04: The Ledger Of Death
1st death: Overturned by a car.
2nd death: Drowned in the river.
3rd death: Struck by lightning.
4th death: Fell down the stairs.
5th death: Consumed by fire in her home.
6th death: Poisoned by spoiled food.
7th death: Lost to sickness in bed.
8th death: Accidentally shot in the woods.
9th death: Suffocated in a landslide.
10th death: Struck by a falling tree.
11th death: Crushed in a collapsing building.
12th death: Drowned in a sudden flood.
---
13th death: Electrocuted by faulty wiring.
14th death: Hit by a train.
15th death: Carried off by a high fever.
16th death: Struck by falling debris in a storm.
17th death: Swept out to sea by the tide.
18th death: Stabbed in a mugging.
19th death: Fell from a rooftop.
20th death: Lost in a fire at the café.
21st death: Collapsed from dehydration.
22nd death: Struck by a loose stone at a construction site.
23rd death: Burned alive in an accident.
24th death: Crushed by a runaway cart.
25th death: Poisoned accidentally.
...
105th death: Struck by a falling branch.
106th death: Drowned in her bathtub.
107th death: Fell into an uncovered well.
108th death: Crushed in a car wreck.
109th death: Trampled in a crowd.
110th death: Lost to a winter blizzard.
111th death: Caught in a building explosion.
...
250th death: Fell into a frozen lake.
251st death: Struck by an avalanche.
252nd death: Lost in a mine collapse.
253rd death: Mauled by an animal.
254th death: Fell from a cliffside.
...
500th death: Caught in a stampede.
501st death: Fell into quicksand.
502nd death: Succumbed to smoke inhalation.
...
750th death: Poisoned by a venomous bite.
751st death: Fell asleep at the wheel.
752nd death: Struck by a falling chandelier.
...
1000th death: Electrocuted by a downed power line.
1001st death: Gasped her last breath in a hospital bed.
1002nd death: Struck by a collapsing roof.
...
1250th death: Lost in a snowstorm.
1251st death: Suffocated in an elevator.
...
1500th death: Fell down a ravine.
1501st death: Caught in a gas explosion.
1502nd death: Collapsed from exhaustion on a hike.
...
1750th death: Swept away by a river's current.
1751st death: Run down by a speeding vehicle.
...
1860th death: Overturned in a boating accident.
1861st death: Fell from her horse.
1862nd death: Crushed by a toppled statue.
1863rd death: Struck down on a quiet street.
I've counted them all. There are more, so many more. But you see the pattern, don't you? A relentless, heartless tally of a life cut short, each one more senseless than the last.
I would have liked you to have avoided our story as you have avoided reading all these deaths. If you had simply walked away, closed this tale, we would not be standing at the brink once more.
But I know you're still here. I *feel* your gaze, your morbid curiosity soaking in my suffering. You have ignored my pleas, feeding on the misery that binds Lila and me in this endless loop.
So, let me tell you what you are:
"You are a selfish reader."
YOU ARE READING
THE SILENT WITNESS
No Ficción[SHORT-STORY] I have watched Lila from the moment she opened her eyes to this world. I have seen her laugh, dream, and stumble through the shadows of life. I love her more than words can say, yet I am cursed to do nothing but watch, helpless, as her...
