Sad Moment

School was abnormally unbearable, it took all of my concentration to keep each eyelid open as teachers droned on monotonously about one thing or another. The piercing ring of the dismissal bell ripped me from my daydreams and sent me flying out the door. I was already shrugging off my backpack, swinging it from one hand to the other as I approached my car. Throwing the passenger door open, I plopped into the seat letting the door slam shut behind me, and sighed dramatically fully prepared to complain about my horrendous Friday, but I never got the chance.
"How do you feel about driving to San Diego this weekend?" was the greeting I received from my dad. I laughed at first, but catching his eye in the side-view mirror I quieted, realizing it was not said in jest.
"Why? When?" I asked, stifling a yawn. His response made my jaw drop, my knees go weak, and my palms sweat; I even forgot to remove my hand from my mouth.
"Morfar had a heart attack and is in a coma. We need to go say our goodbyes. You have fifteen minutes to pack." The response was short, each word clipped and none longer than two syllables, yet they brought my world crashing down.
We drove the rest of the way home in silence. I could barely think, let alone find the energy to speak. Walking numbly around the house I packed my bags blindly. No thought was given to which shirt matched which camisole and I barely remembered to pack my toothbrush.
Most people who go through similar experiences mention feeling cold and repeatedly thinking, "This isn't real. This can't be happening." This, however, was not the case for me; my mind was an utter blank for the first time in all my sixteen years. My body functioned on autopilot and I wandered around in some kind of trance. I barely heard any of the sounds around me through the haze and it was all I could do to reach the car and buckle the seat belt. Looking down, I noticed that my hands were trembling and goosebumps ran up and down my arms, yet I didn't feel cold. I didn't feel anything at all. Curling into a ball on the seat, I closed my eyes, half praying I wouldn't have to open them again.