random drabbles and short stories

infinity

I stared hard above the baby's head. 

Seven decades. 

An elderly woman waddled past me, after giving a cheerful greeting. 

Ten years. 

What seemed to be a high school teenager, sprinted his way across from me, onto the street. My head fell into my hands, and I suppressed the tears threatening to fall from my eyes. 

Ten minutes. 

He looked too young, too carefree.

 But I couldn't change anything. 

I simply had to walk quickly away, and hide my tears. Even in the mirror, I could see the numbers lingering above my head. They upset me. 

Three hours.

Every day, I would jerk awake, cry, and fall back asleep.

 Every day, I would take multiple medications, trying to combat the disease rapidly spreading through my entire body.

 Every day, instead of living, I slowly die. It hurt to look in the mirror, and see the numbers decreasing above my bald head. 

It hurt to know that I had the power to see how long a person had until they died. 

It hurt to see others have long amounts of time, knowing perfectly well that I didn't. 

It hurt to have pancreatic cancer.

-

Who knew the policemen could be so friendly? 

Who knew the chirps of sparrows could be so delightful to the human ear? 

Who knew the smell of coffee shops could be so inviting? 

Just someone acknowledging their last moments of life.

 As distraught as I looked, no one would even notice. No one ever seemed to notice when a person's sad or moody. They usually blame it on hormones, on puberty. 

So lost in my thoughts, I didn't notice the man a few feet away from me. He looked decent, all dressed in black. 

What caught my eye when I saw him, was the golden cross lying against the dark fabric of his turtleneck. He smiled at me and walked my way. 

"Hey there", he greeted. His smile was kind and his eyes were filled with an emotion I couldn't describe. 

I merely flashed a polite grin.

 I'd been looking at people's life durations for a while now. But when I peeked above this man's head, what I saw shocked me. Never in my life had I seen this figure.

 Above his head was an infinity symbol.

Now, so many different thoughts flashed in my mind at this moment. Most were incoherent. 

But as this man continued to grin at me, and his necklace started to shimmer, I fell to my knees before him. 

Inaudible mumbles left my lips, and my eyes started to water. His palms found my cheeks, and I closed my eyes when I felt the dents in his hands.

 When I got the strength to look up at him, he said "Go, my dear. Tell the world that I'm coming. Tell my followers not to lose hope. For my Father above awaits them with open arms." 

I nodded, although I was trembling frightfully. 

The Savior caressed my face once again, and surprised me by adding, "When you get home, make sure to look into the mirror." 

Confusion flooded my senses, yet I knew not to question. 

And before I knew it, He was gone.

As I crossed the street, the same teenager I saw a few minutes ago came rushing by. He sprinted with a certain vigor, a certain carelessness. He ran right ahead, into a speeding vehicle.

 A sickening crunch was heard, followed by a loud and final groan of agony. Behind me, people started to gather around the corpse.

 A tear dripped down my left cheek, and I forced my quivering legs to move.

 Away from the commotion. 

Away from death.

-

I hated wigs. 

They reminded me so much of what I don't have. 

What I was forced to lose. 

Which is why I wore a beanie every day. To hide my shaven head. To hide my insecurities. 

Yet when I looked in my bathroom mirror, I saw tufts of auburn hair. My hair was growing slowly, but surely. 

And instead of staring at decreasing numbers, I saw increasing ones. 

I went from three hours to three decades.

 My throat turned dry, and a choked gasp escaped me. My body hunched over and my knees slid to the wooden floor. 

Powerful sobs racked my body, as I was overwhelmed with emotion. Whimpers of thanks left my lips uncontrollably, and I vowed to regain my faith.

 Never again would I doubt the Lord's power and compassion.    

-

Sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo..... I don't even know what to say haha. Peace out, ma doods.

~Ella 💙