The Burden of my Father

4

Amaris lay in her bed, feeling around for the remote. It was just beside her a second ago. She sat up shaking out her comforter and the sound of plastic hitting the floor followed. Hanging off the edge of her bed she threw aside the taco socks she wore last week and her Star Labs sweatshirt she has been meaning to wash for two weeks now. The tv light flashed and reflected off of the black plastic of the remote, which made itself known at the foot of her bed all the way by her dresser.

Using her desk as leverage, Amaris dragged herself back up onto her bed only to flop down onto the other side, grabbing the remote and quickly turning the volume down just as she saw her mother's shadow walk past through the thin crack of light under her door. She didn't want to give her mother an excuse to come into her room and lecture her about finding something to do with her life other than watching tv all day. But just as she relaxed, she heard a thump from down the hall. Oh my gosh, Amaris thought, what is it now?

"Mom," said Amaris. "Mom! Are you all right?"

Amaris ripped her blankets off and walked to her room door saying, "She always does this. Mom! She always says she can't hear. Well, maybe she should invest in some hearing aids! Always making me get out of my damn bed to check on her just to find out she just knocked something over. But when I don't go, I'm a shit daughter for not checking on her."

Amaris yanked open her room door and stalked down the hall.

"Ma, are you all right?"

Amaris pushed open her mother's room door and saw her lying on the floor. She rushed over to her mom and shook her.

"Ma? Ma? Can you hear me?" said Amaris, she shook her mother. "What do I do. What do I do? Im going to call 9-1-1. Okay, Ma? Okay okay. Shit!"

Amaris ran to her room and ripped the blankets off her bed looking for her phone. She grabbed her phone from the end of her bed and ran back to her mom's room.

"Ma, can you hear me?" she said while dialing 9-1-1.

"9-1-1, whats your emergency?" said the dispatcher.

My mom is passed out on the floor and I can't wake her up.

"Okay, does she have a pulse? Is she breathing?"

Amaris put two fingers against her mom's wrist, like how her teacher taught her in health class last year before she had to take a break from school.

"Oh God, I can't feel anything," said Amaris. She pressed her fingers against her mom's throat.

"I can feel it", she said, "but its really faint."

"Honey, what's your name, your mother's name and where are you located?" asked the dispatcher.

"My name is Amaris Haynes; my mom's name is Catherine Haynes and I'm located at 4475 Pine St., Baltimore, Maryland."

"Okay, units are on their way. Stay calm, Amaris. Does your mother have any preexisting conditions?"

"She has Interstitial lung disease and antiphospholipid syndrome."

"Okay, Amaris, how is your mothers breathing, is she breathing normally?"

"Yes, her breathing is normal."