Gone

A short story I wrote originally for a school project. A child has lost the only family she had ever known, and now she is forced to live with a new one. It takes a considerable amount of effort for her to let go of what she retains in the memory, and liv

            Cold. Empty. Alone. That was all I felt.

            “This is what losing everything feels like, doesn’t it,” I whispered to no one in particular, my voice barely audible.

            The weather did nothing to escalate my depression. Cold northern winds blew a few innocuous bright leaves past my face. The near freezing temperatures only froze my heart, so they were ready to be shattered like glass again. A red leaf caught onto my shirt, only to break free and fly lightheartedly through he air. It was so enviable, to be caught in an obstacle and overcome the hindrance, and fly away. Winter had come early for me, in more ways than one.

            I gazed steadily at the iced mountaintops, remembering the monthly hiking trips with my family that was always filled with laughter and perverse ecstasy when someone tripped over a stone.

            “But of course, life is just callous enough to make sure I never see them again,” I said irately at the mountains. Another raucous family was relaxing a hundred feet to my left, a small boy staring at me as intently as I was at them. He audaciously waved at me, although I didn’t return his gesture. I could just imagine the lacerated expression on his face; his family didn’t die, what else did he know worse than someone not greeting him?

            My new foster parents were like a luminary at the end of the tunnel; they provided food, shelter, and warmth. Despite that, my lack of socialization and cynical attitude towards people had prevented any attachment from forming.

            Blinking furiously, a chilling tear rolled down my cheek as I turned around to head back into the house, where I could imagine my foster parents staring apprehensively out the window at me.

            The warmth swirled around me as I stepped through the door, headed up the stairs and into my room. Its walls were bare; I had not bothered to furnish anything at all. The moon had reached its culmination in the night, although I still lay awake on my bed. I could hear my new parents argue to each other through the walls, deciding whether to take action on my flippant behavior or not. The voices silenced as the two reached the crux of their argument, however I didn’t hear the result.

            Life had been the furthest thing from zealous for the past few months, the constant plague of memories flooding my mind. Did I do an obscenity, for God to punish me like this? I tried to fumigate my morose thoughts, failing miserably. Everything seemed to be nonchalance now, as I finally drifted into sleep.

 

 

 

 

            I was back at the hill again, this time insolently insisted on wearing shorts and a t-shirt. The grass field was immaculate, free from any litter. Immediately, I felt as if my presence there were desecrating the pureness of the land. Wind whipped the countenance expression on my face, as I opened my mouth to speak,

 

 

 

 

            “I miss you…” I murmured into the wind. I let go; releasing my fury, allowing it to sail with the gust of wind, and watching it soar through the air, accompanied by hundreds of crimson golden leaves.