The Bewitched

• Drew Murnane, Grade 6, St Andrew's School -
• Short Story
• 2018

Excellence Award in the 'Horizon of Dreams 2018' competition

The mixed horizon of amber, copper, bronze and peach gradually accompanied the sun to the other side of the world a while ago, leaving me behind to be tortured and killed by the monsters that lurked in the possessed woods behind me in terrifying darkness.
The icy wind whipped my face, making me tremble all over. I looked down at the sickening gash in my stomach. I moaned, feeling nauseous. All I could feel was the stinging, throbbing, torturing agony in my stomach.
I was drenched in cold sweat and my vision started to become blurry. I whimpered in pain. I was going to freeze lying in the deep icy snow.
I looked back at the murky bewitched woods behind me and felt a shiver race down my spine as I thought about the wretched way the monsters would come across my corpse, tear me apart and devour my mangled body.
The agonizing cleft in my stomach was bleeding rapidly, deeply effecting my consciousness. I sorrowfully closed my eyes and began to pray, in between sobs. “Jack… I’m… sorry I wasn’t a… a better sis… sister…” I whispered to myself. “I’m sorry I didn’t play with you… and… do what you… what you wanted…” I wiped away the tears on my face, so I could continue. “Mum… Dad… I’m sorry… I wasn’t the… per… perfect… daughter… but… I… I tried… I tried… so hard…”
It was getting harder to get more words out as I continued. “I love… I love you… all…” My face was wet with tears when I finished. It was getting harder to breathe as it got colder through the long, dark, icy night. I closed my eyes, my breathing slowed and my heartbeat decreased dramatically.
When the first few rays of warm sunlight crept onto my body, I was taking my last, painful breaths. Finally, it happened. My heart stopped. I stopped breathing. My face was as blank and white as a sheet of paper as I ran out of blood. My time was up. This was it.
The clock stopped.