Ninth Life NL contest entry
Ninth Life
It seemed only to be another morning as far as I was concerned, just the average day like the ones that came before it and the ones that should come after. At least, it was just another day but that all soon changed forever.
Morning sunlight broke brilliantly through the window and landed upon me, warming my mind and bringing me back to consciousness. Even though the sun warmed me up, a chill swept coldly along my spine. I shivered and ignored it getting up like every other normal morning. I slowly made my way to the kitchen, noticing that things stood out in more detail today. It was going to be a great day, or so I had thought. Suddenly I could hear my stomach growl for food so I devoured my breakfast in a few rapid bites to calm it and got a drink of milk to sooth my dry throat. Milk was my favorite!
After breakfast I went out the back door and stalked my way through the garden, looking for the place where no vegetation grew. It was still going normally but another small chill worked down my spine. Again, I ignored it and jumped the fence into my neighbors garden. I could have easily just gone around the fence but I liked to jump it for it was a much more amusing way to enter my friends garden. Not to mention his family had an annoying dog that lived by the gate in the back. Besides, Im used to jumping that fence. Me and my friend would often be found sitting atop it and chatting away the hours.
As I landed in the small, cramped garden, I saw him sitting by the lone tree that stretched out over his fence to the other side of the back gate and the next garden over. Small flowers poked up through the ground, perhaps dreaming of being that tall one day. My friends green eyes brightened as they looked my way. He hastily got up and came over to me, greeting me as usual, but then a dark feeling crept into me. I quickly shoved it away and greeted him back in return.
Then there was a change in my life. Instead of jumping up on top of the fence like we usually would, my friend led me behind his house and to the river that snaked its way through the woods behind our houses. As we approached it we located a large rock protruding from the sticky mud and sat on it. Again, a dark feeling leaked into me and I shook myself to be rid of it. I didnt know why I was getting the feeling but I tried to forget about it.
It was not easy because a few moments later I could hear my dad call out to me from our house. His voice sounded strange and the cold feeling became more intense as I turned to say goodbye to my friend. He had worry in his eyes and I turned around and ran home. There was my dad, standing in the back door to the house. I came up to him and looked strait up into his eyes. I could see sadness and regret embedded in them but I didnt know why. I am only young and still rather small, even for my age, so he easily lifted me in his arms and carried me to the car. I always hated the car. It was far too loud and fast for my liking but I sat in the front across from my father all the same, knowing it would be better not to try and get out.
We only drove a small distance and the whole time dad refused to talk to me. I didnt get why he was acting the way he was. Then, as we stopped, he slowly turned to look at me, tears welling in his eyes. Worry shook every limb of me and it only got worse as he leaned over and whispered to me that everything will be okay.
Things seemed to be far from okay to me at the moment. The whole world seemed cold and sad. Then he took me from the car and into a small building that I had never seen before. A woman with a soothing voice talked to dad for a small while and then gently took me from him. Dad looked at me and kissed the top of my head and said Goodbye. Sadness took over me entirely. Where was dad going that I would never see him again? Then the woman took me to a room and I caught my final glance of my father. I struggled to get free from her but she was much larger then I was and easily held me back from running to my father. She looked down at me with sympathetic eyes and old me that everything will be okay.
No I knew that nothing would ever be okay again, not from that moment. My father was gone forever and I was being held in a place I had never even seen before, let alone been inside of. To woman sat me on top of a table and forced me to lie down. I would have struggled against her but I was already exhausted from my earlier attempts to escape. Then the lady stood back, another door opened and a sorry looking man walked in holding a long pointed object. He lowered the point towards me and then it hit me. All the time I had been worried about my father but it was me he was worrying about. This would be the end of me and the needle full of death came closer each second.
A cold point dove into my flesh and the effect was almost immediate. First speech was slurred. The womans voice sounded hazy as she spoke to the man. Then my vision buzzed to blackness. Now, here I lay, unable to move or see what is happening. My heart is racing, why wont it just stop and let me pass on in peace. This abnormal suffering is worse then any pain, knowing my life was soon to end but having to live the last moments with northing to live for. My lungs are getting heavy, begging me to stop breathing. I let out my last breath and hear the man whispering to me.
Everything will be okay.