Art – Profile Portrait – Alua Tazhbayeva

Growing Pains

Natalie Szkwarek, 11 color pencil drawing

sitting down for this.”

“What is it?” I demanded. A rush of vertigo washed over me. I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to regain stability. Tried to remember reality.

“We found your daughter in an apartment building in South Hollandale while responding to an emergency call by one of the residents. She is currently unresponsive and we believe she overdosed on opioids about two hours ago. The EMTs are currently doing everything they can to save her but-”

“No, no Officer, that’s not possible she’s right-” I opened my eyes to see my daughter. To know she was real and right in front of me.

But her chair was empty. The space she had filled just moments before was completely empty.

“Sarah?” I called, sure she was just in the other room. My heart began to pound heavily in my chest and I dropped the phone back on the counter, “Sarah!”

As I left the kitchen I could hear the distant sound of the officer’s voice coming from the phone. I didn’t care. Desperately, I ran through the hall and into the bedrooms.

Every room was empty. It was like Sarah had never been here at all.