In Death

• Robyne Vaughan, Grade 10, Whitsunday Christian College
• Short Story
• 2015

Excellence Award in the 'Read Write Repeat 2015' competition

My eyes jolt open. My hands are a pale shade of blue. I comprehend little with my blurry eyes. The world seems stuck in a perpetual chaos that I can’t, at this moment, comprehend. My head spins, confusion enveloping my consciousness. Suddenly, I awaken into reality.
Flying erratically, flurries of snow wander down to the soiled white terrain of this dismal tundra. Earth is sporadically revealed by hollows in the ground. Gunshots and pained screams echo in the otherwise silent expanse, but I ignore them. Months of this dissolve all empathy or hope, leaving a permanent and impenetrable numbness, and a dead shell of a person. Peace can only come when my eyes close forever.
Warily, I stand up. I wander for a while, wind howling in my ears. I feel the inexplicable urge to turn and run as far as I can, but I ignore it. A loud, insistent whistling arises overhead. I take a breath in sharply, too dazed to brace for impact.
The collision shakes the earth. A guttural rumble emanates from the ground, resonating in my body. The shockwave steals my breath and pushes me back; I watch it throw shrapnel and snow into flight. A lifeless, deafening silence takes over and all is still, for just a moment. Blinding pain shoots from my abdomen and a disbelieving gasp escapes my lips.
My hand ventures tentatively down to my stomach, grazing over the wet, mutilated flesh. Crimson blood trickles down into the snow. The metallic smell assaults my nose, but I disregard it. The pain is refreshing in an awful way, having felt nothing for what feels like an eternity. Regardless, tranquility overtakes me.
My world stills. Snowflakes meander gracefully down as the howling wind dies out. I know that there is no escape from my demise, yet I feel only calmness. I look down; blood saturates the once pure snow, forming a broken, deathly fractal. My eyes flutter closed.
When they open, Death holds me in her gentle arms, and my eyes go wide. Death is magnificent. Black daisies adorn her long hair. I see myself blameless and beloved in the reflection of her eyes like pools of solid shadow. Death’s pale skin is indistinguishable with the snow. An enigmatic affection arises inside me, shattering the numbness I carried for so long.
She caresses my face with bony fingers and sings softly. Her voice sounds like the ocean’s gentle waves or a warm summer’s breeze. A thousand poets could write for a thousand years without expressing the splendor of Death’s melodious voice. I am fortunate to spend eternity with her; I wouldn’t trade it for a god’s immortality or Midas’s gold.
With Death, I will embark on a new journey, free of the hostilities I knew before. Optimism blooms inside my chest as I breathe out a contented sigh, letting go of this world hand in hand with my new love. In Death, I find life, and it is beautiful.