Heartbeats

I was walking along in broad daylight. My feet were sore, my legs were tired, the light glared in my eyes. I was in my happy place. Nothing could be more perfect for a person like me, nothing more beautiful, and nothing more wonderful.

As I strolled along the gravel path, I thought about life, death, happiness, grief. I thought about how much we on this Earth take for granted.

Just think, the beautiful trees the wonderfully green grass, the flowers speckled across the ground, everything, including the hard and painful gravel was a part of the Earth, the beautiful Earth.

What would we do without it? We wouldn’t survive, that’s for sure. To survive, humans need an Earth. We need trees and grass and flowers, we need the Earth. This Earth, Earth, my home, my life.

I couldn’t be more grateful at how my life was. I was studying to be a horticulturalist, where I would be most happy. I was doing it well, if I must say so myself. I was able to live on this lovely planet, that’s was a huge upside to my life. I loved my life.

I listened to the sound of the chirpy birds, singing in a nearby tree but the sound was off, mistrusting.

I stepped closer to the birds, forgetting time and place and purpose. I was now mere inches away from the strange birds, whose cheeping was becoming more and more harsh and shrill as I leaned in closer. My eyes and ears winced and I fought to stay there, leaning against the tree trunk. I would usually have moved away but the strange sight and sound intrigued me.

There was another screech, much louder than the others. It seemed to tear my eardrums apart. My eyes started to water, the salt water trickling down my bright red cheeks.

I screamed at the pain of the screech, that awful screech, that soul-splitting, heart-ripping screech.

I fought for control over my body, willing myself to move away, to run as fast as possible from the noise but my legs were rooted into place.

I looked down at my paralysed legs; they were covered in what seemed to be stone.

“MOVE,” I shouted to myself, spinning from side to side, trying to break free.

I heard my heart beating faster and faster every second, racing so fast that I thought it would explode.

The screech was still there, still painfully there but fear had over taken the worries that my ear-drums would split.

A man stepped out from behind the tree, a small device in his hands. He was wearing ear-muffs and old clothes. He had a huge smile on his face; it brightened up his pale-gray eyes.

The screeching seemed to be coming out of the little device in his hands. I wanted so bad to run away.

There was a red button on the device and two small toggles. He was holding one, pushing it further to the right. The screeching got louder and louder.

He touched the other toggle, pressing it to the right just a touch. My heart raced faster and faster and faster. I was sure it wasn’t supposed to go that fast.

He pressed the toggle further and further, very slowly, further and further. My heart screamed. I wanted to die. He pushed the toggle the last bit.

My heart beat no more.