Sprites And Faeries

• Alexandra Wilson, Grade 8, The Heights School
• Short Story
• 2015

Excellence Award in the 'Read Write Repeat 2015' competition

Annette yells from just outside the flimsy wooden door. I ignore her, relishing the feeling of the warm water running over my hands. The crusty old tap spews out brown water, and the sad faces of the sprites stare up at me, their eyes replacing the bubbles that should be there. The phoenix still perches on my shoulder, and I shrug, attempting remove it. Annette bangs on the door, yelling for me to stop wasting the water. She doesn’t understand that the sound of the water is my escape from the faeries. I can’t see them, but if it’s quiet, I can hear their laughs like air whooshing past my ears. The phoenix burns holes through the shoulder of my shirt as I force the tap off and run out of the bathroom, ignoring Annette as I go.

The yellowing walls of the mental institute glare at me as I walk past, heading to my quarters. I wrench open the rusted metal door and pull it shut, hating the way that it locked from the outside. It’s as if they have been waiting for me to crumble since the accident, but I won’t. I wish they would understand that.

I lay my head down on the lumpy pillow and pull my legs up. I want to sleep, but I’m too scared of the nightmares that come. The phoenix shrieks and shifts to stay perched on my shoulder, and I hear the mocking laugh of the faeries.

Sleep takes me, a new nightmare drowns my thoughts.

The wheels of the car crunch over the gravel as the engine hums and we turn the corner of the coastal road. I watch the waves lapping at the rocky sand far below on the beach at the base of the cliff. I close my eyes and the car shudders. I hear screaming from my parents and sister causing my eyes to fly open as the car teeters on the edge. The car falls, and I am flying. Tongues of flame flicker in the corners of my vision and burn my shoulders. I hear nothing but rushing air. Then the car plunges into the water. I see faces in the bubbles as I struggle to undo my seatbelt. I black out, never to see my family again.

I wake up, gasping, remembering how the doctors told me I was lucky to be alive. I never remembered the accident, so I didn’t know what they meant. My stomach turns with the realisation that the nightmare was a memory, and I finally understand the creatures. The laughing stops and the flame-bird fades. I get up to go find Annette.

They say I was lucky, but I’m really not. Annette announces that I am recovering, her joy evident as she hears me speak for the first time. I believe her to some extent, but I know one thing; I have no family anymore.

I may get better, but I will never be truly whole again.