had about six. They were driving along a random road until they came to the fork in the road I mentioned earlier. Joe didn't notice the fork so he kept driving and crashed. He survived but the other four occupants of the car: Tai, TK's older brother Matt, and Izzy were all killed.
I, of course, spent that night watching Dragon Ball Z with TK. I thought it was a stupid movie but he seemed to enjoy it so I kept watching. Anyway, around two in the morning I heard someone at the door. My mother got up and answered the door. A brief explanation later all I heard was a wail. The person at the door left and I went downstairs to see was wrong. My mother explained that the person at the door was a police officer and informed her that Tai had been in the car accident and was killed. At this I began crying as well.
I spent the next few days with TK mourning the deaths of our brothers. A few days later was the funeral for Tai, Matt, and Izzy. The flowers for the ceremony were donated from Sora's flower shop. I always suspected she loved my brother and on that day my suspicions were confirmed when she placed a single long stemmed rose into my brother's coffin and whispered to his corpse that she always loved him but was too shy to tell him. I remember nights from when Tai had spent all night staring at a picture of her. It was too late for their love now. Joe had got a year in jail for manslaughter but the real punishment was the guilt of causing the deaths of three innocent teens. He tried to explain he was drunk but they knew he had just one drink.
Just one drink is all it takes, as I found out on that day.
-By Kari Kamiya, Age 13
In loving memory of Tai Kamiya.