꧁ LIFE and DEATH ꧂

VIVIR

"Voy a reír, voy a bailar

Vivir mi vida, la la la la"

—

Nails tapping on the textbooks in her lap.

Her fingers danced across her lap, coaxing silent memories from the invisible instrument.

Melody with her right hand.

Harmony with her left.

She never bothered to take lessons. The internet was there for a reason, after.

She didn't know Mozart or Beethoven. She had never learned them.

More lyrics poured from her headphones, blocking out the chatter of the bus.

She didn't know what the words meant, but she loved them.

—

"Voy a reír, voy a gozar

Vivir mi vida, la la la la"

—

Hands gripped her own.

A boyfriend?

A boyfriend. And older boy, too. A grade ahead of her. Brown hair and blue eyes.

It was amazing, she was told by her friend. Purple hair flounced in front of her magenta eyes, blocking, her view.

She smiled.

But it wasn't complete.

—

"Voy a reír (¡eso!), voy a bailar

Vivir mi vida, la la la la"

—

The white casing covering her arm.

It itched, a constant affliction.

But it had been her decision to climb the tree, scrambling her limbs over the tree's. Still, one missed movement, and she was falling.

The wailing of the ambulance.

The rushed shouting. Her own tears.

The lyrics still danced in the back of her own mind.

—

"Voy a reír, voy a gozar

Vivir mi vida, la la la la"

—

Her first kiss.

Chapped lips fumbling over her smooth ones.

It was rushed, and sloppy, but a kiss nonetheless.

At the end of school, he had pulled her aside.

She smiled as she headed home.

—

"A veces llega la lluvia

Para limpiar las heridas"

—

Short claws clacking against the wooden floor as the dog jumped for her.

Sharp teeth that barely grazed her face, but still left a cut under her cheek.

She bit back a sob as one of her friends gently patted rubbing alcohol on it.

The first real dog bite . . .

—

"A veces solo una gota