Pain Of Reality

• Rane Erasga, Grade 7
• Short Story
• 2018

I absent-mindedly walk through the heart-breaking school halls, my hoodie on, emotionally lost and completely alone. I tilt my head on an angle that just allows me to see my path, keeping my eyes glued to the shiny grey-white tiles while my thoughts are beyond my reach, travelling worlds away from me. Half my brain has discovered an unexplainable way to flee the excruciating pain of reality, while the other half unluckily remains in the present, assessing the situation, barely surviving. I can feel everyone's laser-like stares slicing through my lifeless body. I can hear their careless gossiping.
He's gone I think to myself, a flood of emotions drowning me. As my speed accelerates, marbles of tears begin to race down my pale cheeks as if it were a track.
"He's gone," I repeat, lightly whispering the words. Before I could regain full control of my feet, I find myself running towards the exit, helplessly crying.
"Dad, come back to me, please!" I tell him, hoping that he would appear before me, endlessly wishing that this was only an absurd nightmare, though I was completely aware that it wasn’t. Running down a familiar street, I paused. There I saw an ice cream stall. The happiest of memories I've had with my father are betraying me, turning into memories that I'd rather discard. Dozens flashed through my head, replaying unforgettable moments we shared there. My speed decreasing, I begin sobbing. Harder and harder. I stand in the middle of the soul-less road, unaware of my surroundings.
"You weren't supposed to give up! You were meant to get through this!" I screamed as pain wrapped it's stone-cold hands around my heart.
"Please...... don't go," I stared up at the dark grey sky as if I was truly staring at him. The rain, almost hurriedly, began to pour.
"Stay with me," I cried, burying my face into my hands. Alone, I broke down on my knees in the middle of the road. Alone, I sobbed a river while being drenched in the rain. Alone I have now become.
All I wanted was one more laugh. One more smile. One more hug. One last goodbye. One. More. Minute.
I rose, scrunching my hands into fists. I realized that you never truly know what you have........until you lose it. Never can you prepare to lose the only person you have. The only person you loved.
Cherish all you have. Before it's too late. Before it's gone. This was the last thought I recalled thinking.....
'BEEEEEEP!' A car? No. A truck. I struggled to move as if my feet were stapled to the road. It was approaching me on full speed. Then. 'BANG!'.
My eyes burst open. I found myself in a room. One that I was most unfamiliar with.
A....hospital I thought, horrified. It was just a simple nightmare! I allowed myself a sigh of relief. No. Wait. It wasn't the answer. Not quite. Then, it clicked. It was something much worse. A memory.