Waves

• Zoe Lee, Grade 7
• Short Story
• 2021

“Why do we die?” she whispered softly, gazing at the stars.

The sky’s cold breath stung her face and scattered the sand. The roaring ocean drowned her thoughts, leaving nothing but an eerie echo. She allowed the water to wash over her cold bare feet. She breathed in and out, the salty air filling her lungs with every inhale, the pain grasping her chest.

Behind her was a row of small beach houses. Darkness dwelled behind their closed, glass windows. The girl knew that everyone was sleeping. She breathed in the silence. The seriousness of the doctor’s words broke through the serenity of the night.
“I’m sorry April, but there’s nothing I can do. Your life expectancy is … two weeks.”
There was no cure. Death was the only way to end her pain, the pain she’d been feeling for what felt like an eternity. But right now, she couldn’t feel anything. She didn’t feel the tears rolling down her cheeks, didn’t feel the sadness singing softly in her heart. She knew it was there, but she wasn’t going to let herself drown in it. She just felt … cold.

She couldn't surrender to the abyss that was beckoning to her, not yet. She only had seconds for every goodbye that she owed. She wanted to cling on to the last fragments of light and never let the darkness touch her. But she had no energy left. Her heart took a step towards the shadows, away from the pain in her chest. The future that belonged to her was slipping through her fingers, disappearing like sand in the wind. She fought death with every last breath that belonged to her. She resisted until the pain was too much to bear anymore.

She lay down on the wet sand, the water covering her body, and a jolt of pain turned her mind blank.