A story written by Jahnavi Belsare
A scream filled the air. I dropped everything I was holding and ran to the window, a sinking feeling in my gut. For a normal human, the view was...well, normal. Tall skyscrapers and busy roads were spread throughout the city. It could easily be described as a big city. This was what most people saw. Sadly, I was not one of those people. I wasn’t normal whatsoever. What I saw was completely different.
Tree stumps were littered all around the tall, unruly grass. Buildings lay in ashes and wild, rabid animals roamed the abandoned streets. All of that didn’t matter to me. I scanned the grass and saw two men in black leaning over what looked like a still body. I held my breath, hoping the body would move. It didn’t. I tried to look around the two men, who were standing in front of the girl, back to back. Then, as if reading my mind, they stepped aside, allowing me to get a good look at the body. It was a girl, maybe nine or ten years old. She had curly red hair pulled into two braids. I imagined small tufts of red hair sneaking out the braids and flopping around her face. Her eyes were closed, but I knew they were a shade of bright green. I stumbled back, my thoughts all foggy. The only thing I could see was the girl, laying perfectly still on the dying grass. Dying. Oh, no.
I pushed the door of the room open and ran down the hall. Once I got outside, I felt much worse, as if the sun was eating my energy.The only thing that kept me going was the sight of the little girl. As I got closer, the two men stepped aside and I collapsed next to her. I grabbed her wrist, hoping for a pulse. Nothing. Furious, I turned to the men. Now it felt like the sun was on my side, helping me. Something took over me and I kicked and punched as hard as I could. Those men had no chance. They knew who I really was. So they turned around and ran. I made my way back to the girl. Memories came back all at once.
I remembered brushing her hair and singing lullabies. I remembered walking her to school. All those small happy moments were worth some much to me. Then I remembered her screams. I screamed too, as the government tried to take her away. I remembered begging, begging to the government to take me instead. Her screams as I’m taken away. I remembered shouting at her to run, run away and never look back. How she refused. How the government forced me to come. How I found out the truth about myself.
I was immortal. I couldn’t die. Unless… unless I gave my immortality to someone else. I knew what I had to do. I looked up at the sun. Placing a hand on her chest, I whispered a few words so quietly, even I could barely hear them. Behind me, the sun glowed brighter. The girl, my sister, my family, sat up, coughing. I managed a smile as I saw her green eyes open. Then time slowed down. She looked at me, her eyes wide, as she realized what I did. She called out my name, but her voice sounded far away. She grabbed my arm, tears welling in her eyes. It was then when the world spun around a few times. I crumpled in her arms.
And that was how I died. In the arms of the person I loved the most.