Isabella Sanchez

Storer
English 3 honors
April 2nd, 2020
Intensity Prompt
It was September 26th, 2019 as I started to get up, I heard faded murmurs coming from
my parents’ room. I heard my mom’s voice and I knew something was wrong because she never
woke up this early anymore, then suddenly I heard sobbing. It was my brother, I had no idea
what was going on, I mean what could have happened, it was barely 6:30? I kept eavesdropping
on the conversation and heard my mom say, “We all loved her very much, but she’s with God
now”. Instantly I knew, my grandmother had passed away, shivers went down my spine as I
grew pale, I honestly did not know how to react.
Since I was little, I always had a problem with crying in front of people, especially my
family and I knew that in a few minutes my mom would come into my room and tell me the
news, so I told myself not to cry. I think that maybe I’m like this because I grew up with two
older brothers, and I’ve always had to act tougher than I look. Maybe it’s because I just don’t
know how to let people in, or maybe I’m afraid to let people in. I’m afraid to be vulnerable, even
if it’s with the people I love the most. I will never know the reason for why this is such a
problem for me.
As I got ready for school my mom walked in with her eyes all red and puffy and the only
thing I could say was, “I know, I heard everything. I’ll be back at 3”. I never knew why I reacted
this way. My mom stood in awe; I can’t imagine what was going through her mind at that
moment. How can my daughter not care that her grandmother just died? But she didn’t know that
I literally felt broken inside, this was the first time I had ever experienced the death of a family
member.
The day was cold, the sky was completed covered in muted gray clouds, no birds were
singing, the flowers on my front lawn drooped down, there were no people out walking their
dogs, everything looked empty. I got into my car and I thought to myself, “I’m finally alone” and
in that instant I started crying. I don’t think I have every cried so intensely in my whole life. It is
easy to say that that was the hardest drive of my life, no music, no AC, no windows down, it was
just plain silence, just me, my tears, and my thoughts on our way to school. Wiping my tears, I
got to school and told myself to just get through the day and soon it will be over. I sat for a
moment in my car and I thought back to the time my grandma got into a car crash.
 It was 2016 I don’t remember the exact day, but everything was so similar to the day she
passed away. It was very early in the morning when I heard my dad shuffling and running out the
door, and I could hear my mom crying in the hallway. I quickly got up and asked her what was
going on.
“Your dad just got a call from the hospital”.
“Why? What happened? Who’s sick? What’s going on?” I asked.
She wiped her tears and took a deep breath.
“Your grandmother and brother just got into an accident.”
My eyes grew wide. I thought to myself, “how could this happen? God wouldn’t take two
of my family members away at once? My brother is just 15, he’s too young”. I just couldn’t
imagine what my parents were going through, the thought of losing a child must have been
devastating.
The day grew long as we waited for my dad to come back. Then suddenly we hear the
front door open, we sprint towards him, asking if everyone was alright. You could see the pain in
his eyes after such a hard day, but he told us, “everything is fine, everyone is ok. There were
some minor injuries, but everyone is fine”. I prepared myself for the worse so hearing this gave
me so much relief. My dad sat down at the couch and told us to get ready because we were going
to visit my brother and grandmother at the hospital.
I entered my grandmother’s hospital room and saw her laying there with her rosary which
she carried everywhere. After a whole day of wondering if I would ever get a chance to see her
one last time, I promised her that I would spend as much time as I could with her. And I am so
glad that I did.
 Explanations
1. Emotional Truth:
a. I think what this memory of mine shows is that the thought of losing a loved one is a
pain that is felt very often. When the car crash happened, I felt the same emptiness I
felt when my grandmother passed away. I think this is like this because the feeling of
not knowing what is actually happening can have a huge burden on someone.
2. Story arc:
a. Exposition: Normal, average night. Getting everything ready for the next day.
b. Inciting incident: overhearing the conversation about my grandmother’s death.
c. Rising action: me in my car crying and remembering the time I almost lost her and
hoping that today could be an “almost” as well.
d. Crisis/Climax: my mom telling me that my grandmother and older brother had gotten
into a car crash.
e. Falling action: my dad coming back and telling us that everything is ok, and everyone
is safe.
f. Resolution: seeing my grandmother in the hospital bed and promising to myself to
enjoy and be by her side until her last day.