LOST TOUCH by Brooke Kidd (aged 15)

A few years back, I lost touch with my mum, we hardly spoke to each other and we didn’t get along that much.  I wanted to get closer to my mum but I had no way of getting in touch with her because she moved to Montrose. She moved to Montrose because she had split up with my dad and she needed a break.  My mum and I were really close until the day she went away and left me…

Before my mum went to Montrose, we did everything together. We used to sit up for hours at night speaking about our problems. We got on really well. We hardly argued and we hardly fell out.  My mum and I had loads of memories together, good and bad.

My mum was 43 years old. She had brown shoulder length hair. She was quite small.  She had a really good personality and was a great person to be around. She was the sort of person you could speak to if you were feeling down. Everyone got on really well with her.  I love her to pieces. She was fastidious about cleaning. She was born in Ardler, Dundee  and a woman who loved going out with her mates and having a good time.

One day when I came home from school, I went straight to my bedroom and started to get ready to go out on my trampoline.  Usually when I come in from school, I go straight to my room, my mum normally shouts on me because she knows I’m annoyed or upset.  It was now 4 o’clock and there was no sign of mum sitting on my bed waiting for my mum to come upstairs and speak to me.

After ten minutes, I got fed up of waiting and I went down the stairs.  My two sisters, Danielle and Jennifer, were sitting on the couch watching TV.  ‘Where is mum?’ I asked. Danielle and Jennifer both turned and looked at each other. They told me that mum was away through to Montrose for a week or so, for a break.  My heart sank.  How would I be able to keep in touch with her?  Would I ever see her again?  As the weeks went on, I missed my mum more and more. Not even a phone call, letter or an email from her.  Maybe she felt it was too hard for her to keep in touch with me because she felt bad for leaving me.

About one month later, my mum started to get in touch with me. She started to phone me every day and text me every night. At first when mum started to phone me, I was different with her because I hadn’t forgiven her for leaving me and not even saying goodbye.  Mum left me her number and address so we could keep in touch with each other. We started to get close again. This made me much happier. We never spent Christmas together but mum came through on the 28th December, one day before my birthday.

It was now January 2009.  It was a Sunday night when my dad told me that mum took a heart attack.  He told me not to worry because she would be fine.  It was about 11pm and dad and his girlfriend, Charry, went to bed.  I went to my bed as well but I couldn’t get to sleep.  Loads of thoughts were going through my head.  I was really afraid that I was going to lose my mum.  I got out of my bed and went down the stairs to watch TV and to get things off of my mind.

I heard my dad’s mobile phone ring from upstairs.  I turned the TV down so I could hear what he was saying on the phone but I heard nothing. At this point, my heart was pounding.  I heard dad and Charry putting their shoes on and getting ready.  I didn’t have a clue what was going on. Something made me feel sick with fear and confusion.  I knew it wouldn’t have been about mum because dad said she would be fine. Dad came down the stairs.  He started at me with sadness in his eyes.  ‘Brooke, your mum has died.’  Tears shot down my face.
‘She can’t be, she can’t be!’ I screamed. Dad cuddled me. As I cuddled him,  I was too upset to let him go.  He asked me if I wanted to go up to the hospital to say my last goodbye.

When we got up to the hospital, most of my family were there sitting in tears.  I took a deep breath and went into the room where my mum was lying peacefully.  Her skin was really white and she was freezing cold.   This surely couldn’t be my mum lying there, dead!  She said she would never leave me.  I gave her a cuddle.  I couldn’t let her go.  I couldn’t leave her on her own.

Ever since that day, my life has fallen to pieces.  I wish she was here with me. She is on my mind every minute of the day.  This has broken my heart into pieces.  It feel like my life has fallen to pieces. As each day goes by, I’m going to miss her more and more.  I could never have asked for a better mum than her.  No one in a million will ever replace my mum.  She is going to have a place in my heart forever.

I have chosen to write about my mum and her death because it shows you that life is far too short to stop keeping in touch with someone really important to you.  You should try your best to try and keep in touch with family and friends. Even a visit one day a week doesn’t harm you, does it?  You never realize how lucky you are.  If I could go back in time, then I would.  I would never make the mistake I have already made.