'Life is a beautiful struggle.'
The girl was panting, her breath hitched as she staggered.
Steadying herself, she paused, beads of sweat trickling down the side of her face.
Her fingers found the side rails beside her, and she clenched it tightly.
Just a few more steps to go.
Her feet were already aching in pain, and she could feel the energy draining away from her body.
Just a few more steps to go.
Through her heaving, she could hear the weariness of her muscles groaning at her to stop.
She gritted her teeth, and hoisted herself up the last step.
After a full ten minutes, she had finally made it up to the rooftop.
In heavy breaths, she reeled to the edge,
And looked down below.
If the hospital had one upside to it, it was this.
Seated on the very top of the building, was an open rooftop that looked out to the entire city.
She could see everything from up there: the small moving cars, the swaying of the trees, and even the tiny, bustling figures down below, all blanketed under the powdery snow.
She could stare at it for hours, and would if she had enough time, as if she was watching all the details of life unfurl around her.
But it was most beautiful to look at it as a whole.
She breathed in with pleasure.
So the climb had been worth it after all.
The sky was painted a brilliant blue, even on a winter's day like this one, and snow had begun to fall.
Drifting down in slow, small flakes, the world would soon be covered in more white before her, and she stretched her hands outwards.
Patches of snow landed gently onto her palm, cool and shivery on her skin.
Tears slided down her cheek.
She would never live to see a day like this again.
She would never live through another spring, or summer, or autumn. . .ever again.
And she could never have a chance to see all the things that she'd always wanted to, to get to know the world around her, to do as many new and exciting things as possible—to enjoy it.
Because all that she could think of now was the ticking time bomb she had become.
Oh how she had regretted it.
All the times she could have lived it to its fullest, she didn't.
And all the times that could've happened were cut clean off her lifetime, in one swipe of fingers.
She rubbed her tears against her sleeve.
No, not now.
Tears should be saved for when they are needed most, and now was not the time.
YOU ARE READING
When The Stars Fall
Short StoryOnce upon a time there was a girl and a boy. The two of them had always been immersed in their own lives, having pulled in too deep in reality, and have never known the world beneath their small city. But when tragic events strike them, they realise...
