Seven Minutes

Seven Minutes. They say that's how much brain activity you have left after you die. They also say in those seven minutes you see your life all over again. Seven minutes.

It's dark. Cramped. My heart is beating very quickly.

You're claustrophobic.

My mind tells me.

Inhaler. Now.

My mind "speaks" to me again.

I reach into my bra for my inhaler. Smart idea to do this.

I take two puffs of my inhaler and attempt to calm myself down.

I move my arms around. I'm in some sort of box. "Is this some type of joke?" I scream. I attempt to break myself out. After about 10 minutes, I give up.

Where am I?

"You're buried alive and running out of time."

My voice speaks to me.

I think about it.

It makes sense. The box. No one can hear me. Is this really how I'm going to die? I can't leave without saying goodbye to Lukas or any of my friends, we've all been best friends for years.

It's the end of fifth grade. We're all so excited to go into middle school. When people start to go their own path, make new friends, maybe even a silly relationship. I had just met Katerina and Cheryl at the end of the year, and I knew we would be forever friends. We were going to enter middle school together, and we had just inducted a new person to our group, a boy. His name was Lukas Mills with kind brown eyes, messy brown hair, green braces, and a toothy smile that makes you just melt. Katerina had told me that she had called "dibs" on him for middle school next year. Throughout the summer we had all become super close and hung out almost every day. Kat and Lukas never ended up getting together through middle school, he had always claimed he "liked someone else" which of course broke Kat's heart, but she got over it she says. When high school started we were still just as close but Lukas and I started becoming closer. Lukas and I had almost every class together sophomore year, which is when I found out my mom had stage four breast cancer. Lukas was always there for me, especially on my worst days. Kat had said that I "ruined the good vibe with my depression and shouldn't bring home problems to our group." Let's just say after Kat said that, Lukas despised her. Eventually, with us spending a lot of time together, we fell for each other. I lost my mom right before junior year and Lukas was there for every second of it, which I appreciated a lot. My own father is the one who pulled the plug on her chemotherapy, which also pulled the plug on our relationship.

States. I had finally qualified this year, which was good for me since this is my third season running. My mom and I's dream was for me to go to States and win it all. She would tell me that whether I won or not, I was always a winner in her book. If I die, I wouldn't be able to make all the hard work count, nor make the dream a reality.

My mom had always told me that I was fast. A fast learner, fast thinker, fast reaction time, and just fast in general. She's the reason I started track and fell in love with it and been running since. I always imagine her at the end of the race waiting for me. Cheering me on. "Hazy, win or lose as long as you put your all... you already won. You will always be a winner to me. I love you, promise me you'll never stop what you love." It was the last advice my mom gave me before she passed.

I realize tears are streaming my face once I taste the salty tang of my tears. Maybe I was too hard on him, my dad. He knew what he was doing, he knew she was in pain but I didn't listen. I let him think I hated him this whole year and he has done nothing but try to mend our relationship and I took it for granted. I'll never be able to say goodbye or that I'm sorry, or even that I love him.

"Haze you need to understand why I did it." My dad starts, tears filling his emerald eyes. "No. I understand perfectly, you won't even give her a chance to recover, you're just giving up! You're a coward and I never want to speak to you again!" I scream holding my now late mother's hand.

"Haz-" He starts. "Save it. Leave me alone with my mother, unlike some of us... I care about her." I spat as he looks down and walks out.

Dad. I forgive you. I love you. And I'm sorry I never got to tell you. You did everything you could and I never even listened and now you'll never know how much I care about you and how much I miss you.

It feels like hours have gone by. Who would've done this? All I remember is going on my daily run down the trail behind my house as I do every morning before school. Who even knows about that? Kat. She's the one who first told me about it. My mouth drops open as I remember what happened.

I get up at 5:30 as I do every morning. I throw my hair in a ponytail, put on some leggings, a tank top, and my running shoes. I go downstairs grab my water bottle, and my dad attempts to make conversation. I shrug him off and walk out putting my earbuds in. I go to the trail and start jogging. I feel as if someone is watching me, maybe it's just someone walking their dog. The more I keep running the more my heart dropped to my stomach and goosebumps appear on my arms. Someone is definitely following me. I start sprinting. I feel as if I lost them but I also realize I have lost myself in the woods behind my house and gone further off the trail than I expected.

"Hi Haze, what are you running out here for?" I hear. I turn around quickly and see Kat and catch my breath.

"Kat! You scared me!" I gasp.

"You run this path everyday, I showed you it. You don't think that I know these woods in and out?" She smiles.

"Kat...what is going on?" I ask.

"What's going on? Oh I'm just having a walk. Is that a crime?" She says.

I look at her, her eyes look... dark and distant.

"Of course not Kat. Hell, you're the one who showed me, I'm surprised you don't come out here and run with me. I feel as if I haven't seen you in a while, I miss my best friend."

"You have always known how much I wanted him yet you still went after him behind my back. What kind of friend does that?" She says.

I realize what she is talking about.

"Kat... you liked him in fifth grade and you told me you were over him. How was I supposed to know?" I scream.

"You made him hate me Hazel," she says looking behind me.

"You did that on your own Kat. I should be the mad one, you left me when I was at my lowest! How do you think I felt? My mother was dying and my own best friend shunned me!" I scream.

"Well, consider this me making amends, you'll see her soon." She says and nods.

"What do you mean Kat?" I ask. I feel shivers down my back as I can feel a figure behind me.

Before I can look behind me, everything goes black.

I begin to hear digging and people talking and yelling.

Have they found me?

Am I going to live?

I start screaming and everything starts getting fuzzy.

I reach for my inhaler and realize it's empty.

Oh no.

Not now. I"m so close.

I attempt to engrave "Kat" into the top of the box with my nail as hard as I can whilst I take my last breath as they open the casket. There's a bright light and I see a figure smiling at me as the casket opens.

Mom?