I want to be immortal. I've repeated those words over and over again in my head since I was a little girl. My mother used to laugh and say "Silly girl," before walking away shaking her head. My brother's reaction wasn't much different. He'd pat my head and smile, the way you would if you didn't believe someone. They're both long gone now, but their words and fake smiles never left my head. I gave on being immortal for a while, realizing it was a silly dream. Until my seventeenth birthday, when that all changed.
I was running up the stone steps to the bakery, when I bumped into an old woman.
"What where you're going girl," her rough voice floated out from under her hood.
I nodded that I was sorry. Before I could take another step, she grabbed my wrist in her ice cold fingertips. Golden eyes burned under the dark hood. The hairs on my neck stood guard as she pulled me down to the step she's on.
"Immortality," she said softly.
I swallowed. "What?"
She tightened her grip on my wrist. "That's what you want, isn't it?"
My breathing turned shallow as the blood was cut off from my hand. "That's impossible."
She grabbed my other wrist. "What if I told you there was a way?"
The sounds from the rest of the world drowned out as I focused all of my attention on her. My desires form all those years ago came creeping into my mind.
"How?" I asked.
Silver teeth flash at me from the darkness. "Meet me at the lamppost at midnight. Make sure you aren't followed." She released her grip on my wrist.
My creased eyebrows screamed, "What if I don't?"
"It's your choice," she shrugged. "You can continue with your worthless life, or you can have a life that matters."
And just like that, she was gone. I stared at myself in the glass of the baker shop, wondering if the woman was even a human being. I hopped over the railing and ran back home, the hairs on my neck still dancing. Those golden eyes clawed at my mind until I gave into my desires. Despite ever nerve in my body telling me not to, the minute midnight strikes, I was standing at the lamppost. Sure enough, the old woman is waiting there, a blue vial in her hand. Her cold fingertips brushed mine as she placed the vial in my hand.
"Drink this and you will live forever," she whispered. I stared down at the bottle before looking up again. The woman has once again disappeared. The liquid burned my throat as it went down. My eyes closed and I sank to the floor.
"She's barely breathing," a woman's voice drifted towards me from somewhere far away. My eyes opened and my aunt's face filled my vision. I looked around the room and found that I was in some sort of a hospital.
"What happened?" I managed to croak out.
"You drank something, some sort of poison, and it stopped your breathing."
My eyes closed.
The old lady gave me poison.
The doors swung shut behind my aunt as she left the room.
"Hello, dear," a familiar voice said from somewhere next to me.
I turned my head to find the old lady. A gasp escaped my lips.
"What do you want?"
She cocked her head to the side. "I just want to help you."
I shook my head. "You tried to kill me."
She frowned. "Hmm, I don't think so. They told you the liquid you drank was what did this to you?"
I nodded.
She scoffed. "No, darling. They did this to you."
My eyes closed as she put a cold hand on my shoulder. When they opened again, I was standing at the edge of a bridge, my bare feet freezing from the cold stone. I swallowed a scream as the waves crashed beneath me. Out of nowhere, rain started to pour.
"The water beneath you is legendary for blessing whoever has the courage to jump into it with immortality!" the old lady shouts up to me.
I spit wet strands of hair out of my mouth. Her voice filled my head.
"You want to be immortal, don't you?"
I glanced back at her one more time before letting the power of my desire guide me. I closed my eyes and jumped. My feet hit the water first before I completely drowned beneath the waves. I held my breath for as long as I possibly could. For a moment, everything stopped. I remember it being still and quiet. Then, the old woman's body floated up in front of me, she had a cruel smile sitting on her face. It was then I realized she was lying. I chased after something that I could never have. I desired the thing that destroyed me in the end. By the time I realized it, it was too late. My eyes closed and I gave into the darkness waiting there.
