EXPOSED

Usually, our brain takes fractions of seconds to process information. We are able to respond to most things almost immediately. However there are a few things that, no matter how real, we find almost impossible to believe. A feeling of numbness takes over and the brain stops functioning. The first time we hear about the loss of someone special brings about this feeling and the few seconds that follow seem never ending.
When my mother first told me that the person who meant the world to me was no more, I did not know how to respond. I felt as though every organ in my body was twisting inside. Time seemed to have stopped and I just stood there in utter pain.
To know that the person I loved the most, the one person who had never let me down, had passed away was nothing short of devastating. He had taught me everything that was good about me, and every chance I had of thanking him for it died with him.
All this was running through my mind as I tried to process what my mother had just told me. I had been standing there for what seemed like days only to realize it had been only a few minutes.
When I finally came to my senses and understood what I had been told, I managed to look at my mother. What came out of me next was not a scream, not even a word, but a tear. As it slowly rolled down my cheek and hit the floor, I was exposed to one of the harshest realities of life.
Death.

Tasneem Hussain, 16, is a Grade 10 student at Chittagong Grammar School.