~The End Of Me~Short Story

By: Orjwan Khayyat

  The milky moon glazed it’s painting in beauty across the sky. Knowing to myself in a short few seconds it will be covered with dark, heavy, gloomy clouds. The wolves howl from a distance. The dazzling flashlight was fading away in the murky shadows. The wolves calm down with their howls. I make my way back home through the darkness from the river. I bumped into thorns, vines, bushes, and trees getting home with scratches and bruises everywhere on my body. I was cold, tired, and hungry, my heart traumatized with global war memories, aching for my family.

“Kelsey, Kelsey where are you?” a boy’s voice close by.

“Henry?” I said in a soft voice. “Yah it’s me.” Henry replied

confidently. I slowly unfolded the curtain that acted as door between two walls. I was delighted to have Henry to be my company. I love him so much, and I’ve known him since I was four years old. He comes inside with a dish in his hand. “My mother made some fried fish tonight, and we sent over some dinner.”

“Thanks so much.” My voice and body were quivering.

“Are you cold?” Henry asked. I kept quiet; I didn’t want the Smith family to spoil me. Ever since my family died and left me alone they treated me with ever lasting kindness. … “Kelsey you okay?” Henry reached out to touch me. “Hello? Kelsey!”

“Huh” I didn’t notice what he was saying I was zoning out with memories about my family and how we use to have a good time.

Here” he said wrapping a warm blanket around me. He reminds me so much of my brother. I burst into tears. “Please stay with me, don’t leave yet”.

“I’m always with you and same with your family. They are always in here and here,” he said pointing to my heart and head.

“I don’t know what’s wrong with me I miss my family so much making me so upset everyday,” I said.

Every now and then I explode with tears. I’m here alone; my family all left this world, left me.

I was the girl that was pampered in my family, and never did anything and look at me now. I’m self-dependant now; I do everything for myself. The global war has ended 6 months ago leaving people scarred for life, and competing for survival. Henry stayed with me for a while and before he left he fixed a warm fire in the middle of the room. I was starring at the orange blaze thinking why this stupid global war even happened. I lost everything in life, my home, family, and myself.

I opened a small wooden box and look down on the measly little items I managed to save before the global war. I had a small family portrait, a book, a knife, matches, and a family scrapbook. I always treasure these beloved items and guard them to my extreme best. I warmed up my fish dinner over the fire. I hear some scuffling beside my door. “Hey I smell some food,” one said to another. “Let’s barge in and steal it”. My heart was throbbing in my heart. Boom… boom… boom. The beat was totally out of tune. They rip open my curtain and intrude into my home and sniffing their way to the piece of fish that was in my hand.

That piece of fish that I was been given by Henry’s family was the only real piece of meat I ever had for months. I wasn’t going to easily giving it away, since the Smith’s family had sacrificed something so scarce for me to enjoy. I quickly wrap my fish in some cloth and bury it in the sand beneath me, and put a small rock on top. I quickly went to the corner of the room, and waited staring at the only glow of light in the room. The orange flames were dancing like little men on a hot platform, up and down, up and down…

“Hey where is the food that you’ve been smelling Bert?” His voice was really close. I was standing so still trying not to tremble. Out of nowhere my prince charming leaped into action. He grabbed the two thieves and yanked them out of my home, yelling at them and told them never to return again or he’ll kill them.

“Got that you fools,” He shouted in their ears.

“Ye-e-e-e-s” they replied being scared. After they left by a few minutes Henry called my name in a gentle voice.

“Kelsey, you in here.” He said softly. I emerged from my safe corner in the house. “ Yah Henry” I said in a wavery voice.

“How did you know? Huh…what I don’t understand,” I said confused.

“I came to check on you, and I heard some scuffling noise in your home and sounds of men, so…”

“You came and saved my life and dinner”

“Yah if you want to put it that way” “You enjoy the fish” He said. I bent down feeling the ground looking for the small rock, I found it then started digging up to get my dinner. I unwrapped the cloth around it and shook off the excess sand.

“I didn’t have it yet” I replied.

I warmed up the fish and ate half of the piece and offered the other half to Henry. He said “no” at first, but I convinced him to have it. His stomach was rumbling stones down a hill. Between our bites we discussed the old times.

“I think I have forgotten what chocolate tastes like,” He said.

“I also haven’t had my mother’s apple crisps for a while.” I replied sadly. Henry went quiet; he too knew that my mother’s apple crisps were among the best in the town.

The next day I went to a neighbours house, not a house more like a mansion. A widow lived in this home all by herself. The widow is an elderly woman named Mrs. Canny that had tons and tons of food and water that was bottled. The food fills her entire basement. I work for Mrs. Canny one hour a day for a week in exchange for one bottle of water, one can of fruit, and a slice of toast with a slice of cheese per week. I housekeep. I do her laundry by washing it in the Colorado River, which isn’t very far from the town I live in, Denver.

In the Colorado River I wash my clothes, and get my drinking water that I have to boil before I drink. Some people fish there but the population of fish decreased so it’s so scarce to catch any.

“Since you worked so well,” said Mrs. Canny in a grandmother type of voice, “You can have half of a chocolate chip cookie.”

“Thanks Mrs. Canny,” I answered. I took the cookie gratefully from her; I haven’t had a cookie for a long while. I tucked it safely in my pocket. I went to the forest area to collect wood for my fire. I kept on bumping into things like wild crazy bushes.

The thorns on the bushes attack you as you walked by them. I kept gathering to my estimation for about four hours straightly not stop. I went back and forth from my home to the forest. I have collected a very grand pile of wood in the corner of the room that will probably last a week for firewood. Since there is no sunlight I depend on the fire for the light in my day. Henry came by and I gave him half of my cookie an hour later.

“You can’t say you don’t know how chocolate tastes like now,” I teased him.

“Ha ha ha,” he laughed jokingly. I knew they were only a few chocolate chips in that cookie, but anyways it was a really big treat for both of us. Tomorrow another day will begin, but the sun won’t shine.

The next day I got busy to work I needed to build an outer wall around my home. My so called “home” is basically just a medium room with three walls and a roof. I needed another wall and reinforcements around the home for it’s weak walls. I had a piece of toast and a slice of cheese from Mrs. Canny’s supply that she gives me every week. I then went directly for my housekeeping job at Mrs. Canny’s house. I worked for about an hour then from there I went directly to the house ruins. The house ruins is an area located in the middle of our town. It was destroyed homes from the war. Basically anything you can find are up for grabs. I searched through piles, and piles of ruins for about two hours. Most of the good stuff has been taken, but in the end I found a bottle of gasoline, a knife, colored pencils (at least I think they are because I can’t see in the dark), and some clothes including a warm jacket, a worn out blanket, and a pair of shoes.

My clothes have been so worn out and I only have a pair left. I drop my items that I had found at my home in a safe spot to insure their safety against burglars in the town. My food supply that I have collected weeks before was getting low. I have lots of work to do I have to build another wall, reinforcements, a gate around my home, and to get a huge amount of food supply all before winter. I got to work right away after a little bit of lunch. I worked so hard for about 7 hours straightly. I was pouring of sweat all over myself. I had built seventy five percent of the fourth wall that I installed. My throat was quenching with thirst. I went to the river and bathed my body removing all the salts from it.

I washed my clothes and carried two buckets of water at home. The water’s contaminated, so I have to boil my water in a large pot in my fire.

“Can I come in?” Henry said on the outside of the partially built home.

“Sure” I replied wearily . He sat down making himself comfortable and his stench of working had filled the room. “You smell bad,” I said. “Yah I know, I was catching and hunting food with my family, and skinned the meat and salted it to last for winter. My brother collected wood, my sister helped my mom skin and salt the meat, and I got the meat and built reinforcements around our home.” He said. “Cool”. We were quiet for a while.

I took the water pot out of the fire and waited for it to cool. The sun showed up for exactly ten seconds. That was really pointless I thought. If only the sun shinned everyday my life would be better, actually everyone’s lives would. Henry left after a drink of water. “Thanks for the water and that cookie early in the day,” he said gratefully. “No problem” I said. I looked outside of my door all I see is pure darkness. It looks that we’re living in a pale of charcoal. I ate a piece of bread it was so stale that my molars had to chomp on it for a while. My stomach was crying, for it was hungry like the rest of my body. I hushed it down by placing rocks overtop of it, so it compresses the emptiness inside.

I woke up early the next day. My fire had gone out, making me shudder. I sat down for a while I was cold and shivering. I was so tired and lazy to rub sticks together until I got some sparks. So I place some wood and poured some gasoline over top and lit a match…boom…my fire got really large, and my home was getting on fire. I poured my drinking water over top the heaping flames but no avail. It grew bigger and bigger, I ran outside yelling for help my house was burning and everything in it. I sprint to the river carrying four heavy buckets at a time.

I run and run through the marsh of bushes. I reach my home again the flames were increasing by the second. I knew I couldn’t do anything. My family…my picture…my life…I need to save them. I run in the flames of fire. A guy holds me back, Henry. “Leave me alone dork brain. I need my freaking family picture, I need to get, leave me alone before it burns.” I was struggling between his arms. Mrs. Smith, Henry’s mothers, hushes me down with my massive sobs all over her. I was furious at Henry, his mother, this life, and the universe. I hate being myself. It’s already hard now losing my family twice, twice I say. I untangled myself from Mrs. Smith’s firm grasp and run off into the forest into the concealed world.

I scamper through the evergreen jungle. I was tired so I nest myself near a cave. I was just about to drift to sleep on a very comfortable and furry pillow that was on the ground of the cave. I hear a loud growl a large object was outlining the cave entranced. Oh God I was trapped in a cave with a mighty huge bear. I jump up turning around in all directions. I knew the bear would not hesitate to kill me. He was not going to let food disappear especially since he hasn’t had any for a while. I look down and I see a small cub that I have been using him for a pillow. I heard grunting noise coming deeper and deeper inside the cave.

First of all I could make a run through it or secondly I could develop a strategy of escape. I decided to myself to get low to the ground as possible and when I reach the entrance I could make a run for it. I scoot myself to the entrance, when I got close to the bear I held my breath and covered my neck and stomach hoping for that he would not smell me. I heard him growl striking his paw at me a gashing wound was on my cheek. I get up quickly and sprint with all the fastest energy I ever could. I look back he was right up to pace with me. I jump over logs, trip and fall, but I push myself further into the wild. I run and run. I get to a high cliff and now for sure I was trapped.

“Sorry Mummy for complaining all the time, Denise sorry dear sister for stealing your stuff, sorry Daddy for not being the person who you wanted me to be, sorry Smith family for all your hard work and thanks for your comfort that you have given me, God please forgive me,” I said to myself, knowing that my last breath was soon to come. I looked into the bears eyes they were full of hatred and desire of wanting to slaughter me. At first he was pouncing on me I fought back by kicking and screaming. I rolled away from the bear not realizing I was at the end of the cliff. I came crashing down at the sharp ridges of rocks below me. I heard something go crack, then everything faded away into pitch-black darkness.

I knew I was dead, but I keep hearing voices in the background sounding so familiar and realistic. I catch some phrases, but my head isn’t thinking right. I fade again into darkness. I wake up screaming I felt that I was burning. My body was on fire. I moan and groan Oh God help me. I see people in front of me; their images are so blurry I can’t distinguish who they are. “She’s alive,” someone said happily. “Praise God, that flight she took down must have knocked the daylights out of her.” Another said. “ Well it did”. Everything fades again. I truly wake up now and see that I’m in a somewhat familiar place. I glimpse Henry with his family were going in and out of the house. How the hell did they find me?

“You okay” Henry says.

“I love you,” I said. Those were the last words before I departed this life. Leaving everything I had and loved to join my family up in heaven. This might not seem like a happy ending for me, but really it is I get to reunite with my family. You might not know if the sun might shine the next day so you better take your chances.

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THE END----------------