LISA
My phone rang in the middle of the night. It sliced through the thick fog of my sleep. It was an unknown number.
"Hello?" I said, my voice croaked from non-use.
"Hello, my name is Ilana, I am calling from the Tel Aviv Medical Center. Your grandmother, Mary, had a stroke. Now she is in intensive care. We are doing everything we can. You were first on her list of contacts—"
"What do you mean?" My heart hammered in my chest, my heart which had silently broken the last few days, gave a final crack. I didn't understand what was happening.
"I am sorry, Lisa. We will do everything possible, but given her age, you should be ready."
"No, not her," I whispered to myself more than to the nurse on the phone. "I could be there in twenty hours. I am in LA. Do you think …" My voice trailed off.
"If you can, please come."
"Do you think she'll make it?" I whimpered.
"I can't promise anything. Right now, everything depends on her body and will."
"Okay, I will be there as soon as I can." My voice sounded mechanical at this point.
"We'll be waiting for you, Lisa." With that, she hung up.
This was not happening, not Mary. I hated Jennie that moment. She had shown me what my life could be, how I could be loved and love back, how I was not a freak. And then she took it all with her and left me here alone. And now Mary, how could she? She knew I was lost now, and she was also leaving me.
And then it happened, my broken heart, the sharp shards sliced my skin from the inside. I took a quick breath, surprised by the pain, I pressed my palm to the middle of my ribcage. I tried to save it from crashing, but it was too late. My parents were gone, Jennie was gone, Mary was almost gone, my heart was broken, and I was alone.
I dropped to my pillow and pressed my nose, my mouth down, stopping the flow of oxygen, and I wailed. Inhuman sounds filled my ears and my hollow body, muffled by the pillow. And I finally broke, this thread of light that had been inside me, was gone.
I decided not to call Jennie. She was busy with her life now.