Death Be Not Proud

Inwe Tasartir

DEATH be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadfull, for, thou art not so,
For, those, whom thou think'st, thou dost overthrow,
Die not, poore death, nor yet canst thou kill me.
From rest and sleepe, which but thy pictures bee,
Much pleasure, then from thee, much more must flow,
And soonest our best men with thee doe goe,
Rest of their bones, and soules deliverie.
Thou art slave to Fate, Chance, kings, and desperate men,
And dost with poyson, warre, and sicknesse dwell,
And poppie, or charmes can make us sleepe as well,
And better then thy stroake; why swell'st thou then;
One short sleepe past, wee wake eternally,
And death shall be no more; death, thou shalt die.

Sonnet 72

John Donne

Chapter 3: Confrontation

We arrived at the shack (that's what I'm calling it it's too small to deserve the name apartment) about an hour later. Throughout the entire ride Bayleigh didn't talk to me but she had at least stopped crying which helped to calm me down a little bit.

I couldn't stand to see my sister upset, it made me go into over-protective brother mode and I was ready to kick anyone's ass for her. Usually my sister was happy and bubbly, although lately I was beginning to wonder if it was just a front that she put up to make everything seem okay. To be honest with you, I really hadn't been paying much attention to her in the past three years.

I was brought back to reality when Bayleigh knocked on the door of the shack. For the first few minutes all we heard was rustling at the other side of the door. It was obvious he was home and I was beginning to get impatient waiting for him.

Finally the door partially opened and my father stuck his head out. He looked surprised to see us.

"Sean? Bayleigh? I thought you guys were going to be here on the seventh." I fought the urge to roll my eyes at him.

"Today is the seventh." I informed him sarcastically.

His eyes widened and he looked briefly inside then looking back at us as if unsure of what to do. Finally he said, "Well, look just hold on for one second."

With that he disappeared back inside and kept us waiting another minute. With each passing second I grew more worried about Bay, she was being unusually quiet.

The door opened again and my father stepped out nervously moving from foot to foot. If I didn't know any better I would say that shamed filled his eyes as he looked over at us. He looked over his shoulder and beckoned someone toward us. From behind him came a woman. Her hair was a mess and the lipstick she had been previously wearing was all over her face. It was clear what they had been doing prior to us showing up. My father helped her put on her coat and invited us into the shack when she had walked away.

"You know guys, I was gonna be there but you mom, she said the seventh see, and we're a day ahead of you in Japan…" he trailed off when Bayleigh gave him a look that clearly accused him of trying to pass the blame off to someone else. "Well," he continued, "you two are here now and that's good."

There was a slight pause as we all tried to think of something to say. My father spoke up again. "So, how is your mom?"

That was strike two. After four years, now he wanted to know how my mother was? If he truly cared about her health he would have picked up the phone somewhere between four years ago and now and asked her himself.

"Where do I sleep?" I asked quickly changing the subject before I got angrier.

"Now Sean, you know she had no other choice. I mean, it was this or juvi hall. I mean you can't just keep moving away every time you get into trouble."

There, we were finally confronting the issue at hand. I was going to handle this like the mature person I was.

"It worked for you."

I could see the aggrieved look on his face as I said it. It was about time he started paying for the pain he caused us.

"What about me?" For the first time in over an hour Bayleigh spoke up, making me jump slightly because I had almost forgotten that she was there. Her face was contorted with anger and I knew that everything she had held bottled up inside was starting to come out.

"Why did she send me jet setting across the world to another country? Huh? I didn't do anything wrong!" I could see that her eyes were brimming with unshed tears and guilt washed over me once again.

"Look, none of us asked for this. She was just doing what she thought was right and she didn't feel right separating the both of you. I promised your mom I'd take care of you two. So just go by the rules her and I agreed to and I'm sure you'll manage just fine." He said sighing. I just looked at him like he had sprouted three additional heads.

"Rules?"

He answered my question with a dirty look and kept talking.

"Yeah, rules. Real simple. You go to school and you come back here right after. Sean, I don't wasn't to see or hear about you going anywhere near a car. Bayleigh, you are not to lie or cover up for him under any circumstances." With that he sighed and I swore he looked older than his 45 years. He walked to the other side of the shack and opened a door.

"This room is yours Bay." As soon as he said that I picked up her luggage and brought it over looking into the room with mixed feelings. The "room" was no bigger than a walk-in closet but at least I didn't have to hear someone constantly telling her to clean her room. There wasn't enough room for a mess!

Once she was situated he turned and opened the door next to hers.

"Here, this bedroom is yours. Make yourself comfortable. Lights out in ten. Make sure you get your sister up tomorrow morning."