Emily's Time

Her dark surroundings is a ghost-quiet, except for her ragged breaths and deafening pounds inside of her chest. She firmly holds a precious box in her trembling hands, her bloodshot and swollen eyes never cease from looking behind, and her legs are increasing its pace until she reached their house's front door.

She instantly twist the rusty knob and put her legs inside of their dark living room. She ran upstairs and went straight to a room at the end of the hallway.

A single tear flowed down from her eye at the sight in front of her. Her husband sitting on a plastic chair, his elbows are both on his ankles and his hands covering his face. Another tear flowed down when she moved her eyes at the bed beside him. Her legs trembled at the sight of her daughter, Emily, lying miserably and limp on her bed. Emily's eyes are staring at the ceiling with a picture of a blue ocean and fishes on it. She wiped her tears and took quiet steps towards them. She kneeled down beside their daughter's bed and kissed her paled-cheek. Emily's tired eyes looked at her and slowly gave her a small smile.

She cleared her throat before smiling back at her daughter. "Your wish is here, my princess.", She said and carefully took the aquarium out of the box. Two fishes swam happily inside but the happiness in her daughter's face made her sacrifices all worth it. Her husband moved to her side and both of them hold the aquarium. Emily's hand stretched towards them with a paper. They placed down the aquarium and took the paper. Both of them hugged her at the same time she took her last breath.

Policemen are outside their house, wanting to retrieve the fishes to town's laboratory.

Mom and dad,
Don't be sad that I will go to heaven. I remembered the story that I read, it says that the sky is as blue as ocean but why only the dark and heavy smoke are the only thing I can see above, even the sun and moon have no time to take a peek. If I was born few generations back, I would spend my entire life protecting and saving the nature. People hundreds years ago are beyond lucky. They experienced the crystal blue water, greeny forest, abundant land, and fresh air. Each of them spend their time in this world in hundred years, our generation only in thirty and mine is ten. Sometimes, I wonder what mistake did the mother earth made that they punish it until it died? Why did they left us nothing but a polluted world giving me no option but to leave my family? They have no right to be in heaven, they killed the nature and now, they are slowly killing us, their wrong doings killed me. Mom and dad, please take care of my little garden. I love you.

Emily