Fate

• Claudia Barnes, Grade 8
• Short Story
• 2010

It sat expectantly, perfectly still, in front of me. I couldn’t take my eyes off the brown circle – its hauntingly perfect symmetry filled my vision entirely. A thick layer of goo coated the rounded top, its slimy surface glistening in the gloomy candlelight. I brandished my knife and sliced through its heart, feeling the sharp blade slide smoothly and effortlessly through its layers in a single movement.

I raised my knife and watched it glinting in the flickering candle light, and sliced again, once, twice, three times.

I held a piece to my lips and took one last look before it sentencing it to its unfortunate fate. And I took my first bite of the delicious chocolate cake.