There has been an accident.”
It was August 18, 2005, when I got the call, the call nobody ever wants to get, ever. There has been a bad accident on route 24 south, near exit 10. The voice on the phone said, Falon’s gone, she didn’t make it. “No,I cried,” No, this can’t be true! I didn’t want to believe it, I couldn’t believe it, and I didn’t really believe it right then. Until later on, when everyone had gathered at my uncle’s house. I had no choice, It was true, she was gone and reality hit me,really hard.
Just seventeen days ago had been one of the happiest days of my life. I had given birth to my son, and now I am dealing with the worst day of my life, that has ever happened to me. How can this be? This loss is unlike any I have ever known.The pain I am feeling is ripping me to shreds. It goes through my whole body and it hurts, like something I can’t even explain. The loss is so intense,like a part of me has been stolen. A part that I can never get back. The loss of my cousin,my sister and my best friend. That is who Falon was to me.
I had just turned seven a month before Falon was born.She was born the day before Valentine’s Day. We always joked around and called it Falontine’s day, throughout her life. I remember holding her, and being amazed by her when she was little. She was the first baby, besides my brother’s that was a big part of my life. Our bond grew from the start.
My parents separated around this time. My mother took my brothers and I, and we moved into my uncles apartment. My uncle is Falon’s father, we lived with his family for a while. My bond with Falon continued to grow. We were cousins,growing up like sisters. Our parents are siblings, and they are extremely close.
She was a smart little girl,she walked before the age of one, and was potty trained by the age of two. She was such a happy child and always smiling. She was so much fun at such a young age and we were inseparable. That’s how it was until my mother got our own apartment again about a year later. We moved and I was sad, I didn’t have my Falon around me all the time anymore. That was hard to get used to. My uncle did come over with her often, but it wasn’t the same as living in the same house though.
A few years later my uncle decided to move to Maine. I was sad once again because Falon would be far away from me. It wasn’t as bad as I thought though because my uncle came down often and stayed at our apartment for weeks at a time. I remember to her. I was like her big sister. She always wanted to brush my hair and I let her. Sometimes I even let her put makeup on me too. It was fun when she was around. We would play barbie dolls and watch Punky Brewster episodes while just hanging out in my room.
As the years went by we grew up and inherited the nicknames Tami bag and Falon bag. They called us that because I was always in someone’s business at a young age. I guess she learned a lot from me. Don’t get me wrong, I was a good kid. I was just very outspoken and liked to talk, and say whatever I said around my family. Falon had learned a lot from me and acted like me and also talked like me. By this time we were cousins, who grew up like sisters, who then became best friends.