Chapter 1
I was born at midnight, when one day is rolling into another, when it's quiet and serene and it seems like everybody is asleep.
Midnight slowly grew to be my favorite time of the night. Unlike the rest of humanity, I'd set my alarm for midnight and as soon as it started beeping, I'd get out of bed and tiptoe across the wood flooring. I'd go out to the garden and I'd stay there, just gazing at the moon.
Nowadays, when I go out to the garden I do not think of the power of the moon, of its significance. I do not ponder about how at night when everything is dark and it seems like there is no light left, the moon illuminates the dark, proving there is hope to be found.
I think about Finn Woods and his last words.
Finn Woods. Where do I begin?
Finn Woods was a legend at Steppe High School. Eight pack, captain of the football team, you know, the classic popular boy at high school.
Except he wasn't just some boy who would have his moment in the limelight one second and be working as a taxi driver the next.
He was...
Mesmerizing.
Every little thing about him got your attention, if Aphrodite had a male form, it would be Finn Woods.
Finn Woods was just a regular guy, but he knew how to play his cards and he definitely knew how to win. He could make any girl fall at his feet, no matter what age.
Every girl including me.
In fourth grade, my books weren't just filled with grades. They were filled with little hearts inscibed with "F+E=LOVE".
In fifth grade, I'd stalk him, follow him back home from school, watch him play football, you get the flow.
Finn Woods had everything yet nothing.
It's the cruelty of society isn't it? They expected Finn Woods to be their little golden boy, shining in the limelight. They expected him to be happy because he was popular, he was smart, he was everything a human strives to be.
Finn Woods died on 31st October, on Halloween night. He was not dressed up as anyone. Finn Woods never needed a costume, the name Finn Woods itself was his costume.
Finn Woods hung himself. Finn Woods hung himself in my garden. He hung the rope on the old cherry tree. Finn Woods killed himself at midnight and I watched him die.
And I did nothing about it.
The next day, the cops came to our house with the ambulance. We were suspects. They never believed it was suicide, because they believed Finn Woods was too perfect to kill himself.
And in a way, it was murder.
It was murder because I could have stopped him.
Finn Woods became a sensitive subject for our family. We rarely brought him up anymore. We began drowning in our own guilt for letting Finn Woods die in our garden and not do anything about it.
Our house of six eventually sank into depression.
Dale is only ten, yet she feels the same guilt we do. She began skipping meals, and even if she ate she'd throw it up. We watched as she lost more and more pounds, till she looked malnourished.
Cassandra is fourteen, so she's older. She began smoking, drinking, partying excessively so she wouldn't feel the pain. She prances around the house in scarily short skirts, cigar dangling from her lip.
Jeremiah started getting into fights. He'd come home everyday with a black eye.
This may seem like the end of my story.
But it's really just the beginning.
Author's Note: Not sure whether this classifies as sci-fi or teen fiction, but it's mainly teen fiction.
Picture of Finn Woods to the side. Channing Tatum is gorg.
Love,
Sowmya
