• I was in math class when Mrs.Hoshina came and said that I was going home early. I knew that something was wrong; I could feel it.
    My fears were confirmed when Rima and I went to Nana who was waiting outside of the school for us. What she said put me in a panic; “Now girls, everything is alright,”-Who was hurt? Mom? Miki?-“and Miki is okay,”- No! Not Miki!!!-“but…..Miki was hit by a car.” I froze. The tears that had been welling up in my eyes were now spilling over onto my cheeks and I tried to wipe them away before anyone could see.
    I cried all the way to the hospital and waited in the waiting room just outside of the E.R. with Rima, my cousin Ran, my aunts Lulu and Yaya, and Nana. While I waited, they explained what had happened: Miki and her friend Kairi were walking across the street to P.E. They said that a college student was driving and the sun got in his eyes for a split second….a split second was all it took to hit Miki and Kairi.
    After about thirty minutes, Miki –in a wheelchair- was wheeled out of the emergency room by a doctor. Seeing her made the stupid tears come back again. Her face, red, tears leaking from her eyes, a crumpled up tissue in her hand, bandages…everywhere.
    I avoided her eyes when we made our way to the car. It was hard enough to look at her when I wasn’t crying, I didn’t want to make it worse by letting her see my tears. She seemed so small when the doctor helped her into the backseat of our car- small and vulnerable.
    I was crying so much that Miki took me by the hand and kept on telling me that she was okay.
    I knew things could have been worse: she could have never made it out of the E.R. at all, had that car been speeding…..
    Once we were home, I went into my room to rearrange my thoughts. I thought about a problem that I was having with a friend that had me upset for the past week… that problem was now only background music to the problems in front of me now.
    I thought about that morning; Miki, doing her hair and make-up like any other day. I thought of how quickly things could change, one minute you’re talking to your friend, the next minute, you’re in a bed, hurting all over, covered in scratches and cuts, just because a car didn’t see you.
    I’ve learned a lot from this chapter of my life, and it’s changed the way I look at life. The most important thing that I’ve learned is that I shouldn’t be complaining about the little problems in life. I had my health, my home, food, a loving family, and still, my sister Miki.