Description of a scene...

had to do this for English coursework. got an A; so i thought i might aswell share. :)

Gazing up at the grey sky, heavy with mysterious fog a small boy stands on a wooden platform, he is surrounded by absolute silence. He wonders what will happen next. He knows he is nearing his end, and yet his last thoughts are filled with hope. Hope that the dreadful events of the next few minutes will be stopped, by some miracle and that he and the many other people around him will be freed to go about their own business once more. His eyes are glazed over by a shadow of fear and his large intense pupils are deep as if upon making eye contact he could look right inside of you, into the depths of your very soul. Smeared with grime and dust his face is emotionless and still apart from his quivering lips shaking in the harsh cold wind. Looking around he tries to remember his surroundings, tries to save each tiny detail into his memory. He knows, deep down that these will be the last images he will ever see.

 

His eyes avert their gaze to a small coin, tossing between his fingers.  The coin anxiously hopping from hand to hand in a clumsy dance betrays his strong persona revealing a frustrated young boy, unaware of the situation, unsure of his future. Desperate for someone to reassure him. Alone. As he stands there, thinking his last thoughts a song comes to his mind. An old sailors chant, one he has heard once, yet he cannot place where from. As if in a trance words pour from his mouth with a much deeper meaning to him than he ever realised before. His chanting words echo around him, ringing in surrounding people’s ears, bringing them to their senses. The words act as a reassuring hand, telling them it’s okay, okay to be scared. And yet this song cannot take away what is about to happen to them.

 

A tall man strolls past the row of 7 prisoners, all lined up underneath a beam, nooses swinging above their heads. Their discomfort satisfies him, and he lifts the young boy, placing him onto an old barrel and he places the noose around the boy’s thin neck, grinning as he does so. As each person is tied up, more and more of the prisoners join in with the chanting, singing all in unison. As they sing they rattle their chains trying to make each moment count. Make this execution one that will be remembered.

 

 Guards begin to fall uneasy and rush forwards to their higher authority; ‘They’re singing! All of them! What should we do? They’re singing!!’ A man dressed all in blue, glances at the guard and dismisses him immediately. A small sly smile spreads across his face; ‘Finally.’ He says.

 

One small silent tear falls from the boy’s face. He tries to smile, to remain calm and brave in these last few seconds of his life. He feels so tired. His voice is beginning to wear thin, and his chanting is getting quieter and quieter. Yet everybody else is still going strong. Their melancholy tones haunt the boy’s mind. The executioner takes one last look at the prisoners, stood there on the tips of their toes. Trying to keep their necks loose in the loop of rope holding them there. And he pulls the wooden handle. Bodies fall. Swinging. The coin falls down, free from the boy’s grasp. Hitting the floor it raises a small dust cloud. And then everything settles. And silence takes over once more.

Reviews

[Arya_the_elven_lady]

A very sad, descriptive chapter. However, you could have made it clear who the boy was, but that might be later on. Regardless, a good story.