Death by Landscape

~~~

Landscape-filled pictures hang around my room. Every single one of them is in full of snow. The snow is precisely as white as the color of Snow White's skin for all of them.The funny thing is, even in the summer, they are still there.

However, these pictures do not bring me joy.

When I was eleven, I could see any landscape as an enjoyable view. Now, I feel a disgusting lump in my throat I can't swallow. I'll try to cough it down, but I can't. It's like a barrier from my life to happiness.

If only lives never end.

Eight years ago, being an eleven year old, I remember hearing Katelyn's voice ring in my ears with joy.

"Come on, get on this snowboard," Katelyn, in her puffy jacket, yelled at me, while sitting on the snowboard.

I remembered looking at the thick, white snow on the ground.  Little drops of hail fell vigorously as if the clouds were crying cold, hard tears.

Katelyn was my best friend. Her attitude was mainly happy, and all her smiles were as cheerful as a newborn puppy.  She had chocolate-brown hair and eyes as large as lychees. She also had a daredevil personality.I now wish she didn't because it would have changed everything.

I sat on the snowboard with Katelyn. Her in the front and me in the back while Katelyn was tightly holding the steering string.

"Girls, be safe," my strict mom warned us, "Don't go too fast!"

Right after she said that, Katelyn automatically turned around to smile her mischievous one at me.

We are daredevils, right?  I thought to myself. Katelyn's smile became bigger as if she knew what I was thinking. We both wanted to have fun. But was having fun worth losing my friend?

"Ready, set," I whispered to Katelyn, "GO!" My shout was as loud as a harvest thunderstorm as my mom pushed the snowboard.

Our sled started zooming down the white, snowy hill. The screeching noise of the plastic sled that rubbed in the snow filled my ears. Being the unsafe children we were, both Katelyn and I weren't wearing helmets.

"LETS SPIN!" I yelled to Katelyn. I wasn't following my mom's orders. Bad decision.

Katelyn abruptly pulled on the steering string to the left. I felt the sled turn backwards. The snowboard was spinning in perfect circles like the shape of a ballerina twirling. That ballerina would spin even harder as I looked forward and saw Katelyn pulling the string with more effort. Katelyn screamed like a cowgirl on a trotting horse.

Our sled spun and spun down the hill until my ears barely made out anxious yells over Katelyn's cheerful ones.

Why are our neighbors yelling? I thought to myself. The sound started to diminish as we slid farther.

"STOP! STOP!" I heard faint noises from neighbors watching us. I saw everyone sprinting toward us as if the world was about to end. However, our sled continued to spin. Anxious blurred faces from our neighbors made my heart pound.

Something is wrong, I thought to myself again. 

All of a sudden, Katelyn's cheers ended and they were replaced with sounds of fear.

She figured it out. I didn't yet.

The rest after this was a big, gigantic blur like a cloudy bubble about to get popped. I then saw Katelyn's dad tried to stop the sled, but it failed. Our sled got out of Katelyn's dad grip with a terrified look on his face.