| General Non-Fiction posted February 3, 2023 |
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Can there be any worse horror?
The worst ...
by Wendy G
No! No!
Shock and pain overtook them; they collapsed.
Gravely injured, shaking, traumatised.
People came running, screaming, stumbling towards each other, trembling; some sank to the ground.
Time stopped. Or did it? Was it hovering? Was it racing towards eternity? None could tell.
Were the children screaming too? Did any sounds leave their throats? They sank into unconsciousness, their minds refusing this reality.
Two sets of parents raced to the scene of confusion and chaos; they stopped, not knowing what to do, where to turn, where to look. Raw guttural shrieks of horror. Then they were silent, silent after those first agonised wails, horrified, knees buckling at the unbelievable carnage they saw.
Their children! NO! NO!
More screaming – now the scream of sirens, police and ambulance vehicles racing to the scene of the accident. Flashing lights, strident, blue, red, blue, red.
Other bystanders were paralysed, overcome also by the horror.
Bodies lay on the ground. Four young bodies, three siblings and their cousin.
Four broken bodies, killed instantly. No hope. Three others injured, one critically. Eighteen paramedics, working desperately to save and stabilise them. Was there hope? Praying, praying.
As a nation we slumped in disbelief at the unimaginable horror we saw on our evening news. The country wept with and for the remaining family members.
A driver high on drugs and alcohol (more than three times the legal limit), and driving at excessive speed, had ploughed into this group of children as they walked along the footpath of their quiet suburban street to the nearby shops.
They were excited, going to buy a summer treat – an ice-cream cone each.
They were walking together, the older ones looking after the younger. Two families, cousins. They had done everything right. This was every parent’s worst nightmare.
It was one of the most distressing tragedies that the police officers had ever had to cope with. The death of a child is always difficult – but four, and related? Police and paramedics continued to suffer from the stress, distress and trauma they experienced this day.
Today is the second anniversary of that unimaginable event. I clearly remember the overwhelming grief felt nation-wide.
The other striking thing I also remember is the courage of the parents who offered forgiveness to the driver, a reflection of their strong Christian faith. Few of us must face the difficulty of offering forgiveness when confronting this horrifying level of extreme pain and suffering.
“We chose to turn our tragedy into a greater goodness. We chose to carry our cross with dignity. We chose forgiveness and love over hatred,” declared the grief-stricken mother of three of the dead children.
“Forgiveness is the greatest gift you can give to yourself and others. Forgiveness frees up your emotions. It brings healing to a hurting soul and allows you to have peace in your heart."
“We have found peace by forgiving, but it hasn’t been easy,” her husband said.
"Friends, I am in pain, my days are empty, my heart is aching. Tears of hopelessness visit me each day. I am dying on the inside and it's hard to take much more."
He said he faced a choice to take a "path of destruction or a path of construction".
"I forgive … for the greater good of my family …. This has allowed us to live in a state of peace and grace ….”
Could there be any greater horror than what these families went through on that day? This is the worst horror story. Never ending, true, unforgettable. Sadly.
The greatest horror needs the greatest forgiveness!
Horror Children's Story writing prompt entry
No! No!
Shock and pain overtook them; they collapsed.
Gravely injured, shaking, traumatised.
People came running, screaming, stumbling towards each other, trembling; some sank to the ground.
Time stopped. Or did it? Was it hovering? Was it racing towards eternity? None could tell.
Were the children screaming too? Did any sounds leave their throats? They sank into unconsciousness, their minds refusing this reality.
Two sets of parents raced to the scene of confusion and chaos; they stopped, not knowing what to do, where to turn, where to look. Raw guttural shrieks of horror. Then they were silent, silent after those first agonised wails, horrified, knees buckling at the unbelievable carnage they saw.
Their children! NO! NO!
More screaming – now the scream of sirens, police and ambulance vehicles racing to the scene of the accident. Flashing lights, strident, blue, red, blue, red.
Other bystanders were paralysed, overcome also by the horror.
Bodies lay on the ground. Four young bodies, three siblings and their cousin.
Four broken bodies, killed instantly. No hope. Three others injured, one critically. Eighteen paramedics, working desperately to save and stabilise them. Was there hope? Praying, praying.
As a nation we slumped in disbelief at the unimaginable horror we saw on our evening news. The country wept with and for the remaining family members.
A driver high on drugs and alcohol (more than three times the legal limit), and driving at excessive speed, had ploughed into this group of children as they walked along the footpath of their quiet suburban street to the nearby shops.
They were excited, going to buy a summer treat – an ice-cream cone each.
They were walking together, the older ones looking after the younger. Two families, cousins. They had done everything right. This was every parent’s worst nightmare.
It was one of the most distressing tragedies that the police officers had ever had to cope with. The death of a child is always difficult – but four, and related? Police and paramedics continued to suffer from the stress, distress and trauma they experienced this day.
Today is the second anniversary of that unimaginable event. I clearly remember the overwhelming grief felt nation-wide.
The other striking thing I also remember is the courage of the parents who offered forgiveness to the driver, a reflection of their strong Christian faith. Few of us must face the difficulty of offering forgiveness when confronting this horrifying level of extreme pain and suffering.
“We chose to turn our tragedy into a greater goodness. We chose to carry our cross with dignity. We chose forgiveness and love over hatred,” declared the grief-stricken mother of three of the dead children.
“Forgiveness is the greatest gift you can give to yourself and others. Forgiveness frees up your emotions. It brings healing to a hurting soul and allows you to have peace in your heart."
“We have found peace by forgiving, but it hasn’t been easy,” her husband said.
"Friends, I am in pain, my days are empty, my heart is aching. Tears of hopelessness visit me each day. I am dying on the inside and it's hard to take much more."
He said he faced a choice to take a "path of destruction or a path of construction".
"I forgive … for the greater good of my family …. This has allowed us to live in a state of peace and grace ….”
Could there be any greater horror than what these families went through on that day? This is the worst horror story. Never ending, true, unforgettable. Sadly.
The greatest horror needs the greatest forgiveness!
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Writing Prompt Please write a horror children's story under 600 words. The title has two words and starts with the. |
Can anything good be drawn from that day of horror, February 1, 2021?
Perhaps the testimony of faith of the two families, leading to our reflection on the healing power of forgiveness, and perhaps our desire to communicate our love for each other without barriers, to cherish
Angelina Abdullah was twelve years old, Sienna nine, and Antony thirteen, and their cousin Veronique Sakr eleven years old. Four lives lost in an instant. They are pictured above. Of the three other injured children, one has a permanent brain injury.
The families have launched i4give Day to mark the anniversary of the children's deaths. They have asked for it to be a day of forgiveness and celebration, not only in remembrance of the lives of their own beautiful children, but for all of us to reflect on our own relationships and value each moment with our precious loved ones!
The driver was initially sentences to twenty-eight years of imprisonment, but this was recently reduced to fifteen years.
© Copyright 2024. Wendy G All rights reserved.
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