Hey guys so a couple months ago I posted a short little update and mentioned that I had entered a writing contest. Well I am dumb and read the date wrong so I missed the due date for submissions..... ANYWAYYYYYS.... yeah so I thought I would just... post it here? Yeah, that sounds cool I guess.
So here it is:
“The last day”
It’s not everyday that you die. But
when you do come to that day, the day that you die, well you can’t really
expect it. Except for me, you see… I did expect it. It’s not like I had cancer
or anything, but I did know for a while that I would die on my eighteenth
birthday, a birthday that was rapidly approaching. I was exactly one day away
from that birthday that is meant to change your life. The birthday that is
meant to give you choices, give you the ability, for the first time in your
life, to make whatever decision you want; to choose the path that you will
continue living on. For me, well I had had that path already chosen for me.
Well not really chosen as much as I was been born into it. I was the daughter
of two semi-important people. My mother and father were two scientists working
to find a cure to a disease that had sprung up on the world almost as quickly
as it killed some million people living on it. This all happened five years ago. The world
had just reached an era of peace, no more fighting, no more hate. The only
problem it seemed was that now, we had no problems. Along with the end of war
was the curing on all terminal illnesses. It was amazing. Everything was
clicking into place. That all changed, though, when a small town in France all
suddenly died. French government quickly went to work to investigate the cause,
but found only that each victim’s hands, throat, feet, and eyes had turned
blue. Not soon after villages and towns in Africa, India, and all around the
world met the same fate. Immediately scientists began working to find the cause
of the deaths, but each that became exposed to the bodies… they too died. The
disease was known as ‘The Blue Ink’,
and anyone who was feared to have it, was automatically and immediately put in
quarantine. My parents, who were working in a research facility, were assigned
to help with the investigation when I was only thirteen. I hadn’t truly
understood the danger they were facing when they told me, but not even three
days after they started work at the lab… they were found dead-by myself- in
their bed. I was sent to live with my aunt and uncle in Florida, a place who
had not yet seen the horrors of The Blue
Ink. What I had not known when I moved from my home in Texas to Florida,
was how important my parents findings had been. Only three months later, on my
fourteenth birthday, my aunt decided it time to tell me what my parents had found.
My mother and father had made the ineffable discovery of this; “The Blue Ink targets all… all that have
the gift of knowledge. Or more specifically… the higher level of ability to retain knowledge.” No one knows why The Blue Ink targets ‘smart people’; we
just know that it does. So for the past five years, since my parents made the
discovery, the nations governments across the globe have been… testing, all
adults for the DNA coding. Thanks to a protection law that was set by the U.S
government, any child-meaning any
person under the age of eighteen- would not be able to be tested upon. This
gave children the ability to grow up and have a relatively normal childhood.
The only problem is… once that ‘child’ turns eighteen, if they test positive
for the superior gene… they are sent, away from home, to a facility located on
an island just off the coast of Japan.
On this island they are sent to live out the rest of their life, which
for most isn’t long, and eventually die of The
Blue Ink. For most people they live their lives as they would if they
didn’t know their fate. And that’s because they didn’t. Me on the other hand,
well thanks to my scientist parents… I was tested much earlier than most people
would be. Actually… I was the test
subject for which they were able to make their discovery. On my fourteenth
birthday, instead of a laptop or an iPod, I received my results to the test
that my parents had conducted. And they were positive. Now, here I am, five
years later, about to be sent to my death. Thanks to having a late birthday I
was lucky enough to have already graduated-at least I won’t die uneducated
right? My aunt, who had tested negative unlike her husband and son, was
absolutely devastated by the events to come. She had come to be like a mother to
me, and I a daughter to her. She despised the world for what they did, as
justified as it may be. The government’s logic behind the death sentence was
that, if they removed and isolated the cause and carriers of The Blue Ink then it would be impossible
for the disease to continue spreading, and they were correct. Not even a year
after the breakout and implement of the tests was the world already becoming
less and less infected.
My alarm sounds, waking me to the sound
of my favorite band, noise blares from the tiny speaker startling me to the
upright position. I wipe drool from the corner of my mouth and slam my fist on
the snooze. Though, instead of going back to sleep-like I usually would- I
swing my feet over the bed and walk to my bathroom. It was nothing huge, it had
a decent sized shower and plenty of counter room, the only down side was I was
always the last to wake up which meant that there was almost always no hot water left. It’s just aunt
Stephanie and I, but dang can she take long showers! I turn the nob to boiling
and turn around to look in the mirror. At first glance I think that a troll or
some sort of cave beast has replaced my reflection… then I realize it’s me. My
long dark brown hair forms a tangled mane around my small head. My hazel eyes peek
out from behind the chunks of hair that has fallen on my face. I push the hair
away and find a bright red patch just under my eye… naturally I poke at it to
see it change colors. “Hmm… must have slept funny…” I assess and turn away. I
take of my jammies; a hot pink flannel nightshirt, black drawstring shorts, and
a pair of stripped socks to match, then toss them in the hamper just outside
the door to the bathroom. Almost everything makes it in; one sock drapes itself
around the bin, squashing my dreams of ever playing professional hamper ball.
And that is totally a real thing! I grab my towel and hand it over the shower
rod, pushing the curtain out of my way as I step inside. I yelp and squirm away
from the scalding water, attempting to maneuver myself so I am behind the
stream and near the nob that controls the temperature. I quickly turn the nob
to the middle, and hesitantly edge a toe out, pleased to find that the water
has cooled down a considerable amount.
After taking my shower and making sure everything was up to heath code,
I towel dried my body and hair and through on the first thing I could find in
my closet…. That means everything that wasn’t balled up and on the floor. I
decide on a pair of dark jean shorts and a light blue floral tank top. After getting dressed I make my way
downstairs where I find aunt Stephanie sitting at the kitchen table staring at
a cup of coffee. “Morning,” I say grabbing a muffin off the island and placing
a kiss on her forehead, “what’s up with you?” She sits, unblinking and
completely dazed, stiff backed in her chair. Her hands grip the coffee mug so
tightly I fear she might shatter the ceramic. “How can you be so happy?” she
finally says giving me a sullen look. A single tear runs down her cheek, I
reach out with one hand and wipe it away, “because, there is no point in
spending my last day moping around the house and having a pity party no is
there?” She gives me a slight smile before looking back at her hands. “I
suppose… if you must. But I will not be a part of this! It’s my house, and if I
want to walk around gloomy all day and through myself a pity party, well then you better guess I’m going to do
it.” I place another kiss on her forehead and laugh, “I would never dare! Well…
I’ve got work, I’ll see you tonight.” I grab my bag of the table and walk out
the door, grabbing my car keys off the hook on my way. I hear a huff from
behind me, most likely Stephanie judging me on my decision to go in to work
today. The drive to work is short and uneventful. I pull into my spot in front
of the door to Betty’s Ice Cream Parlor, and head inside. The second I walk in
the usual chatter I am met with stops entirely. I look around and see many
familiar faces, some all too familiar. Sitting at a booth in the corner is my
ex-boyfriend Tyler-we were forced to break up two months ago when he found out
he tested negative… and I told him I was positive. Of course we couldn’t be
together. Still… a sharp pang hit my heart seeing him here. I give him my best smile
and continue on to the back room. The door swings open and I see my two best
friends sitting close together, whispering in hushed tones. “Hey now, not
planning any parties without me now are you?” the second the words leaved my
mouth I am engulfed in a bear hug from either side. Tiny Cassie’s arms wrap
around my waist as she presses her cheek into my shoulder. On the other side,
Del-who is a giant compared to Cassie- encircles my entire head and holds it
close to her heart, making me lose my balance. Between the weight of my own
body, and Cassie’s pushing me over, and the unequal support, I go toppling into
an also unstable Del; causing her to fall into the door to the freezer. We
disentangle ourselves from each other and stand in a circle. I look at the two
girls next to me and take a deep breath. “You aren’t going to cry are you?” Del
asks… though I’m not sure to whom. I give her a toothy smile and look at
Cassie. She twirls a strand of her fiery red hair between two fingers, trying
her hardest not to look me in the eyes. I reach out, grabbing one of their hands
in each of my own. I look them both hard in the eyes and fight back tears.
“Listen here you guys, now I won’t have two bawling best friends you got that!
I’m not going to spend today sulking all right. So do me a favor… try to
pretend like its just another day?” tears begin flowing casually down each
cheek as I say that last bit. I pull my arms back to wipe them away but the
girls don’t release my hands. Instead they each take a cheek and wipe the tears
away, “we promise” they say in unison. The freezer door swings open and
Betty-owner of Betty’s Ice Cream Parlor- walks out carrying a tub of mint
chocolate chip ice cream. I walk over to help lighten the load but am stopped
by a fierce command, “DO NOT COME ANY CLOSER YOU HEAR ME? I WANT YOU TO TURN
YOUR HAPPY BUTT AROUND AND GO HOME… and you take those two with you, you got
that?” I start to protest but something about the look on her face tells me to
do as she says. I give Betty a huge hug and whisper thank you in her ear. She
nods and continues on into the main parlor room. I take another deep breath and
the three of us-Del, Cassie, and I- head out to my car. As a disgruntled Del
climbs into the backseat-Cassie claimed the front; Tyler walks out the parlor
door. “Hey umm… Haleigh?” I turn away from the car door to look at Tyler; he
stands about six foot five and has short blond hair and blue eyes, “Have fun
today. Don’t let it be wasted.” My heart skips a beat and I feel a blush creep
across my cheeks, “Thanks Tyler, I’ll try.” I open my car door and duck inside,
earning surprised looks from both my friends. “What?” I ask. They exchange a
look before letting out an exasperated sigh. I nod my head and back out of my
spot. As we drive around town a somber feeling creeps into me. We pass many
places which I have grown up with, like Betty’s, many businesses around here
are family owned- no large franchises here. One particularly hard place to pass
is my school. After spending so many years attending Johnson middle, and then
Johnson High… I had grown to love those crowded halls. I give my old school one
last glance before turning onto the road that leads to Del’s house. Within
another five minutes I was pulling into Del’s driveway and putting the car in park.
Del’s mother-who has been like a mother to me- comes rushing out of the home,
arms spread wide and tears streaking her face. If my day kept going on like it
is my shirt will be soaked by the time I get home. Stepping out of the car I am
pulled into a ginormous bear hug. “Oh my sweet darling… you sweet, sweet girl.
This is such an outrage. How can they make people like you fall subject to such
an inhumane future?” I squeeze Del’s mom as tight as I can before prying myself
out of her grip. And head inside with the girls. We spend hours upon hours in
Del’s room. Both her and Cassie had what seemed like a stream of never ending
questions for me, the most complex coming from-surprisingly- Cassie. She looked
at me hard in the eyes and bit her lip. “Alright Cas… what’s got your tongue?”
She sucks in her lower lip before answering, “Haleigh? What is it like?
Honestly, don’t just say something to make us feel better. I want to know… are
you scared? Angry? I feel like you are just so calm and if it were me… well I would
probably be hiding out in my basement crying my eyes out.” I think about it
hard before responding, “Honestly Cas, I’ve long since accepted it. I’ve known
for a while that this day would come. That’s why I’ve never been afraid of
doing or saying whatever I feel. It’s hard yeah, to know that soon… very soon…
I’ll be dead. This life will be over. No more school, no more work, no more a
lot of things. If there is an afterlife… well I hope it is just like this real
life. I love every bit of my life and the people in it. You don’t really think
about it now but if you could just for one second think hard about how one day,
one day you won’t wake up. One day you won’t see the sun set, and feel the warm
breeze of summer on the horizon. It’s scary. I’ve never been more scared in my
life, but I’ve also never been more prepared for anything in my life. If you
told me right now that I had to go, even though its not that much sooner than
reality, I would be ok, because I know. I know that I have lived my life to the
fullest and done all I can do. Yeah there are some things that I wish I could
have done; found love, gotten married, had a family, or even just something
simple like go to college. But I’m fine. I have gotten to do so much more in my
lifetime than I ever dreamed. I may not know what is going to happen come
tomorrow, but neither will you. For all you know you could be killed by a bus,
but the difference between you and me is that if you died tomorrow… could you
honestly say that your content with your life? I’m ready for tomorrow to come,
because whatever awaits for me on that island… I’ll hit it head on and do
whatever I can to make my last moments worth living.” Silence. Cassie and Del
had never been so quite in their life, yet right now they stare, completely
silent, at me. I look between the two of them and realize just how much this is
affecting them. I had always thought about this day as the day that it changed
my life-ended my life that is- and never really thought about how if would
change the people around me lives. Now though, now I know. All day I have
hugged people and watched them cry over me, but I never really understood the
depth of that. The way that Cassie and Del look at me now, it’s a look of pure
admiration. I realize now that come tomorrow morning, they lose a best friend;
Betty loses an employee, Tyler loses a lover, Del’s mom loses a daughter of
sorts, and my aunt Stephanie… she loses everything. After having lost not only
a husband but also a son… I was her world. And when I leave this earth, she
will be alone. I shoot up from the bed, shocking the girls back to reality. “I
have to go,” I say grabbing my car keys off of the dresser. Cassie and Del
frantically look at each other. “What, why?” asks them both at the same time. I
walk around the bed and look them dead in the eyes. “I have something I have to
do.” I step forward and reach for the two girls who have been my best friends
for so many years. The girls who would do anything for me-they would take my
place if they could and I know it. Wrapped in my arms are the two greatest
friends anyone will ever have, two girls who will stand by you through anything
and be the support you need, when you need it. But right now it’s my turn. I
pull away from the hug to see a sobbing Cassie and Del-obviously toning back
the tears. For a second my heart breaks as I realize that when I walk out this
door, I will never get to see these people again. Cassie grabs my hand and
squeezes as tight as she can, “We will absolutely never forget you. You are the
most amazing person I have ever met, and I don’t know how I’m going to go on
without you.” Cassie says between hard sobs. I grab Del’s hand and put it in
place of my own in Cassies, “You’ll go on… together. No matter what, you have
each other and you will always know that I love you and that you will always
have me in your heart.” We all share one last hug before I break free and
leave. I glance back at the top of the stairs to see Del and Cassie in a fierce
embrace, both sobbing into each other’s shoulders. I make it home in record
time. After racing into the house I find aunt Stephanie sitting on the couch
rapped in a massive blanket. She looks as me for one second before spreading
her arms out wide, I crawl into them as I did when I was upset when I was younger.
She soothes me by running her hand over my hair and resting her head on mine. I
look at the woman holding me with tears in my eyes, “I’m sorry.”
“Shhh,” she says quietly, “I know. I
understand.” We stay like this until almost midnight, at which point we decided
to do something strange and make my favorite meal-mac n’ cheese with potato
chips on top- and watch my favorite move from my child hood- a fable about a
young girl who is taken from her home only to find her long lost family ten
years later. In what seems like moments the hours fly by and I’m waking up to
the sound of some one knocking on the door- I had fallen asleep on the couch
with aunt Stephanie, she awakes just alike me. We give each other a look of
unease before she got up to answer the door. I remain sitting on the couch and
wait for them men in suites to come give the ‘talk’ to aunt Stephanie-who has
had to hear this twice already- and I about what is about to take place. Aunt
Stephanie skips the casualties, opens the door, then turns and reclaims her
spot next to me on the couch. Two men both wearing perfectly tailored suites
come and take place in from of the T.V and between the couch and the coffee
table. The men begin the speech but all I hear is a dull buzzing in my ear. After
them men finish their speech they leave the house to wait in the bus parked
outside-wanting to give privacy to those who are about to say goodbye to their
loved ones forever. However aunt Stephanie and I had said our goodbyes many
hours before and only exchange a single hug. As my arms wrap around this
wonderful woman one thought comes to mind, how much I will miss her hugs, I
lean in close to her ear and whisper one last “I love you.” And then it is
done. I am walking out the door. Climbing into the back of a truck. Sitting
next to a few people who I briefly knew-all of whom were crying- and its over.
We take off down the road and head to our ultimate death. I stare out the
window as we drive through town and turn onto the government facility road
which leads to the docks. As the last bit of town slips from my point of view
one thought crosses my mind, “I’m not ready.”
