Rise Up

When Amanda was small she had watched her mother die right in front of her eyes. It would have been easier if her mother had become sick and died, or if it had been an accident but it wasn't. Her mother had swallowed a whole bottle of anti depressants ater catching her father, Mark, in bed with another woman.
Before that incident, things hadn't been rosy either. They were always fighting about something. First it was Mark's drinking then it was because Mark didn't leave enough money for her mum to be able to take her to school. In the final days the arguments had become louder and more frequent. When they were done, her mum would go to the kitchen and drink herself to sleep while her father stormed out and disappeared for the whole night befor showing up the next morning. And the arguments would start all over again.
At a young age, Amanda had known that love was something to be feared. The few times that her mum wasn't drunk she would always tell Amanda how she and her father had met. Those days, her mother would say, they were in deeply in love. They had eloped since Mark's parents disapproved of their marriage. They had worked hard to set themselves up and when Amanda came, it was the happiest day of their lives.
Although Amanda paid close attention to her mother's recollection of the, she never believed a word of it. She had seen people who loved each other and in her eyes her parents were far from being in love. If she didn't know an better she would say they despised...no, hated each other. So it was with that in mind that when her mother died she packed her bags and left home.
* * *
"Amanda you are going to be late for class!" Her room mate shouted waving her bag in her hand while she looked at her watch impatiently.
Their class was supposed to be at 2.00 p.m. but they had got caught up in town and now it was five minutes to time and Amanda was still buried in her closet looking for only God knew what.
" I got it" Amanda shouted and straightened her clothes and rushed to the door.
She was lucky to have ended up with a room mate like Lydia she mused.
They had met on their first day in college, Lydia was a down to earth person who listened more than she talked.
Lydia was moving fast, they had already been late twice and their lecturer was starting to think it was a habit. She hated being late for classes, but walking alone on that stretch leading to the lecture hall was a nightmare and she was thankful Amanda understood her fears. It was not really the silence that creeped her out but the guys that had made it their base to trade some contraband and gave hell anyone who interrupted their business. Amanda always knew how to deal with those tyoes. She took crap from no one and no one messed with her. That is what made having Amanda as a friend such a good thing in campus.
"Hey, am sorry i kept you"...Amanda started
"Don't worry about it, its no big deal, besides i think the lecturer is scared of you"
"Don't start with me," Amanda said before Lydia could continue.
"What were you looking for anyway?"
"My lucky charm, Amanda said with a smile then added,"...it wads of any love from my life."
"I don't know...i think whoever gave it to you duped you, i love you and look where i am ..roght beside you! Are you sure its working?" Lydia chuckled hooking her hand on Amanda. They laughed loudly and continued walking each of them lost in their own thoughts so much that hey did not notice an approaching car hooting at them.
It was Amanda who reacted first as the car screeched to a halt in front of them
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Amanda shouted looking at the car in disgust.
The driver rushed out and coming to Amanda's side took her hand and pulled her to him
"Are you hurt? Am really sorry, i did hoot... maybe you didn't hear me. Did i hit you. Am sorry...i should be more careful.
Amanda was angry,,she had some few words she wanted to tell this jerk who wasn't watching where he was going. As she looked up the curses on hertongue ready to start rolling something happened. The man touched her arm and pulled her towards him. The most strange feeling passed through Amanda's spine. She looked up and saw his face and her words got stuck. Amanda had never known her tongue could be heavy but at that moment it was. Before her stood the most beautiful man she had ever seen. The sunlight seemed to radiate offf his hair and the worry lines in his forehead were the most fascinating expression Amanda had ever seen. His touch..his touch was...she couldn't place a word to it. She couldn't stop herself as her hand lifted and went to his face. Her stomach was fluttering so badly she had no idea what to do. Before she knew it her hand went to his face ..lingered there for a moment then reached for his hair....
"Are you ok?" A voice asked in the distance. It was like a dream and yet she knew she was awake.
She didn't even notice as he friend Lydia came o her side and shok her gently.
"Amanda is everything alright?"
The arms holding her suddenly let go and she felt the dream fading. It was all she could do not to fling her arms and cry out. Why did wonderful dreams like this have to end. Mumbled voices spoke close to her, she struggled to hear what they were saying but she was too mesmerized to speak. It was like the sun god was standing before her, unaware of the effect he had on her.