The same night a storm blew through Pocola, Oklahoma, the small town in which I resided.
At the last minute we headed for cover. My dad rushed the family to the middle of the house; there wasn't enough time to head to the outdoor cellar. The next few moments rushed passed as quickly as the wind. Screaming. The taste of insulation. The sound of a door hitting my dad. Wild, rushing wind. And then just as quickly as it began, it was over.
Ryan and I stayed still as my parents quickly scanned the house. Our home, annihilated.
The drive away that night was quiet. I'm sure the panic of "What's next?" was on weighing heavily on my parents' mind. Shameless, by Garth Brooks was my brothers favorite song that year. In the quiet car I started to sing a new rendition- "I'm Homeless!" I'm sure they told me to stop. They wore the truth of that statement much heavier than I.
Sometime that next morning after a nights stay in my estranged grandfathers home, my family decided to move back to McCurtain, Oklahoma. Along with a new town, came a new school.
My mom and I walked down the corridor of Pocola Elementary School and knocked on the door to my third grade classroom. My teacher, Mrs. Oliver entered the dark hallway, said goodbye and gave her condolences. She asked if I'd like to say goodbye to any of my classmates.
Because of a fight I can't remember, I didn't say goodbye to Tawny that day.
And every once in a while I wonder what ever became of her. I wonder if she would even remember me.
I wonder if she held that grudge long enough not to care that I was gone.
