Fear

• Lucy Hutchison, Grade 7
• Short Story
• 2019

Fear swallowed her whole, drowning her in a black, inky darkness. She gulped, a bitter taste eating away at her throat like a rat to a wire. She couldn’t move, her body tense, her muscles aching. She was staring fear right in the face and it didn’t suite her, she wasn’t brave. She was lost, drowning in a sea of sand.
If she hadn’t have walked of, she would be fine. She thirsted for water, the sweet taste of clear, cold water. It seemed almost impossible to reach. She was done for, wasn’t she? She tried to find that glimpse of hope, the sliver of light that would carry her home. But it was gone. Washed out by her selfishness. It was only her and the sea of sand, all alone.
She wasn’t dead yet, at least. She tried to think about something, something helpful. She thought back to her time in seventh grade, when her science teacher would drill certain aspects into her. She remembered her friends. The time she had taken a box of tissues from the staff room and swapped it around for the ones in Mrs. Thompsons office. Every staff member got sick within one week, school was called off for four days. Why was she remembering this now? What did that have anything to do with this situation. Nothing. She was going crazy and she didn’t have a soul around to help.
Wait…that smell…was it familiar? Her nose had become accustomed to the stench of dead animals scattered around the desert. Killed from lack of water or some other creature that would soon kill her. No, she definitely remembered it. It was the sharp smell of pastry and apples. It wafted into her nose and filled her with a warm feeling of home. The Bakery!
She stumbled over the hill, her knees buckling under the pressure. Tumbling down the sand dunes, she came to a much-welcomed stop and searched the horizon. In the distance, a large city towered over her. Its buildings came high, piercing the sharp shape of clouds circling a above. Despite the idea of shelter and home, she knew the city wasn’t hers. It didn’t seem real. Something this large in the middle of a long-forgotten desert? It was almost too good to be true. Like a mirage that had seeped its way into her brain and teased her.
Stumbling towards the civilization, the walls caved in and swallowed her. She was lost in a jungle of glass and concrete. Fear pierced her heart once again. The feeling of home had betrayed her and left her wondering, why am I so afraid? The city dissolved into the sunlight, disappearing into nothing and being replaced by the piercing glow of the sun. She stood alone, a single soul in a long-abandoned wasteland. She wasn’t brave. She gave in to the sinking feeling of worry, and wrapped herself in the pitiful presence of fear.