𝑯𝒆𝒓 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒈𝒊𝒇𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒔𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒔.
Elizabeth Reid learned, at seventeen, that she was going to die. Diagnosed with terminal cancer, she's faced with a question that no one should have to answer.
How do you leave a mark on a wo...
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The darkness was all-consuming, pressing in on me from all sides. I couldn't see, couldn't breathe, couldn't think. And then, suddenly, I could.
I was at home, in our living room, but everything felt... wrong. The walls seemed to breathe, pulsing with a sickly light that made my stomach churn. And then I saw them. Mum and Dad, sitting on the sofa, but they weren't themselves. Their faces were twisted, almost cruel.
Mum's voice cut through the air, sharp as a knife. "Oh, Beth. You're still here, are you?"
I tried to speak, to ask what was happening, but my voice wouldn't work. It was like my throat had closed up, trapping the words inside.
Dad shook his head, his eyes cold and empty. "We thought you'd have done us all a favour by now. Don't you know what a burden you are?"
Each word felt like a physical blow. I wanted to cry, to scream, to tell them they were wrong, but I couldn't make a sound. I just stood there, frozen, as their words washed over me.
Then Meri appeared, pushing past me. But it wasn't my sweet little sister. Her face was hard, her eyes accusing. "Do you know how annoying it is?" she spat. "Being the kid in class whose sister is dying? I hate it. I hate you. Why can't you just hurry up and die already?"
I felt my legs give way, and I crumpled to the floor. This couldn't be real. It couldn't be. But the pain in my chest, the ache in my heart - it felt real enough.
The room started to spin, colours blurring together. When everything stopped, I found myself in the hospital. The walls were too white, too clean. The beeping of machines grew louder and louder until it was all I could hear.
And there was Nathan, standing at the foot of a hospital bed. But his smile was gone, replaced by a look of... pity. Just pity. Nothing else.
"Oh, Beth," he sighed, shaking his head. "Did you really think I loved you? How could anyone love something so broken, so... temporary?"
I reached out to him, desperate to prove him wrong, but my hand passed right through him. He might as well have been a ghost.
"I only stayed with you out of pity," he continued, his voice growing colder. "It was the right thing to do, wasn't it? Be kind to the dying girl. But God, it's exhausting. I can't wait to be free of you."
The beeping got louder, more frantic. I pressed my hands over my ears, trying to block it out, but the sound seemed to come from inside my own head.
Then I felt it. Something grabbing my ankle. I looked down and saw a hand, dark and shadowy, coming out of the floor. Then another. And another. They started pulling, trying to drag me down into the darkness.
I tried to scream, but still, no sound came out. The hands were everywhere, grabbing at my clothes, my hair, and my arms. And with each pull, I heard whispers. Countless voices hissing in my ears.
