Can A Brother Die With Dignity?

I was at my apartment in Waterloo, Iowa when I got a phone call from Momma saying that Teddy was dying from a terminal illness. I rushed home to see him and was outraged when I saw that they had Teddy lying on top of the deep freezer we kept at the end of the hallway. He was dirty and pale, had on raggedy clothes and no shoes and his hair hadn't been groomed for days, maybe weeks. He also looked like he was going to pass out at any minute. He was shivering like crazy, but they only put a small, thin blanket over him! I started yelling at Momma, Marla and Kimberly for not taking good care of him, but they all ignored me.

Hours later, Momma came in the living room crying and said Teddy just died.

"What? What do you mean he's dead?" I asked. "How can he be dead? What kind of illness did he have?"

Momma yelled, "I don't know, Reena, okay?! He's dead! He was sick! I've already called the people to pick up his body."

I ran in the hallway where Teddy was still lying on top of the deep freezer. He wasn't even dead! His eyes were still moving! I yelled at Momma again for treating him so badly, but she felt like she was doing the right thing. There was nothing else I could say. I looked over at Teddy and began to cry. He looked at me, then at Momma and said, "Man, forget it!"

He got off the deep freezer and just walked away...

No comments: