April 1st...

April first means something different for my family than it does for the rest of the world. Eighteen years ago today my older sister was in a white water rafting accident. She came close to dying, was in a coma for close to a month and now lives with a brain injury. My parents are her full time caretakers. When they lived closer, my other sisters and I would sometimes help. Now only my youngest sister lives nearby. She is mostly functional, but her short term memory doesn't work so well while her long term memory is difficult for her to access. 

I remember the wind

The smell of chimney fire

As I dug for my keys

The door opened

"There's been an accident"

The crack in my dad's voice

Said no foolery of April

Would ever be fun again