The Moments of a Lifetime

Time moved slowly in that moment. The moment where I made a grave mistake.
The moment I have come to regret up until this day. This moment has come to
define my life. I cannot escape this demon in my shadows, always lurking behind
me in the darkness waiting for someone to lead it to the light. In that moment I
could only hear a crash. A crash that I thought could be heard around the world. I
later found out that there was scream that was able to escape from me within that
moment.
It was nighttime when it occurred, although it did not feel that late. It was as if
Mother Nature wanted to foreshadow the darkness that was about to consume me.
A darkness that would swallow me whole without a second thought.
In the time before the fateful moment I speak to my mother seated across the room.
I say to her what now are meaningless letters juxtaposed together to form
meaningless words in a string that again mean nothing. It is a wonder how things
mean so much when they leave a set of lips, but then minutes, if not seconds, later
they mean no more than a white sheet of paper, blank and unfulfilling.
The moment itself takes over the whole memory of the time stored in my brain, like
a parasite takes over its host. All I did was get up and take one step. Little did I
know that that one step would define who I am today and would stick with me
forever. When recounting the memory it is often easy to forget the physical pain I
suffered as the emotional pain is unbearable and completely surpasses the measly
physical side. Although I did suffer physical harm to my person, physical harm that

only manifested itself in the knees and hands. These were the parts that hit the
ground first.
In the aftermath, my mom screamed before asking me, Honey, are you ok? To
which I replied, That depends on your definition of ok. Of course I could not tell
her what first came to mind as an answer to her question. I could not yell back,
How could I be ok? Did you not just see what happened? Did you not just feel
every emotional fiber within your body shatter at once? Of course she physically
saw what happened but I know to this day that she never fully understood the
magnitude of that singular moment and the life changing effects that it had.
Within that life defining moment, I simply stood and stepped, nothing else occurred.
I did not even have time to take a breath, as that might have steered me away from
the dark ominous fate that was awaiting me. As I stepped my foot, my right to be
specific, lifted and moved forward. As it moved forward it got ensnared in a cord.
This cord, this piece of copper and plastic, was the catalyst to my downfall. This
cord was attached to my charging tablet. The same tablet that I purchased for
myself not even a month earlier. The same tablet that was the reason why I awoke
every morning and barely slept at night. The same tablet that was out of its case,
charging gingerly on the table next to the couch. As my entangled foot tried to keep
moving forward, the tablet and I both plummeted downwards. The crash was the
screen fragmenting into more pieces than humpty dumpty.
I was never the same after that event; I am still not the same. That singular
moment still hangs over me like a personal rain cloud, following me everywhere
without failure.
If only I were the only thing to hit the ground.

Personal Narrative Rubric

Criteria

Evaluation
Superior 5

The introduction
grabs the readers
attention & sets the
stage for the rest of
story.

The narrative tells a

story &
concentrates on a
particular event.

The narrative
includes elements of
a short
story like plot,
dialogue, &
character
development.

The writer uses

powerful diction,
figures of speech, &
imagery.

The narrative is 500

to 1,000 words,
typed, and doublespaced.

630

The narrative has

title which reflects
its theme; the theme

Excellent 4

Average 3

while you
have lots of
description,
the titles

Fair 2

Poor 1

is clear.

Overall Grade:_____27 x 2 = 54/60

meaning is
vague by the
end of the
narrative