It all flashes before my eyes.

And every time they mention it,

It all flashes before my eyes.

The cries, the haunted cries,

They came from afar.

I ran,

I ran fast.

With every step,

The cries grew louder.

Confusion,

turning into panic,

And panic into hysteria.

And by the time I reached,

The voice didn't answer

Our cries, our questions.

I panicked.

We panicked.

But to no avail.

Confused.

What was happening?

I couldn't understand.

I only cried.

Then a thumb twitched.

It settled in.

Like something spiraling

from the sky,

that hit my head hard.

The reality it.

Cries grew even more

Hysterical.

And then I saw,

What I will not forget.

The last breath.

The soul, the life,

being sucked out.

That scraping sound.

Like someone

Was tearing

soul & body

apart.

That open mouth,

eyes looking up

at something

I could not see,

But I knew full well.

I looked up too,

I knew the presence

of that someone.

I was terrified.

That someone was present.

In the room.

I felt the colour

drain from my face.

Terrified.

Around me the cries

Grew louder.

I called for help.

But no one could

do anything.

And then just standing by,

still trying to

comprehend

That the eighties,

had gone in seconds.

They closed the eyes.

They straightened the feet.

And they prayed.

It was all that they

Could do.

They stood by her bed side.

I stood by her bed side.

Praying. Just praying.

Muttering verses.

Crying.

All of them were crying.

Maybe they had hope?

They wanted to check.

But no doctor could

bring her back.

His stethoscope didn't

echo back those beats

That had been drumming on,

For so many years.

And now they were gone.

Forever.

One by one her loved ones came.

Only to see a body

lying still. Lifeless.

They cried.

Some held her hand.

Begging her to speak.

But speak, she did not.

She only lay.

She lay still.

At peace.

And when the Sun rose

again, she was wrapped in white.

A smell filled her room

that gave me goosebumps.

That sweet, faint smell.

Her last perfume.

The people still came.

It hit hard for some.

The last time they saw her,

she was talking,

breathing, smiling.

But now she just lied still.

Never to laugh,

or breathe, or smile again.

And then it was time to go.

She was taken.

On her last charpai.

People gathering,

trying to get that last

glimpse.

The tears did not come.

It was just shock.

Shock that she would

never live in this house

again.

The tears came later.

When it was done.

Buried.

Nothing I could do.

So I prayed.

I cried, but I prayed.

Now, there are just memories.

Her medicines, her clothes.

Her walker, her shoes,

Her things.

Things she will never use again.

Once she lived.

She truly lived, keeping

this household together.

But only memories are left now.

Moments that have passed.

She will never call upon me again.

She will never hold my hand again.

She will never smile at me again.

Never again.

It took a minute for her to go.

An hour to get ready for her final

destination.

A day to go to her final resting place.

Just a matter of minutes, hours, days.

Thats all it took for it to end.

The end.

And ever time they mention it,

It all flashes before my eyes.