"Are you ready?"
"Yeah", I sigh.
She hands me the vile of sickly green liquid. I take it with a shaking hand. The glass is cold against my skin.
Breathe. There's nothing to be afraid of.
"Anything you need to tell me?"
"Thank you for everything. I l-"
"That's all I wanted to hear". She gives me a smile that's meant to be reassuring, but I can see what she's trying to hide.
She's afraid. Not for herself, but for me. I was like the daughter she never had.
I take a chance. She needs to know.
"I love you", I whisper.
She frowns. "Take it, Ashley."
I waste no more time.
I sip it.
It tastes like absolutely nothing, but the smell takes over. I lose my balance and clutch the table beside me, trying to keep straight.
Dizziness overcomes me.
Help.
I can't register everything that happens around me. But I do hear Mar yelling "Drink the rest, Ashley! Drink it!" Screaming for my life, for my safety.
I try to keep straight.
Try to bring the bottle to my lips again.
I can't.
Glass explodes around me. The crash echoes in my ears.
What's going on?
Then a swirl of darkness begins in front of me. Begins small, but develops into something giant, taking up half the room.
Then I'm being dragged into it. Into a different life.
"Wait!"
I try and wait.
Try to not be sucked in by this vortex of nothingness.
Try to grab the glass Mar hands me.
Will it undo the process?
And I try to bring it to my lips, but it's too late.
The darkness pulls me in for good, leaving the bottle behind to crash on the ground. Leaving behind Mar's weeping sounds.
It's too late.
...too late...
...late...
..help.
I was already gone.
