Quietly Through Chaos

• Tiffany Doensen, Grade 9
• Short Story
• 2011

Time no longer held its sway over the things that passed before me. Like a ship caught up in the flows of a maelstrom, there was no way to stop the whirling around me. Colours blurred together, and objects merged. Voices broke quietly through the chaos.
Then suddenly it all stopped. Everything was dark, and the abrupt silence was almost deafening. A small glow appeared in the distance, and I ran towards it, barely conscious of what I was doing. Gravity has no authority in this world; everything was weightless. I ran for what seemed like a very long time, yet no time at all, but the light was coming no closer.
I called for it. I don’t know what I called; my mouth just seemed to know the right words. It was running towards me at an amazing pace. It was beautiful, serene. There was no other way to describe it.
And then it was gone. I was standing in a field of dry grass. The sun wasn’t out, but light seemed to come from all around me, generated from the very world I stood upon. A wind blew gently at the grass, sending a ripple through it like waves in an ocean. I hadn’t seen the ocean in a very long time. Sometimes it seems like forever since I felt something so innocent, so calming and beautiful, something so perfect.
The breeze tickled my face, and somehow, even in this world where everything was normal, but it seemed so strange, I felt more at home than ever before. Warmth flowed through every fibre in my body, and I breathed in the sweet scent of perfection.
My eyes flicked open. The daily anchor pierced my flesh and settled down in the pit of my stomach. Just one more day, and then I can fall asleep once more. Then I can close my eyes, and wish it will never ends, all over again...