The Fortune Cookie

• Talia Olsen, Grade 5
• Short Story
• 2016

I cracked the fortune cookie open and I couldn't believe it.
Death...
Was written in big black letters across the paper, so what was I supposed to think? I wept silently and immediately lost my appetite. I said probably my last good night to my mum and brother and sulked off to my bedroom. The bed sheets sucked me in and the pillows almost suffocated me. I realised that soon I'd be playing ping-pong with Elvis on a cloud, so I needed my energy. I tried to sleep, but my mind was racing.
What will this death feel like? Does it hurt? Or does it just happen? What will happen when I do die? Or will someone else die?
The never ending whirlpool of agonising thoughts lasted late into the night. I looked over to my clock. 11:59 it read, which meant I was up for almost 3 hours. It's not unusual for me, but I usually play games for 2 hours and then ponder about the world for another. But this time, no video games, just death. Death, death, death. I wished that I hadn't asked for packaged fortune cookies for dessert.
The morning sun told my brain to get up and get ready for death. Usually I would refer to school being death, but today I was getting ready for the real thing. I packed my bags and tried to look normal as I walked to the place lots of kids called hell. I knew today was going to be my last day alive.
First period was Physical Education, where I have none of my friends in it. The bell rang as soon as I walked in the school gates, and I raced to class. I have asthma, and worrying about dying today was filling up my mind. My asthma was kicking in and no-one saw me die of an attack, because everyone was in class. I slowly and painfully died, like my fortune cookie had told me.