Then I Was Gone

A Story by Maddy

I walked through the halls, hoping not to be noticed. In that instant I wished to be invisible to the one person who saw me. I pulled my books into my chest, head hanging low. I looked up for a moment, to see if she was looking. Green eyes met brown. A sort of cruel understanding passed between us, just from that single glance. It sent shivers down my spine. Her cold indifference rattled me. I became nothing.

I walked slowly into my class, desperately trying to hold back tears. Everything had come crashing down around me. Someone walked up. It was an old friend. A smile spread across her face. I almost lost it. Instead I kept my features a mask, returning an empty smile. Even she did not notice. That was no surprise. Only the one who had left would have.

Each day became torture. Plans for the future seemed unthinkable. I was struggling to live through each minute, let alone the next 10 years. I was slowly dying. No one noticed the change. They stood by as I quickly became lost. Each day I became less and less.

Finally, I was gone.