A nightmare that became reality

I answered the phone and didn't hear anything for a few seconds.

Then her voice...
She was very calm and collected when she spoke.
"There is something I have to tell you and you're the only one I can talk to right now..."
My heart rate went from normal to overtime in a split second. "Just tell me..."
Her youngest, her 14 year old son had been hit by a car...

I didn't know what to say. Condolences seemed completely out of place so I told her that I just didn't have any words.

She understood and felt the same.
She told me that they went to see him. He seemed peaceful and hardly had any injury they could see. She was able to hold him...

All that time she sounded like she was telling me a story of something that happened while shopping. But I know that inside she's screaming.

I remember seeing Michelangelo's La Pietà when I visited Rome and the Vatican some time ago and the emotions that came with it. Not because I am religious or its religious background. It's just because it was a mother (Mary) holding her dead son (Jesus). That statue hit me with such heavy emotions and I remember thinking that no mother (or parent) should ever have to go through something like that. And now it's my best friend, my sister from another mother, my friend for life, who is going through this. It's not fair. It just isn't.

I can't even...
While I had her on the phone, my daughter kept asking what was going on because she saw me break out in tears.
The news hit her hard, they'd known each other since he was 2 and she was 4 and practically grew up together until we moved to Ireland.

I started looking at flights, but couldn't do it. I was trembling, felt sick and weak. I decided to go to sleep to start this in the morning. Sure, we've been through hell and back for some time, but I have all my children around me and they're healthy. Before falling into a restless sleep, I pulled my youngest son close to me...

I feel sick. I've been feeling sick all day and I can only imagine how my friend and her partner and eldest son feel.
The two boys weren't just brothers, ever since I've known them, they were best friends...

Now I'm frantically trying to book tickets to get us to Holland. She needs me. More than my sister needed me when her husband passed away, only a few weeks ago. A husband is terrible...but a child?

First I thought only my eldest and I would be going, but after this news, I can't leave my other kids here and feel good about it.
The plane is not an option so the ferry it is.

I booked the ferry. We're leaving for Dublin tomorrow and will be on the ferry by 8 p.m. Then I have to drive for about 6 hours to get to Dover for the next ferry. Then 3 hours to get to our home town. They're having a memorial Saturday at the spot where he got hit by that car. Hopefully we'll make it in time for that as we would have to drive without stopping, but that's OK.

I need your help!

I would usually never ask for anything from anyone. In the past, people have offered to help me financially or in other ways, even here on Steemit (@familyprotection to be precise) and I never accepted any. Not because I didn't need it at the time, but because I always try to solve any problems first on my own and maybe I'm too proud or shy even to ask.
But this time is different. It's my best friend who needs me.
I spoke to the boy's brother today. He left me in tears. Not because he was sad, which he undoubtedly is, but because of his enormous strength. He is being strong for his parents. He is only 16! When we spoke and I told him that we'd be there Saturday, he said: "Wow, that quickly. Thank you. I am so glad that you're coming." It broke my heart...
You see, this boy and his little brother were always around us. My eldest used to go to school with them and when she moved to a different school because the old one didn't cut it, they followed. We were very close and still are, like family. Maybe even more so.

I paid for the ferry outwards. I couldn't even come up with the money to pay the return. I saw that as a worry for later. But this means I went through all the money I had, I haven't even paid the rent... I wasn't even sure I would have enough to pay for diesel along the way, but luckily my sister has sent me a little for that. But that's it. We'll be flat broke in all the time we'll be there. And worse: I haven't got a clue how we'll be going back. If it were up to me, I wouldn't mind staying for a while, but we have responsibilities here. Like our animals. My friend is going to take care of the cats and pony, but she won't stay here all the time. My other friend is taking one of the dogs, but the other has to go to a boarding kennel. That's also money I don't have yet. Besides this, my main and nearly only source of income at the moment is Steemit and the little bit of work I do now and then. So we can't stay away too long as I won't be able to work there much. This is all not very important at the moment as I want to be there for them, and not worry too much, but I have to think realistically too.

So this time, I have to ask...

I am not going to ask for donations. I don't want that. I want to ask for a loan or loans. One bigger or a few smaller, I don't care. And I'm even willing to pay some kind of interest on it. Anyone that is willing to help me: I will pay you back in full. It could take some time, but I will. I am putting this out here because I simply have no other choice.
And because it will be for everyone to see. Kinda like a contract. I am not here to scam anyone, it's not in my nature. I believe in karma returning to people. I might not be a huge fish in the Steemit ocean, but I'm not tiny anymore either, and I worked hard to get where I am now. I would never jeopardize what I've built by trying to make a quick buck over the backs of others. There are people here who know this.
So here I am, asking for help. Anything anyone can do without for a little while.
You can make it as official as you want. Make a post about it, have me 'sign' it. Anything.
I laid it all out in the open here. There's no one else I can ask.

Some words for a child that was taken long before his time

Born on the 1st of April, we always joked about this: you were an April fool's joke. But you were no joke.
The Chinese birth sign you carried showed some of your character. The monkey: Yes, you were always monkeying around making everyone laugh with your jokes and funny expressions. Highly intelligent and maybe even too wise for your age... Your laughter was contagious and your naughtiness was always forgiven with a smile. One just had to look into those big brown puppy eyes, and no one could be angry at you. I will always remember you, holding my son's hand, safely, to keep him from harm.

I still see you and him and your brother with my daughter, hand in hand, walking in front of us, eager to get to the playground. You were only young when we left to live in Ireland but every once in a while we'd speak on the phone and your voice would always ring in my ears: "HEEEYYY Mir!"and bring a smile to my face. When we visited again, for the first time in 5 years, it was as if we'd never left. I am proud to have seen you grow into the young man that you were, before you were so cruelly taken from your family, your friends, from us.
You will always be in our hearts, wherever we go. And the one thing I will remember most, is that sweet, ever smiling face of yours.

R.I.P. Levy, you will be missed.