I DID NOT WRITE THIS. THE PREVIOUS OWNER OF THIS ACCOUNT DID. I DO NOT CLAIM THIS WORK AS MINE.
"It'll be OK, Holly," my older sister, Katie, is saying, but I can barely hear her. We're standing beside the graves of...our dead parents. I've already placed down the roses, Katie's hand guiding my shaky one. I can feel tears prickle my eyes, but I won't cry. I know that Mum and Dad would want me to be strong.
Which is kind of funny, since I'm weakened by a sickness that nobody, not even Katie, knows about.
As for it being OK? No way...I'm in pain, more pain than anyone could ever know. And it's not just because I lost my parents. It's because I've lost part of my heart as well...literally. I guess you could say I'm dying, and it's just a matter of moments before my sickness strikes one last time.
"Whatever," I mutter. Suddenly my eyes give way and tears start rolling down my cheeks, and Katie's arms wrap about me.
"It's OK," she whispers into my hair. "It's OK, Holly. We'll be fine. We'll go to the orphanage, find knew parents..."
"I don't want knew parents!" I scream, surprising even myself. I let my chocolate-coloured hair fall over my eyes. "I want my old ones back." My voice is ting suddenly, like I'm trying to communicate with ants.
"I know, Holly, but they're gone," Katie whispers. "They are gone and they're not coming back... I'm sorry."
I'm about to reply when suddenly there's a sickening pain in my ribs. My hearts starts to beat fast and then I'm falling. Katie shrieks and tries to grab me, but I've already hit the ground. The last thing I see is Katie's horrified face before darkness rushes into my eyes and I think, so this is what dying feels like.
~*~
"Hello, what is your emergency?"
"My sister just fell over, she's not moving..."
"OK, is she conscious?"
"No!"
"Is she breathing?"
"No!"
"What is her name?"
"Holly...can you send help? Now?"
"Alright, where are you?"
"Ashton Cemetery — and come quick!"
"Don't worry, Miss, an ambulance is on their way."
"Oh thank god!"
~*~
"She's dead, Miss," the paramedic tells me shortly after they arrive.
"What?" I feel like screaming. "She can't be dead! You're all doctors...do your job! Help her!"
"It's far to late for that, Miss," one of the paramedics says softly. "She's gone. Did she have any signs of a sickness?"
"What?" I frown. "No...she was perfectly fine. It was so sudden."
Another paramedic tuts. She's standing beside Holly's body, examining her.
"I'm afraid she's missing part of her heart," she announces, and I almost laugh. You can't die from that...can you?
"She lost her parents," I point out. "Of course she's lost part of her heart...I have too. I've lost more now, though, and I'm not dead!"
The paramedic shakes her head. "No, I mean she's literally lost part of her heart. I did some scans, and...it's like something's eaten it. Did she have any contact with acid?"
"No, I don't think so," I mutter, and then it hits me. That bloke in the taxi...he gave us both a lolly pop. I didn't eat mine, thinking it tasted funny after a tiny lick, but Holly ate both hers and mine. Is it possible the lollies had acid in them? Is that possible? But how did the taxi driver get his hands on some acid?
Not long after the paramedics leave, and some people from the orphanage arrive to take me and Holly's body away. I feel numb now, even number than how I felt after my parents died.
We drive to the orphanage, and Holly's body is buried in the cemetery, beside our parents. I'm crying when they take me to my room, a tiny little square that doesn't even qualify as a built-in wardrobe to me.
My sadness slowly turns into anger. How could anyone do this? Give a little girl — only seven years old — a lolly pop full of acid? Suddenly I find myself smashing my fist into anything I see. The door; the walls; my pillow; the side of the bed; even the windows. There's shattered glass all around me now, but I ignore the singing pain in my knuckles and finger sand jump out the destroyed window, being careful to now step on any shards of glass.
They think I'm going to an orphanage when I have revenge to plot? What fools. I'm going to find the taxi man that killed my little sister and punish him. I don't even care if I go to jail...I'm not old enough anyway. Not even old enough for the kid prison — hey, I'm only nine.
I storm away from the orphanage, in search of any taxis around, and I don't look back.
