Chapter 2
Devastation
Waiting. She had been waiting for an hour for her father to arrive. He was supposed to be there four hours ago.
It was Thanks Giving day and Mira's father was supposed to come and have dinner with them and spend the week with her. She sat at the window watching the road through the thick sheets of rain. Four hours. Her father was usually a very punctual man and almost always showed up on time.
"Maybe he's stuck in traffic", her mother said. She was holding the three week old baby in her arms with such care that it made Mira wonder how she became such a kind, loving mother and wife. Lately she had grown distant from her mother because of all the fights and squabbles they got in.
"Maybe", Mira replied. She was starting to get that feeling in her stomach. The one that told her that something was wrong. Her instincts were kicking in yet again though her conscience said that everything was fine, as usual.
At seven o'clock that night her step-dad said, "Maybe we should have dinner now. Henry probably won't make it in this weather"
Mira sighed. She knew he was right but she didn't want to start without her dad. "Alright, but on one condition. I'm gonna call his cell first and ask if he can make it before eight, okay?"
"Alright punkin", he replied while ruffling her hair. Mira ran to the phone and dialed her dad's cell number. The line was dead after the first ring. The voice of a computer message came instead of her fathers. It said, 'We're sorry but you call did not go through. Please hang up and try your call again later'.
Mira hung up and sulked back to the couch. "Well?", her mother asked.
"The call didn't go through", she said.
"Don't worry honey", said Jim. "He's probably in a no reception zone".
"What would you know! He's probably dead now because of me! He's dead because I wanted him to come out here and spend time with me!", she shouted at him.
"Mira!", her mother exclaimed. The baby in her arms started to cry from all the yelling.
"Your over reacting Mira", said Jim calmly. "He'll be fine, I promise you".
'I'll hold you to that', she thought bitterly.
An hour or so after dinner the phone rang. Mira ran to it in hope that it was her father.
"Hello?"
"Hello, is Mrs. James there please? This is important", replied the unknown voice.
"Umm... yea, just a minute", she said and handed the phone to her mother. "It's for you".
"Hello? Yes. What? Oh my God! Yes, right away, thank-you!". That was the only part of the conversation Mira heard and it confused her and it also sounded bad.
"Mom? Mom, what's wrong? Is it dad?".
"Get in the car Mira", was all her mother said to her.
"Why mom? What's wrong?".
"Just get in the car!".
Mira did as she was told and soon they were driving down a crowded street. She knew this road, it led to the hospital! 'No! Dad, you can't be in the hospital! You can't!', she thought desperately as they pulled to the curb.
They all got out and rushed inside. Sallie went to deal with the people at the front desk while Mira stood back near the door with Jim's hands on her shoulders.
Even without hearing the conversation Mira had a pretty good idea of what was happening. The nurse pointed down the hall and Sallie beckoned for her and Jim to follow.
They reached the door of one of the rooms and went in quietly. Mira nearly cried out at what she saw. In the hospital bed lay her father, barely recognizable under all the blood, bruises and bandages.
She ran forward and looked into the man's eyes. They were glittering up at her in the same way they always used to except this time they were full of pain. There was no doubt though, this was definitely her father.
She pulled up a chair and sat beside him. "Daddy?", she asked in barely a whisper.
"Hey sweetie. Happy Thanks Giving", he said in a pained voice.
"What do you mean 'Happy Thanks Giving? There's nothing happy about it!", she hissed in an angry whisper. Her eyes stung with threatening tears but she held them back. Her father would be fine...
"It's happy because I got to see you. I'll miss you Mira", he said.
"I... what do you mean? You're gonna be fine dad. Just a few scrapes and bruises, no big deal. You've been through worse before! Don't say you'll miss me when you're not going anywhere!", she said in a choked voice. He wasn't going to die, he couldn't.
"Mira, I-".
"No! I won't hear it! Your going to be fine but you need to rest!". Her voice was raising to a level that wasn't allowed in hospitals. A nurse came in and asked her to calm down. Her mother and Jim stepped forward to help but she pushed them away.
She became silent, however, when her father began to explain what happened.
"I was being careful not to hit anything but the rain was so thick that everyone was having trouble seeing. I started driving when the light changed but some guy in a pick-up truck didn't see my black car and hit the drivers side. The car rolled over twice and landed in it's roof", her father relayed to her. His voice was raspy from the tubes in his throat and no doubt from his injuries also.
Mira was silent with shock. "I love you Mira", her father said as he grasped her hand. "The best daughter I could have ever had".
His hand went limp and the heart rate monitor stopped. Mira couldn't hold the tears back any longer and began to cry so hard she had trouble breathing. Laying her head down on his motionless stomach the cried her heart out. For an hour this went on. The doctors couldn't drag her away and she refused to leave.
Around two in the morning they managed to drag Mira away from the corpse of her dead father. When they got home she ran for the bathroom and saw her dinner for the second time that night. Jim came in after her and rubbed her back. Her mother should have been in his place but she wasn't. 'She probably hates me', Mira thought to herself. This didn't help her condition for she vomited even more.
After seeing many colours that were never meant to be, Mira brushed her teeth and went to bed. 'He lied', she thought. 'Jim lied to me. He said that my dad would be fine'.
She cried herself to sleep that night and would for many more to come. Not even her precious book could help her now.
