New Life

• Madaline Hartwig, Grade 12
• Short Story
• 2013

Someone was dying.
Silence echoed throughout the black expanses of a forest that sheltered many creatures during the harsh and dreadful season of winter. The silence was a rare occurrence. However, not everything was quiet. The voice of the wind as it brushed past the leaves could be heard faintly over the continuous trickle of a stream. And if they listened closely one could just make out the soft rustling sounds of foraging animals. Yet the attention of all the larger and more intelligent animals was drawn to the small figure draped unceremoniously across the forest floor.
The foxes in the undergrowth could smell the unnatural scent of human and the birds perched high up amongst the canopy could see the white clouds of frost explode irregularly from the human's mouth. The wise old owls could sense the glowing heat that still emanated from its body and the wolves could hear the loud thump of its beating heart. Even as more time passed, that heart continued to thump, and instead of slowly fading into nothing, it was getting stronger and easier for the wolves to discern.
The scent of death still lingered in the crisp air but it was slowly mingling with the scent of new life. As the inhabitants of the forest watched, the human girl began to rise up from the perilous trenches of death, though this seemed impossible. Her frail body was covered in purple bruises and nasty cuts. The ends of her small fingers were coated in dried blood and progressively turning blue from frostbite. When the animals had first noticed the girl, her heartbeat had been so soft and erratic it seemed she would not last an hour. What she had endured at the hands of other human beings was simply wrong and all the animals, be they predator or prey recognised this. All the creatures knew that death was inevitable, a vital part of the circle of life and necessary for other creatures to survive. But killing was done swiftly with little pain, and no prey that succumbed ever died in vain. The actions of humans baffled each of the inhabitants of the forest and disgusted them enough that they had broken the unspoken rule of avoiding humans to watch over the small girl. As the many pairs of glowing eyes watched, the human swam further away from death.
Her thrashing and shuddering subsided, replaced by a deep sleep. Behind her bruised and closed eyelids, the human dreamed of the revenge she would soon have.