SHORT STORY - 18 YEARS

18 years

Leaves are frolicking freely around my ankles as I skip between the grave stones in the church yard. I hear my identical twin sister is giggling in the distance; she is hiding. Her coffee colored hair is blowing up from behind a grey stone. Quietly; I sneak up behind the stone, peek over the top and surprise my sister. She screams in shock then her lips curl at the corners, her bright blue eyes wrinkle tight and we fall softly to the cold ground in laughter. The ring of the church bell interrupts our merriment, I leave my sister and make my way to the churches ancient entrance.

The organ plays a miserable tune; rows of pews are filled with shadowy figures, unaware of my presence I walk uneasily down the aisle towards the front to see a glossy black-varnished coffin. White roses lay peacefully on top. I stroke my fingertip caressingly over the edge of the smooth wood and towards the flowers. I moved them aside to reveal the gold engraved plaque. Leaning In closer to the writing, I saw a familiar name; my lips mouthed the two words, which read my name.

Bang! My eyes tore open; my breath is heavy and my cold skin is sweaty. I sit up and look around the room, my bedroom. The alarm clock breaks the darkness by flashing the time in red light. 06:12 AM. It was a dream I tell myself, just a bad dream.  I rest back against my bed frame and catch my breath. Letting my eyes slowly close, and effortlessly fall back into a satisfying peaceful slumber.

9:47AM. I have over slept.  I tear the white cotton sheets from my pale skin and jump to my feet. My head is pounding and I feel dizzy; still I manage to pull my black shirt over my head, and struggle into my black trousers. Quickly I brush my teeth and pin my messy hair back into a bun, I have no effort to tame it this morning.

My car keys tinkle as I run heavy footedly down the stairs and turn into the kitchen. As soon as I enter the room I stop immediately in my tracks; my attention is drawn to the dining table where my mother and my father sit empty eyed.

They try to make me sit but I refuse. When I ask what has happened they offer only looks of sympathy. I search the room for my twin sister but she is nowhere to be seen. I ask them where she is and they turn away, unable to face me. I find the answer I dread so terribly when the news channel interrupts my questions and announces the death of an eighteen year old student in a road accident at 6:12AM that morning.

My body looses all feeling; my keys hit the ground, the clashing sound rings in my ears. Suddenly pain pulses through me as though I have been hit by a thousand bricks, the shock shakes me so brutally I lose my balance and I fall hard to the floor. As my head thuds down I close my eyes and embrace the darkness.

When I’m next fully conscious I’m standing in the cold icy fog before two large solid oak doors which are open. They’re the church doors-I recognize them immediately. I step cautiously inside; looking down at my elegant black heel, it matched the black cotton dress I’m wearing.

Inside the church I walk slowly down the centre aisle. I’m aware of the people sat among the pews, but I see no one. It’s as though I am a ghost trapped in a body I cannot escape. Solemn faces turn and pin their beady eyes onto me. I walk onwards. I recognize my parents on the front row and stand beside them. They beckon for me to sit, yet I find myself standing closer to the front. The priest stands tall over a black varnished coffin buried in weltered white roses, behind him candles burn. He begins to speak upwards, perhaps to god.  I watch as he proceeds with the ceremony, each word he speaks stings like salt in a wound.

Within the hour, we are all dismissed from the church and I am guided through the mist and into a hearse as shiny as the black varnished coffin which is now put onto display through the back windows. I climb into the passenger seat obediently. To my right a driver ignites the engine and sets off towards the grave yard. Every bump in the road sends sharp streaks of pain down my spine. I shudder uneasy.

Suddenly my thoughts are interrupted by the low pitch sound of a truck’s horn. It sounds close yet the heavy fog has settled so low there is no sight of anything ahead. The driver seems alarmed and hits the brake pedal, but the icy surface mocks his attempt to slow the car and sends it spinning. The horn sounds again but this time I see the headlights of the cargo lorry over my left shoulder as it comes hurtling into the passenger door. A screech escapes my mouth, my eyes shut tight. Darkness.