Lana Pipes

I instantly got out of the car and ran over the scene.

"Ben. Ben-, Ben..., Ben he is-, he is dead?" I yelled hard, my eyes pooled with water. Dad trying to hold him when he is barely anything more than a disfigured dead thing.

My brother, my bonehead, dullard, seven year old brother is dead? He is truly gone from this land of living? But-, but why?

How? How did it all happened? Maybe this is all a bad dream. It must be. Dad is sniveling hard. I went to see him.

He is-

Oh my god. Oh my fucking god. My beautiful, young naive brother Ben-, he is in this state? He is-, he is looking like a dead meat. A fried meat. Oh my god. Why did the fire consume him? I collapsed to the ground. Bonking. I am in shock and despair.

Dad is in pain and grief. But-, but is was Michelle who went insane.

"Ben. Ben. Ben. Ben. Ben. Ben. Ben," She kept yelling and calling. A repeated mantra. She kept doing this the whole time, I was so focused on seeing what the hell happened, I didn't notice her.

"If-, if we take him to the hospital. Then maybe-, maybe they can heal our Ben and give him back to us. Yes. Yes-, Lana-, Lana call the ambulance," Dad ordered me.

"Dad, he is gone," I hugged him, in a way trying to console him and myself.

"Ben. Ben. Ben. Ben. Ben. Ben. Ben," Mom chanted again and again. She ran here and there as if she ran away from a psychotic ward.

"Lana," Jaro placed a hand over my shoulder.

"Jaro," I pulled him towards me. I didn't care about whatever mistrusts and doubts I have of him. Not now. I embraced him. I embraced his warm skin. It felt like I am falling from a 1000 feet building. I am falling into this never ending darkness. Darkness. Darkness, it consumed me. Just like that awful fire consumed Ben.

"If-, if you are alright, I-, I will go and check on the others who were inside. I already called the fire station, they are on the way. I called the ambulance too," Jaro whispered. I nodded.

"Stay-, just stay here," He said possessively and left. He turned back again and again to have a glance at me, as if he didn't look, the fire would consume me too. Just like how it consumed my little brother and others inside the house.

Jaro tried to go inside the house but, he couldn't, the fire is scarier than hell. If Ben was near the porch and he got burnt this bad then-, then- the people inside the house. Their condition would be-, it would be worse.

So much worse.

"Ben. Ben. Ben. Ben. Ben. Ben. Ben" The woman who birthed me and Ben chanted again and again. Dad was staring at the ground. The ground where his little boy slept, lifeless.

"Ben. Ben. Ben. Ben-" Mom worded without gap.

"Stop!" I wailed. "He is gone." I brought a hand to my chest. Unable to digest what I just said, what I just witnessed.

Oh Jesus, please, please. I prayed god as if I prayed hard, Ben would come back to life. I would give absolutely anything in the world to play hide and seek with him again. To watch Scooby-doo with him. To watch him grin or to just-, just hold him again.

I never told him how much I loved him. How much I love him. How much I will always love him. My little brother, I didn't appreciate you enough when you were alive. That thought made my heart sink even deeper.

"Ben. Ben. Ben. Ben-" Mom refused to retreat.

"Mom," I got on my feet and went to her. She didn't even seem to notice me walk to her. I grabbed her shoulders. I shook them hard. I made her look me in the eye. Something about her didn't seem right. She-, she is not alright.

"Ben is dead. He is-" I began to talk to her.

She released herself from me and began to wander again calling his name again and again. She is in this endless loop of calling out his name.

"Dad," I called him. He is still grieving and bawling. "Dad," I called him again. He finally turned towards me. "Something's definitely wrong with mom," I worded, fearing.

"Lana, I don't have the patience to deal with her-" He irritated.

"No. Come and look here," I cut him off, urging to come and look. He finally decided to move. He came closer and saw her eyes. Her behaviour. Her talk. The way she kept calling her dead son. The way she wandered. The way she didn't pay us any attention.

"She's gone mad," Dad said, the very thing I was terrified to say.

"What the-" Layla came to the scene, staring at the house that she and her husband built very dearly. The house that she got to keep when they divorced. The house where her daughter Glendora grew. The house which took Ben, Mary, Anthea and Angelina.

"What's happening? Where-, where is my sister? My sister Mary? Where is she?" Layla demanded to know.

"Layla," Jaro came to answer. I was in no state to answer and so was dad. "Mary is-, she is-" Jaro stumbled on his words.

"No. No-, no, no. No. I refuse to believe that she left me once again. No, she just got back," She cried her hearts out. "I want my sister," Layla tried to enter the house that still feasted on the fire. Jaro stopped her from entering.

The ambulance and the guys from fire station came and declared that everyone is dead and not a trace of them was left except for the ashes of our dead ones.

Whatever happened next went on like a blur film for me. I could neither see or hear anything. I don't know how the evening turned to the night. I don't recall doing anything except to stare at the walls for hours. Neither dad or I exchanged words.

Mom was in her own world chanting Ben's name. The people, the police, fire station, the doctors or whoever the fuck examined the fire scene concluded that the cause for the fire accident was leaving the stove on.

I don't know when I slept but when I woke up, I was in the floor. I looked at the clock. It showed 7:00AM funny, how the house would be this silent if the heart of this house and the family, Ben isn't here.

Why did he have to leave?

The Pipes and the Wecklics grieved in their own way. Two days passed by. Scott and Glendora came by to check on me everyday. I barely talked to them. Jaro checked on for like every alternate hour. I barely replied to him either.

"This is all your mom's doing," Layla accused of mom when she came to meet me along with Glendora and Scott today.

"I think she seldom wanted to kill her son. No matter how hideous of person she is. She wouldn't kill our Ben. I know it," I defended her.

"Maybe she didn't intend her son to die," Layla tried to point it out. "Holder, what do you think?" She questioned her best friend.

"What do I think? My son just died and what I would like is to grieve. The last thing I want is, my bestfriend accusing my wife for my son's death. I don't know who or what caused it Layla but people important to us has left us," Dad blurted and went to his room.

"Ben. Ben. Ben. Ben," Mom came to the hall, making curls to her hair with her finger.

"Do you think she is really-, I mean really unstable?" It was Glendora who asked.

"She looks like that," I answered honestly.

"Did you get her any medical help or examine her?" Scott questioned.

"No. But I will soon," I answered. I am so lost in my own pain and thoughts of Ben and everything that happened in that house before we left that I barely thought of mom these past three days.

"I really doubt that she is playing fool and acting mad. This is all her doing. She planned to kill my sister. You know the bad blood they had. Maybe she planned this all along and it backfired when Ben got involved in this. She is now trying to protect herself from all this. If I file against her then-, then she will spill all the answers. Then truth will come to light. When I left the house, I remember it very clearly that I didn't leave the stove on. Maybe Michelle did-, she-" Layla tried to continue.

"Look at you. Hear yourself speak, Layla. You speak like a mad woman driven with revenge and vendetta. Leave this all. Live your life," I got up from my sofa.

"I can't-, I can't let it all go. This doesn't seem right. Something about this doesn't feel right. We are missing something. I will get to Michelle-" she tried to say more, Glendora shushed her and signaled Scott to take her. Scott did exactly as his girlfriend told and took Layla out of the house.

"Forgive her. She is not in a correct state of mind. She is still grieving." Glenny tried her best to apologize.

"So am I. So is dad. As he said, the last thing we want is to face a lawsuit. We already are suffering from a dead person and a mad person. We don't want another person whom we thought as our well-wisher to destroy our peace. If you want to help, then stop your mom," I said coldly. She nodded, hugged me and left.

A month passed. Michelle has been the same and the doctors declared that she would be the same her entire life. She lost her mind and sense due to the shock. All she do is chant Ben's name without stop. She doesn't speak another word apart from 'Ben'.

Dad took care of her when I left to school and vice verse. It's a miracle how I even graduated high school. I applied colleges but I got selected in none. I don't blame them. My application wasn't great.

Glendora chose to be a doctor just like her mom and got selected into the college she desired. Scott got into a business school like he wanted. They are doing the long distance thing.

I am left in home all alone, taking care of my mad mom for three months Dad worried for me and advised it would be better if I stayed at Aunt Mal and Uncle Hunter's place for a year, for change. They are going to Australia and asked me if I cared to join, I am always welcome.

I worried for mom but dad advised that it will fine and I need to figure out what I want and I finally decided to meet Jaro after months while he constantly tried to contact me.

"I am glad that you finally agreed to meet. I understand why you didn't earlier. And you have my full support for everything," He expressed his happiness for meeting me. I met him at the high-hill park.

"Good then, I suppose you will understand and support me when I leave with my Aunt and Uncle for Australia too," I declared swinging the swing.

"What? But-, but-" He stopped unsure of what to say next.

"I graduated high school, its a mere luck but I didn't get into any college. All I do is tend to my mom. I love her, I do, still," I added. "But I can't live like this forever. I need to go and figure what I want." I explained.

He seemed to think of what I just said. "Okay, I understand. I will wait. You can have all the time you want," He smiled sadly.

"No," I said, irritated. "No. You don't understand Jaro. I love you, I really do but we are over." I can clearly see the heartbreak in his eyes as I said those words.

"You still believe that I cheated on you with Mary. Don't you?" His raven eyes questioned with an almost cry.

I remain silent.

"Answer," He demanded.

"I don't know, okay?" I shrugged my shoulders. "I don't know what I believe or whom I believe. I just want this all to end and start new. Being with you reminds me of everything. I am sorry,"
I got up from my swing.

"I knew what love was when I was with you. You taught me love. And I will always love you for that," I hugged him one last time. "I heard you adopted Angelina's son Samuel. You find a life too Jaro, as I will try to find mine," I squeezed him harder, trying to remember this moment forever.

"Keep painting. Keep insisting others to take Chemistry," A tear left my eye as I tried to chuckle. "I love you," I said once again and turned for my way.

"I will. I will paint Lana. I will paint you. I will paint you until you meet me again. I will always be there here, waiting for you. I will still visit this swing. I will wait for you. Even if it takes years. You want to fly to Australia or however high, it's up to but remember, you will always have me to hold you, just like these strings holding the seat of the swing. I love you and as I said I will always love you. Only you. Good bye," He said.

If I turn back and meet his raven eyes, I will melt right here. How can I ever forget this man? Instead I walked fast. faster and faster afraid that I will turn back and run to his arms and let him capture me with his love when all I feel is darkness and emptiness inside me.

I need to go no matter how much I love him. As I said, this is our end. After all, how could I still stay with Michelle's ex-boyfriend.

The End.

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