I can still remember the last day of summer; it was right before I started the eighth grade. The sun was warming everyone while a cool breeze brought in crisp air to keep it from being too hot. My mom called out to everyone in the yard to "Get together" in front of the swing set.We all walked over to the swing set; I climbed up and sat on the top of the metal bars, my sister Carlie, sitting below me along with my friend Arianna. Near me was Arianna's brother, Nick and his friend, Michael. We all huddled together as the camera "clicked", except for me, since I had decided to hang upside down from the metal bar. no one knew it would be the last time we'd all be together. No one knew that would be the last summer as we all grinned for the picture, each person beaming at the camera.
School came and eighth grade flew by. It was June, 24, 2009. It had been a good day; the air smelt of summer, and the wind whispered to me that hotter days were near as I had gotten off the bus and had walked over to the swing. As I sat down my mom me told that Michael wasn't doing well and that he might not make it. I remember my mouth went dry as the words tore at my eardrums, laughing cruelly as they finally broke through. I couldn't say much, so I just sat there, in a sort of stunned state.
Michael had been fighting leukemia for quite a while, and throughout the year there had been a few events to help raise money: a motorcycle drive and a walk of some sort. He had undergone treatment and was in remission for a while, and we all thought he was doing well, that is, until it came back. Everyone knew it was getting worse-- you could see it as the more treatments caused him to lose weight, and lose more energy, to the point where he needed a cane.Still, everyone hoped. It got to the point where he was hospitalized, it was a big blow, and still, everyone held on and hoped. The doctor said he only had a year left at most, and as time went by, that estimation dwindled more and more as the grief grew.
When we got the call that Michael was gone, I did something I rarely do in front of others -- I cried. I sat there and wept, letting the tears crawl down the sides of my face because for once, I didn't care what others thought about me. I hugged my friend who was there with me, and we both wept into each other's shoulders, the tears disappearing into the fabric as it turned it into a darker blob. I remember pulling away from the embrace, trying to calm myself down, trying to get rid of the salty taste the tears left in my mouth. I saw that my mother was crying as well, along with my younger sister, Carlie. I took deep breathes, and as I finally calmed down to the point that the tears came to a stop, I noticed how solemn everyone looked, how utterly defeated their expressions were, and I imagined my face must have looked a lot like theirs, except without the tears, because I was the first one to stop crying.
We went to his funeral, and I cried quite a bit, and almost everyone was crying at one point or another throughout the various speeches that were made about Michael. There was a type of cork board that was covered with pictures of him and little cards you could take with his name on it and his picture from prom. I remember picking one up, with tears already in my eyes from seeing the cork board, and smiling at it. We went to the place where he was to be burried after the funeral had ended, and I again had tears flowing down my cheeks until I heard my sister pointing and telling everyone to look. I saw that ahead of us there was a long continous row of cars, as well as behind us. It made me smile as I saw all the people who were going to say goodbye and honor Michael.
"He was the nicest person I knew" was the thought that kept running through my head the rest of the day when I had first found out the news, the rest of that week. Even now, he is still the nicest person I will probably ever know. I remember that his best friend, Nick (who we were also friends with) told us that Michael's ring tone on his phone was Forever Young by Jay-Z, and it quickly became the song that whenever someone who knew him heard it, they would think of Michael. That song can still make me cry, and I still listen to it whenever I can.
Today whenever there is a unique butterfly that passes by or a ladybug, someone often points to it and says, "There's Michael!" Whenever I think of Michael now, I don't remember him sick or unhappy, I remember that summer as we crowded around the swing set, and everyone with their smiles on their faces. I remember the memories of the fun times we had, and they will stay with me forever.
I can still remember the last day of summer; it was right before I started the eighth grade. The sun was warming everyone while a cool breeze brought in crisp air to keep it from being too hot. My mom called out to everyone in the yard to "Get together" in front of the swing set. We all walked over to the swing set; I climbed up and sat on the top of the metal bars, my sister Carlie, sitting below me along with my friend Arianna. Near me was Arianna's brother, Nick and his friend, Michael. We all huddled together as the camera "clicked", except for me, since I had decided to hang upside down from the metal bar. no one knew it would be the last time we'd all be together. No one knew that would be the last summer as we all grinned for the picture, each person beaming at the camera.
School came and eighth grade flew by. It was June, 24, 2009. It had been a good day; the air smelt of summer, and the wind whispered to me that hotter days were near as I had gotten off the bus and had walked over to the swing. As I sat down my mom me told that Michael wasn't doing well and that he might not make it. I remember my mouth went dry as the words tore at my eardrums, laughing cruelly as they finally broke through. I couldn't say much, so I just sat there, in a sort of stunned state.
Michael had been fighting leukemia for quite a while, and throughout the year there had been a few events to help raise money: a motorcycle drive and a walk of some sort. He had undergone treatment and was in remission for a while, and we all thought he was doing well, that is, until it came back. Everyone knew it was getting worse-- you could see it as the more treatments caused him to lose weight, and lose more energy, to the point where he needed a cane. Still, everyone hoped. It got to the point where he was hospitalized, it was a big blow, and still, everyone held on and hoped. The doctor said he only had a year left at most, and as time went by, that estimation dwindled more and more as the grief grew.
When we got the call that Michael was gone, I did something I rarely do in front of others -- I cried. I sat there and wept, letting the tears crawl down the sides of my face because for once, I didn't care what others thought about me. I hugged my friend who was there with me, and we both wept into each other's shoulders, the tears disappearing into the fabric as it turned it into a darker blob. I remember pulling away from the embrace, trying to calm myself down, trying to get rid of the salty taste the tears left in my mouth. I saw that my mother was crying as well, along with my younger sister, Carlie. I took deep breathes, and as I finally calmed down to the point that the tears came to a stop, I noticed how solemn everyone looked, how utterly defeated their expressions were, and I imagined my face must have looked a lot like theirs, except without the tears, because I was the first one to stop crying.
We went to his funeral, and I cried quite a bit, and almost everyone was crying at one point or another throughout the various speeches that were made about Michael. There was a type of cork board that was covered with pictures of him and little cards you could take with his name on it and his picture from prom. I remember picking one up, with tears already in my eyes from seeing the cork board, and smiling at it. We went to the place where he was to be burried after the funeral had ended, and I again had tears flowing down my cheeks until I heard my sister pointing and telling everyone to look. I saw that ahead of us there was a long continous row of cars, as well as behind us. It made me smile as I saw all the people who were going to say goodbye and honor Michael.
"He was the nicest person I knew" was the thought that kept running through my head the rest of the day when I had first found out the news, the rest of that week. Even now, he is still the nicest person I will probably ever know. I remember that his best friend, Nick (who we were also friends with) told us that Michael's ring tone on his phone was Forever Young by Jay-Z, and it quickly became the song that whenever someone who knew him heard it, they would think of Michael. That song can still make me cry, and I still listen to it whenever I can.
Today whenever there is a unique butterfly that passes by or a ladybug, someone often points to it and says, "There's Michael!" Whenever I think of Michael now, I don't remember him sick or unhappy, I remember that summer as we crowded around the swing set, and everyone with their smiles on their faces. I remember the memories of the fun times we had, and they will stay with me forever.