A young girl is seated in the quiet back seat of the car
as she consumes her pain and wishes
for her father not to drive off that dreadful exit 94
that she knows has soon to come.

Taking deep breaths,
she understands that not even the most upbeat rhythm
blaring through her headphones can eliminate her sorrows.
She stares out the window as the warm,
sweltering sun dries her tears yet only making room
for fresh ones to reappear.

I am the young girl.
It’s a problem being sixteen and having your heart tear
into a million pieces all at once.

Soon the car will veer off the highway
and appear in front of a college dorm
just as it is stealing my sister from my grasp.

It will crush me, leaving nothing but misery and sadness.
Of course, she will visit and I will visit her,
but, in my heart, I know it will never be the same again.

I fear of the memories without her.

Something’s going to happen that I did not see coming for a long time:
I have to allow her to grow up and leave me.

Tears streaming down my scarlet cheeks-
I unpack the car and lay her belongings down in the empty room
that awaits to be decorated with items that remind me of her.

Everything is a disaster in my body,
not knowing what to do
like one of those tornadoes you hear about on the news
that randomly hit and destroy everything in its making-
unaware of whose life it’s tearing apart.

I am fearful.  

As many people face pain in their lives,
I’ve never felt so empty,
something special was missing.
Whose shoulder will I cry on?
Whose ear will be present when I need it the most?
Whose hand will lead me through this journey?

So weak,
So helpless,
leaving me unable to even wave goodbye.

Something’s happened that I did not see coming:
the meaning of sisterhood traveling through this difficult milestone in our lives.
I can only help but comprehend that my sister is my best friend
and without her,
I am alone.

A young girl faces so much unhappiness all at once.
So incapable,
So powerless,
leaving her behind her locked bedroom door dwelling
on the absence of her sister.

This did not break us apart like I had feared,
yet it brought us closer and made us stronger than we have ever been before.
I learned that a girl without her sister is like a bird without wings,
insufficient and incomplete, and that is one thing I now know in my heart,
that I will never have to worry about.