Marching On

• Ben Creasy, Grade 10
• Short Story
• 2008

“Now start walking” someone said,
My heart was pounding and a wave a fatigue crashed over me; if I stopped now, I’ll have to do this all over again. I don’t know why I’m doing this, but I was forced to miss breakfast, and then looking at various food sources, it does wonders for your body. I tell ya, now doing something that many people like me have done before, forever grueling, forever tiring…
I’ll be glad when this is over, but I’ll be back, I can count on that. I swear these people are mad, first covering you in receptors, I’m half naked and I have to walk back and forth, they’re mad I tell ya. Now, before I continue, how many people think I’m in the military? If you did, I fooled you well, no, this one of the “tests” to “help” me, It’s called the Gait lab, in the Royal Children’s hospital, where they run different tests for people with disabilities, I’m one of those people. I guess I’ve been going to these for about 8 years now, and the list of tests just seem to go on, I have hours of physiotherapy, I guess it all shows how different I really am to other people, no matter how hard I try to be like everyone else.
A thought goes through my mind, piercing though any other idle voices: “Everyone dreams” I guess, being at the age of 14, that is true, people thinking of their dream job, like being a firefighter, or a soldier in the army… I want to be like a normal kid. That’s all I really want, I want to walk, run, and jump, I want to play cricket, and not have to carry a squeaky walking frame, and through all of this, mum is always tellin me to get outside and play in the sun instead of being on the computer. She wouldn’t understand, in her day she was a netball player, a real good one, I guess it’s because everyone is active in my family and I’m the black sheep, so I guess the pride goes down in a blaze of sadness.
I look at the clock up on the wall, the droning ticking seems to grow slower with concentration, my legs are searing with pain now, I feel I’m going to fall over, and with that thought, I stumble and my hands meet the floor.
“You alright?” Mum says, I glare at her,
“Yeah” I say, slowly getting back up, and continuing, the fatigue is getting a little too much, but I keep walking, I swear every year, it draws out longer, the pain, the hunger,the mindless marching on... but hey, it’ll be worth it.
By Ben Creasy 10H