The Fire~
Running... Running... Running...
She just kept running. Cause that's what she wanted, right? That's what she had said, the last thing she had said to her.
"Listen to me, ok?! Just listen. Block everything else out. Just focus on me, alright?!"
The fire roared around them, making the younger girl shriek as she kept trying to move the wreckage on top of her beloved babysitter's lower half.
"No!" She wailed, still uselessly tugging at the beams of rotted wood on top of her.
"I know what you're gonna say! I'm not going to leave you here! I'm not!"
"You have to, sweetie. There's no other alternative. So listen to me,"
Even amid a fire, with her own life force ebbing, her precious babysitter still managed to remain calm.
"I want you to run ok? Run as far and as fast as you can. Don't stop. Just keep running until you reach the end of the woods. Your feet will hurt. You will feel thirsty. You might want to stop to pluck some fruits from some tree because you're hungry. But don't. Don't stop. DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?"
The little girl started to cry. She didn't want to leave her behind. But her guardian had made it quite clear that there was no other option. She shook her head, sobs racking her body.
"N-no," she choked. "No, I w-won't leave you-"
"You have to sweetie. You have to. Death is an old friend of mine. I'm sure the slumber I fall into will be peaceful." She gave the tiny girl a sad smile. "Now go. Live."
The fire was closer now. The heat of the flames was too much to handle. There was smoke everywhere, making it hard to breathe or see.
More debris fell, and the small girl started coughing, more violently than before. Her innocent mind couldn't understand what she was saying. How could you befriend death? That's not possible. But one thing was for sure. She understood what she had instructed her to do. She pressed a kiss to her forehead. Then, still crying her heart out, she screamed "I LOVE YOU!" before blindly staggering in the general direction of the exit. The smoke made her eyes water. She couldn't breathe. But then her words came back to her. Go. Live.
So that's what she did.
She made it out of the burning house, still coughing, before taking off in a sprint. She was dirty. She was tired. Her frail body screamed for rest. But the adrenaline, the fear, kept her going. She ran... and ran... and ran... Fully knowing what kind of fate she had doomed her to.
But never once looking back.
In her mind's eye, She saw the child she raised leap over stones, sometimes tripping over tree roots. She saw the fierce determination that shone in her eyes.
And she was proud.
She let her mind go blank, her last thought being how the child felt the need to remind her that she loved her.
She was content.
"I love you too." She whispered with closed eyes, reopening them just in time to see the last few support beams crumble, immediately collapsing on her.
She was at peace.
