Chapter One
Meadow
There’s always been something about staring out my window, watching the world go by that calmed me. It washed all the worry, the fears and the hurt out of my veins and brought me into a place where I could just relax.
People would walk by, some that I knew, others I didn’t. Dogs would bark, cars would drive, but these are the things that didn’t interest me when I sat in my chair. Instead it was the small things.
The way the wind would blow the branches of trees and how the leaves danced on their way to the soft ground cleaned my thoughts. A bird flying in the sky, swirling until it decided to land made me smile. Nature was its own civilization that I could watch for hours, breathing as it went about what it was supposed to do.
A tree would fall, no longer growing and rot on the ground, but life would go on. A mother bird would lose her eggs to a starving animal, desperate for food, but life would go on. I’m going to die from a heart condition that can’t be treated, but life will go on.
With or without me, it will always go on.
I don’t think anyone realizes that but me. My mother is sobbing in the other room, my father trying to comfort her and hide his tears. They’re devastated and have been since the news we found out from the doctor. I think I’m making it worse because I’m not sad, not upset and not freaking out. Maybe that’s what they want me to do; to show some kind of remorse for the news of my short life. But I can’t. Being upset will just make my remaining days full of sorrow.
To make things worse, it’s only my parents, the doctor and I who know. I still have to tell Grayson, my best friend since grade three. I don’t know how to break the news to him. He’s always been easy going and full of life, so his reaction is unknown to me.
On a second matter, I don’t think I can leave my home right now without my parents causing a scene. I know I’m their only daughter and they just received news that they will have to bury their child, but I can’t stand seeing them upset. I don’t want them to feel pain because of me.
A car drives by, kicking up the leaves outside and I lean forward, resting my chin on the tops of my knees. My parents are fighting now. They’re fighting about me, because I’m going to die.
I’m ruining everything like I planned for this to happen.
Taking a deep breath, I climb to my feet and slowly head towards the kitchen> I listen to my socks pad on the floor, each sound calming me more than the last.
“There’s nothing you can do, Sara!” My father shouts, his arms spread out around him. His face is red from frustration and crying while my mother looks like a coward. I expect her to curl up on the floor into the fetal position any second. “We need to spend time with her while we can and stop making things worse!”
My foot hits a creaky spot in the floor and my parents faces snap towards me, full of shock.
YOU ARE READING
The Other Side of the Tracks
SpiritualMeadow and Grayson have been best friends since grade three and they couldn't be more different. Meadow is the happy, carefree type while though easy-going, Grayson is brooding. They truly think that together, their bond is strong enough to take on...