The Fire Within

• Sethumi Baranadurage, Grade 8
• Short Story
• 2016

I began to focus. I imagined the race track- smooth, perfect and then pictured myself running my heart out like a horse running free in the wild, travelling with the wind and soaring with the sky. The horse being one with nature and myself being one with the track.

Whilst I was lost in my thoughts the gun fired, I heard a faint shot so I bolted. The spark inside of me just became an inferno. It burns out of control powering me to win. The inferno soon becomes a wild spread fire and I have no intention of ever burning out. Half way into the race I felt my feet throb and I can hear my heartbeat loud and clear inside my skull threatening to beat out and suffocate me at any moment. But I ignore any pain my body is giving me and just keep pushing. I have to win, I need to win. My family, coach and friends didn’t just come all this way to see me give up. But quite frankly failure isn’t in my vocabulary. I sprint as fast as my legs will take me and when I get to the ¾ way mark my legs get tangled and I start falling. Falling fast, hard. That's when I knocked myself out and the entire life faded before my very eyes. The light gently disappeared out of my body. I lay lifeless beside the track. I knew I was slipping but I needed to hang on, hang on to any signs that I would be ok. I shut my eyes expecting to die but inside my head a voice kept screaming out say I needed to fight and so I did. As I fought to stay alive this voice kept consuming me keeping me from giving up but there was nothing I could do so I laid at ease, not daring to stir.

I had finally awoke after an intense three day coma. I had sustained a broken skull which could have potentially killed me. But I knew that dying wasn’t an option. My fire had not yet run out and so I lived. Months of recovery and rehabilitations helped my spark ignite. Many doctors said I could not run again due to the pressure it would put on my skull. But not running and competing in the Olympics was my worst nightmare. So I set out to change my fate. I found a doctor who soon became my best friend. It was never easy and I would always need help. But if my family, coach and friends believed that's all I needed going for me. No one could make me quit. No one could tell me I couldn’t do it because I could and I would. Nothing was impossible. So I trained to get back to my goal.One day I will be able to reach my goal. My spark will burn once again and my inferno will grow into an uncontrollable fire.