The nominees are:
Friends - Ambrosia
Lucky 13 - Jaime Girl
Last Chance on the Stairway - Bloomiecurse
[Edited to add:] Let me remind you of the rule to stay UNDER 600 words!
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Lucky 13 by Jaime Girl
And yet, when we reached the church, I didn't want to get out of the car. Didn't want to go inside that holy place and bid solemn farewell to my parents and sister and grandmother - didn't want to face the crowd that had shown up to pay their respects. A funeral felt like goodbye to me - the final thread that was holding me to them was about to be cut, and after this day was over the world would continue to revolve, like a video that's been on pause, and life would resume as normal. Jessmyn would go back to New York, a betrayal that cut deep. Amber was talking about deferring a semester of medical school, but the rest of us had secretly agreed to talk her into going back. In a week's time Chrissy and Lessy would start back at school, although I doubted Shayna would be going back soon. Amy, the social worker, had hired a counsellor who spoke to her every day and she was slowly improving, but she still refused to eat and she hardly spoke at all.
Eventually most of us would return to whatever corner of America we came from, and life would go on. Not quite yet for Mena and Sammi and Mel, I knew, with the custody case and all. But I couldn't think about that yet. Not now, not today.
"Jayna, you okay?" Johnny asked gently from the front seat. I broke quickly out of my reverie and nodded, stumbling from the car.
It seemed that any old grudges between us were forgotten as soon as we walked into the hushed sobriety of the church. The usual clique's were formed - Mena and Sammi, with Johnny hovering respectfully in the background; Andie, Lizzie and Amber; Shayna and Lessy; Chrissy, Logan and Mel. And of course me, Adri and Jessmyn.
It was my triplets that I watched the most during the ceremony - the two women I'd shared a womb with, shared a bedroom with for seventeen years, knew better than anyone else in the world. Both of them were natural performers, and had dressed for their parts to perfection. There were photographers not doing a very good job of hiding on the outskirts of the churchyard, there to photograph Adri, and she put on a brave face for them as we greeted people on the front steps. Once inside though, she dissolved into tears, sobbing heavily into a wad of soaking tissues.
Jessmyn shed tears too, real ones for once. You could tell because her face was completely expressionless, and her jaw was taught as silent tears rolled down her perfectly made up cheeks. She and Adri seemed to have developed a knack for applying makeup so that it wouldn't run - a small miracle considering the amount of black mascara that was Jessmyn's trademark. This was a trick I was yet to pick up. Not that it mattered, since I didn't cry.
The car-ride home was awful. Sammi and Johnny held hands across the gear-stick the whole way, while I stared out the window and pretended I wasn't there. They disappeared into an upstairs bedroom as soon as we got home, ignoring the guests that Aunt Margaret had insisted on inviting back to the house. I took a seat in the living room with a glass of wine that someone handed me, dutifully thanking all the guests that solemnly offered their condolences.
When it was all over Aunt Margaret started the clean up alone, and I finally sought peace in a corner of Sarah's empty room, and at last allowed myself to cry.
Friends by Ambrosia
His gaze fell upon Shye’s small body lying in the hospital bed. Her eyes were closed, and there were all sorts of machines hooked to her. Billy looked at the IV attached to her arm, and the tube that was down her throat to keep her breathing. Tears burned his eyes, as he noticed how pale and fragile she looked. It didn’t seem like it was Shye lying in that bed before him. There were no traces of the strong girl he knew her to be. She was barely hanging on, and Billy realized this in his heart.
Kneeling on side of the bed, he gently grasped her hand. Sobs began to rise in his chest, and as he cried, he pressed his face against their clasped hands, his tears falling on Shye’s cold skin.
“My Shye girl,” he said aloud, his voice breaking, “You’ve got to hold on for me.”
Tears continued to course down his cheeks, as he kissed her hand softly.
“Baby, you can’t leave me here. I’m nothing without you. I know I said some stupid things earlier, but I didn’t mean them. Please come back to me, so I can apologize. You need to know how much I love you. God, Shye, please, I can’t do this alone.”
Billy felt like she could hear him somehow, so he kept on talking.
“Shye, I want to marry you. I want you to be my wife. I want to have babies with you. Tiny little kids with your brown eyes, and your beautiful smile. I can just see them now, Shye. And, then we’ll grow old together, and we’ll be so happy. But, baby, none of that can happen in you don’t wake up. I just need you to open your eyes. Please, do it for me. I love you so much. You’re my whole heart, you’re my everything. I’ve waited so long for you, and I can’t just let you leave me.”
Shye felt like she was in a strange dream. There was nothing but darkness all around her, yet at certain periods she could hear voices. At first, she couldn’t make out anyone’s words. They all just seemed to be pleading with her. Shye wanted to answer them, for she felt like they were upset about something. But, it was all so confusing in the dark place. She tried to open her eyes, but she felt like they were taped shut. And, all she wanted was just to wake up. Billy’s words became very clear to her suddenly. They rang out in her ears so strong and true. She even could feel his grip on her hand. Shye tried to squeeze back, but there was no power in her body for some reason. His accent had a calming effect on her. But, she realized it was his words that were truly helping her make it through this cold and scary dark place. Over and over he told her how much he loved her. Shye could practically feel his love radiating from his body and washing all over her. He just seemed so sad, though. Shye wanted to tell him she loved him too. If only she could wake up! It frightened her one-day, when she heard him sobbing. Billy kept repeating over and over, “don’t leave me.”
Shye was so scared. She didn’t want to leave him, but she didn’t know how to get back to him, either. Shye felt so cold and alone, and she wasn’t sure how she was ever going to escape the horrible nightmare she seemed destined to remain stuck in.
Last chance on the Stairway - BloomiecurseI won' ever be able to post an excerp of one of my chapters and stay below 600 words. Those of you who are acquained wih my stories know that I tend to post extremely long chapters.
I am sure that if I tried and post one of the most heartbreaking ones and respect the limit, all effect would be lost.
So, I am posting a link to one of the most heartwrenching installments of my quadrilogy, where angst is a fluid sea where my main character willilngly swims in:
Chapter 111 :bloom: