Shattered Haven

by

Muniza Imran

Lizzie Smith sat comfortably on her chair at the study table, engrossed in her
homework, persistently trying to solve a math problem. The sudden knock on the
door caused her to shudder, which scrambled the number she was writing.

She cursed under her breath.

Mrs. Smith poked her head inside Lizzies room and spoke softly,

Can I come in? She looked happy. Calm. Lizzie was surprised to see her mother so
dressed up.

Uh, yeah sure. Lizzie smiled back.

Mrs. Smith entered the room and sat on the edge of the bed facing Lizzie. Why is she
all dressed up? Lizzie wondered.

Your father and I are going out for dinner. You know, its our 20th anniversary,
Mrs. Smith said, smiling.

Oh, my God. I totally forgot, its your anniversary today! Lizzie lift up her arms to
her head, jaw-dropped, eyes wide. How can I forget that, she wondered. Happy
anniversary, mom!

Thank you, dear, said Mrs. Smith laughing at her daughters expressions.

Well, clearly I dont have a gift for you, but I promise a lava cake later on tonight
when you come back.

Oh no, love. Maybe in the morning. I dont know how long well be out so I dont
want you two to wait for us. Tomorrows first day of the week so get a good sleep.

Just then, Mr. Smith entered the room with Bella following behind him, both smiling
brightly. Lizzie figured Bella remembered their parents anniversary. Why couldnt
you remind me, dope, Lizzie thought.

Look what Bella bought for us, Mr. Smith said happily, handing her wife a frame. It
had two sections; in one stuck a picture of Mr. and Mrs. Smith of their first
anniversary, and the second had a very recent of them in when they were in
McDonalds.
Mrs. Smiths tight-lipped smile was now replaced with a wide-open mouth smile.
Oh, my God! This is so beautiful! she exclaimed joyfully.

Bella beamed proudly as if she won a marathon because she realized that her sister
is so unprepared for this event, and beating her sister in anything has always been a
source of prestige for her.

Whered you get the picture of our first anniversary? Mrs. Smith said, recognizing
her very special day.

It was with all the other old pictures in the garage, said Bella.

Mrs. Smith stared at the picture for quite long in appreciation. Thank you so much,
honey. I love it. Mrs. Smith gently got up from the bed and hugged Bella.

Watching all this, Lizzie got pretty fired up inside. Not because she was jealous, but
only because she forgot such an important day. She was angry at herself.

Okay, too much love. Were getting late for our reservation. Bye, girls. Come on,
honey, said Mr. Smith with a mixture of excitement and impatience. He turned and
left the room with a wave.

Bella made a face as if too much love was not good for a daughter to have for her
parents, while Lizzie and Mrs. Smith laughed.

Okay kids, dont be up too late and dont mess around or party or anything. Were
only going for a couple of hours.

Yeah, mom. Dont worry. Liz was so busy preparing for her college already that she
wouldnt help me buy the beers and stuff, so I had to cancel the party. My friends
were pretty pissed. Bella joked. She likes to say stuff that would intentionally,
secretly worry mom and dad and sometimes annoy Lizzie.

Mrs. Smith smiled and patted Bella lightly on the head. Lizzie is your elder sister for
a reason.

Bella huffed and rolled her eyes, whereas Lizzie smirked.

Dinners in the kitchen. Bye girls, said Mrs. Smith and kissed each of them on the
head before leaving.

Bye, have fun! yelled Lizzie and Bella from behind.

Hey, I rented a movie for us. Lets watch it, said Bella.

Wow, looks like you planned the whole night out, said Lizzie.

Yeah, I even bought our own tubs of ice cream. Dark chocolate for you, fudge
brownie for me.
Youre the best!

Lizzie forgot all about her math homework and they both jogged excitedly
downstairs. Bella set up the movie in the Blu-Ray while Lizzie grabbed the promised
ice-cream tubs from the freezer. They plopped down on the couch almost
simultaneously. Bella hit play and Lizzie more than quickly removed the lid off of
her ice cream tub and dug in. The two sisters were more engrossed in eating their
favorite ice creams rather than watching the movie. Soon, both of them were fast
asleep without even going half way through the movie.

The mornings of Chicago are always beautiful. Birds chirp, people walk in the fresh
morning air. The smell of coffee from every house just adds to it. But today was a bit
different for the Smiths. The loud, uncomforting roar of the garbage truck caused
Lizzie to wake up. She groaned with annoyance but was suddenly hit with a pang of
shock when she saw the wall-clock that read 9:00 oclock. Why didnt mom wake us
up for school?

Lizzie looked around for her alarm clock to conform the time, but soon realized that
she was not in her room. She had dozed off on the couch with her sister watching a
movie.

The coffee table still had both the ice cream tubs on it from last night, which was
now surrounded with water. The ice had melted off the tubs and created a huge
mess. Mrs. Smith would kill them.

She picked up the tubs and walked towards the fridge, but stopped dead in her
tracks. Mr. Smith was sitting on a stool at the kitchen island, his shirt covered in
blood. He looked up from the glass of wine in front of him. Lizzie continued to stare
at him, eyes wide, jaw dropped.

What happened? she finally managed to say.

Just as the words came out of her mouth, Mr. Smiths eyes welled up. Lizzie could tell
something horrible had happened. Her heart beat rapidly. The two tubs of ice cream
slipped from her hands, which held no more power.

Bella woke up, disturbed, and sat, frowning at the two of them, but only for a second.
She saw that something serious was going on in the kitchen. She got up and walked
towards them to understand the scenario. She was just as shocked to see her
fathers shirt.

Whats going on? she said, staring down at the fallen ice cream tubs.

There was an accident. Mr. Smith spoke so low that his words were barely audible.

Lizzie shut her eyes tightly and let out a long shaky sigh. It doesnt explain
anything.
After a long pause, Mr. Smith finally spoke. I.we.drank too much to drive. Car
crashed. Your mother..I tried he broke off in sobs. Lizzie told herself that what
she was hearing was only his fathers drunken words. She didnt even clearly
understand what he was saying.

What? she said feeling knots forming in her stomach.

Too much ice cream from last night maybe, she thought.

It was an accident, Mr. Smith said pleadingly.

Wheres mom? What did you do? said Lizzie, her voice trembling.

Lizzie, calm down. Let him explain, said Bella trying to sound calm.

When Lizzie and Bella looked impatiently at their father for a logical explanation,
they both swear they could see the guilt in his eyes. A tear broke from his eyes.

Bella swallowed the lump in her throat, unable to accept the bitter truth. Lizzie, on
the other hand, gasped and covered her mouth with her hand. Tears streamed down
her cheek like a broken faucet.

It was only an accident, he managed to say before his own tears streamed down
his face.

WHAT DID YOU DO? yelled Lizzie, now sobbing really hard, almost unable to
breathe. She knew what happened, she just wanted to hear him say it to believe.

Mr. Smith slapped Lizzie hard across the face and she fell to the floor. He was just
too stressed. He didnt know how to explain without having a mental breakdown.

Bella gasped and tears would roll down her face too, but she fainted instead.

BELLA! shrieked Lizzie. She stood up and tried to run to Bella but her moves were
so sudden that she tripped, tangled in her own legs. She limped, crawled and ran,
altogether to get to her.

She lifted up her face, which was so pale and before she could think of anything, the
front door slammed. She looked up from her sister in shock and saw that her father
had left.

She ran as fast as she could and jerked open the front door. She didnt stop running
and was shocked to see her father heading towards the SUV.

YOU, BASTARD! she yelled at him, still hysterically crying. FIRST YOU KILL YOUR
WIFE THEN YOU LEAVE YOUR DAUGHTERS TO SOMEHOW DEAL WITH IT!

As soon as the words left her mouth, she fell down to the pavement still crying and
shouting. Her very own, beautifully gentle, calm and loving mother had died. By the
hands of her drunken father.
Youre going to pay for this! Youre guilty! You cant run away forever! I HATE you!
She shouted at him until his car was out of sight. She stayed put on the pavement,
crying so hard it was becoming impossible to breathe.

How can you leave us alone? she whispered, hoping her father would hear her and
come back.

One month later.

Days were bitter for the two sisters. Their mother died a month ago and they still
dont know the details. Their father left them hanging with a fine piece of thread.
They havent known where he was, and where he is now. The girls needed a dad
who would support them, a mom who would help them. They needed parents that
would love and care for them. But they were left without support, love and care.
Helpless.

Lizzie begged her Aunt Beatrice to come from all across town to help them until the
girls could sort something out for themselves. She refused at first, making excuses,
but thought later that its a good way to stay away from her busy life for a while, and
she can call that a vacation.

It was Sunday and the girls were ready to visit their mothers grave with their aunt.
Breakfast remained un-touched as usual. Everything was silent, as usual, up until
the doorbell rang.

Ill get it, said Bella, trying to avoid her sister and aunt. It has not been just them,
but lately, Bella wanted to stay away from everyone she knew. It hurts when
someone you trusted, you depended on, lets you down. I dont want to depend on
anyone now, she always said.

Bella opened the door without checking in the window first. She gasped and covered
her mouth in horror. Standing there was the man who accidently killed her wife and
left his daughters without an explanation. Let alone, didnt even bother to come to
his wifes funeral.

Bella tried to shut the door in his face but Mr. Smith blocked her way. Please let me
explain, he said.

We gave you all the time you wanted to explain, but instead you hit my sister and
ran away. For a month. You left us stranded here in this mess. All by ourselves. Then
you expect us to stop and listen to you?

Bella, who is started Lizzie, but was dumbfounded.

Girls, please give me a chance. I just want to explain. Mr. Smith continued pleading.

Bella and Lizzie exchanged glances and decided to let him explain since they had
many unanswered questions themselves. Bella stepped back and opened the door
for his father to come in. They made their way quietly to the living room and sat afar
from each other.

James? said Aunt Beatrice, completely shocked to see her brother. Mr. Smith only
glanced at her once and his expressions clearly showed that he was not in the mood
to talk to her. Lizzie saw the annoyed look on his face as Aunt Beatrice made her to
the living room to greet him. Or rather, fountain him with endless questions.

Aunty, wed like to have some privacy. Can you meet him later?

When Beatrice saw that nobody was interested to have her say something, she
spoke weekly, Ah, yes. Sure. She walked to the closet, grabbed her coat and told
the girls, Ill pass for the visiting today. She left the house, slamming the front door
hard behind her. Bella stared at her hands placed her on lap; Lizzie played with her
bracelet, both waiting for her father to speak.

It was a starting out to be a perfect night. Just as I planned it, started Mr. Smith,
scrumptious dinner, romantic restaurant. The perfect wine. Just went a little over
board there. We had a debate about who should drive. Your mother and I decided I
should drive my new Audi back home. Half way through and we crashed badly into a
tree. It hit the passenger side. I couldnt see clearly. Everything was blurred. Dont
know if that was due to tears or after-effects of drinking too much. Anyways, half the
car was crushed like ice against the big tree. Couldnt see Marthas body. Just her
face, covered with blood. And blood was everywhere. I tried to reach for her, to pull
her towards me. I called her name. Martha, listen to me. Everything will be okay.
Just say something. But she just stared at me, wide eyed. Completely motionless.

Mr. Smith was crying badly by now, his head in his hands. He knew he would have to
live with that ugly memory forever. There was no way an image so horrifying could
leave his mind easily.

Bella walked over to his father, endless streams of tears rolled down her face. She
kneeled down in front of him and hugged his knees. Mr. Smith wrapped her
daughter in his arm and Lizzie, who couldnt stop crying, joined the hug. Both the
girls understood his pain now. It would be too much for him to burry his wife from
his own hands.

Can we at least try to work it out together? said Mr. Smith amid sobs.

Lizzie nodded. Of course, said Bella.