My sister's voice pierced the stillness of the morning, jolting me awake. "Wake up!" she said, poking my peacefully resting body. I groggily opened my eyes, irritated by the sudden interruption. "But whyyyy!" I cried out, my voice laced with annoyance.
My sister stood before me, her outfit impeccable as always. "How do I look?" she asked, her eyes sparkling with anticipation. I felt a surge of frustration; she had woken me up for this? It was 6 am, and I wasn't going anywhere.
"It's good," I said, trying to keep my tone neutral. But my sister wasn't satisfied with that. "Oh, so it's just good? You know what, I shouldn't have asked you..." She launched into a lengthy monologue, and I knew I had to intervene before I lost my chance to sleep again.
"You look great, okay? You always look great," I cut her off, hoping to put an end to her speech. Fortunately, it worked, and she skipped off to work soon after, leaving me to my sleep.
I spent the morning online, chatting with my new friend. Our conversation flowed easily, and I found myself opening up to him in ways I never thought possible.
"Hey, I've been thinking," he said, his words appearing on my screen. "Can I see what you look like?"
I hesitated, unsure of how to respond. I didn't have any pictures of myself on my phone, and I didn't want to send him a photo that wasn't flattering.
"Sorry, I don't have any good pictures of myself," I typed, hoping he would understand.
But then I remembered the ugly pictures of myself in my pyjamas. I hesitated for a moment before sending them to him.
To my surprise, he responded with pictures of himself, and I couldn't help but notice how handsome he was.
As I pondered about him, I wondered what his story was. There seemed to be something deeper to him, something behind those sad profile pictures and weird usernames.
But my thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. My stepfather stood before me, his face hard and emotionless as always. But today, there was a hint of something different in his voice.
"Your grandmother died last night," he said, before disappearing into his room.
I stood there, trying to process the news. I didn't know how to feel. Should I be sad or hurt? Or maybe I should feel guilty for not saying goodbye?
I quickly sent a text to my sister, letting her know about the situation.
"Hey sis.. Your dad just told me that grandma passed away last night," I typed.
My sister responded quickly. "Hey.. I just got your text.. Are you serious?"
I confirmed the news, and we exchanged a few messages about the situation. She was shocked and didn't know how to react.
Later, my stepfather came back with his girlfriend, and my sister returned home looking starstruck. The girlfriend spoke to us about helping out at my grandmother's house.
"When you get time, you have to go and help out at your grandma's house," she said, looking at my sister. "They need extra hands."
My sister nodded in response, and the girlfriend continued to explain the situation.
"She just got sick out of the blue and got worse last week," she said. "The doctors said her high blood pressure was extremely high, same as her sugar levels... they tried to keep her stable and it worked for a day... The following day she just swelled up and passed on."
The house fell silent, and I knew we had to put our differences aside and do what was right.
I logged into my account and poured out my emotions into a text. "I'm still trying to process everything," I typed.
My friend responded with kindness and understanding. "I'm so sorry," he said.
I felt grateful for his presence in my life, and I asked him how he was doing. "I'm not okay," he replied. "My uncle just passed away."
It seemed like the universe was conspiring against us, but in that moment, I felt a connection with this stranger that transcended our online relationship.