Post by starbright9 on Aug 9, 2007 10:21:41 GMT -5
We had to write a short story for school, and it could be about anything. I jsut wanted to know what you guys thoought of this. Sorry, it doesn't have a fixed title yet ubut I refer to it as Regret.
Shouldn’t I feel more, shouldn’t I feel sad? she thought as she sat in the hard wooden pew. She felt her sister’s arm brush against hers as she tried to ignore the stifling people beside her. She glanced around, catching sight of her aunt. Her aunt; the one who was sitting with her head hung low, her shoulders heaving. Shouldn’t I be like that? she thought to herself.
The coloured light danced merrily on the flagstone floor as it streamed through the windows, so different to everyone there. Except her. Those people, crammed into such a tight space. All because it was what they said she would have wanted. How could they know what Alice would have wanted, she thought, she hadn’t made any plans for this. No one expected this to happen.
Megan glanced around, taking in the sight of the altar, the people, the flowers. The flowers which were supposedly Alice’s favourite, only they weren’t. Alice loved sweet peas, she knew that. She may not know much about her anymore, but lilies were definitely not her favourite. Unfortunately, that was nearly all she knew now. She used to know her favourite colour, her favourite place, her favourite month; but she didn’t anymore. And she’d never get the chance to know now.
They’d hidden behind the rhododendrons in Grandma’s garden. They had just sat for hours, talking, telling each other everything. They shared their thoughts and feelings and hopes and dreams. How Alice wanted to be a nurse, how Megan had no idea what to do with her life. Alice had laughed at that; how she at only fourteen knew what she wanted to do but Megan at seventeen had no idea.
Regret filled her. They had known each other then, properly known each other. Then they just didn’t have the time, Megan had started working and Alice was still at school. The age gap between them had become more apparent, they couldn’t find something they shared anymore. She used to know her so well, and now she didn’t.
They had argued. It was the first time they had truly rowed, and it felt terrible looking back at it. Alice thought that Megan was wasting her life, flitting between things and never taking them seriously. It wasn’t that she wanted to waste her life; she just couldn’t find anything that suited her. The things she had said to Alice, she couldn’t even bring herself to think about it.
The last time they’d seen each other had been awkward to say the least. Oh, they’d exchanged emails every now and again but hadn’t properly talked in years. They had exchanged greetings, discussed how Alice was getting on with her degree, how Megan’s new job was going. Yet it felt wrong to Megan, a few years ago they wouldn’t have had to ask each other how things were going. They would have just told the other, without having to be prompted. That had changed. Alice’s mum had to make most of the conversation instead.
Then the accident happened. She wasn’t speeding, or driving recklessly; she had simply been caught up in it all. Out of the two cars, there had only been one serious injury. Alice. And that injury had proven to be too much, too much for her to be able to live through. Megan had gone to visit her, but she never got the chance to apologise. To apologise for the lost time, for her mistakes and for the argument. The coma prevented that.
The days when they had sat together and laughed so easily felt miles away. Now, instead of having those exciting conversations they were discussing the weather with Alice’s mum. She had begun to regret the distance between them then, and had planned on doing something about it. Then, well then this happened she thought, I’ve lost my last chance of ever getting to know her again.
Shouldn’t I feel more, shouldn’t I feel sad? she thought as she sat in the hard wooden pew. She felt her sister’s arm brush against hers as she tried to ignore the stifling people beside her. She glanced around, catching sight of her aunt. Her aunt; the one who was sitting with her head hung low, her shoulders heaving. Shouldn’t I be like that? she thought to herself.
The coloured light danced merrily on the flagstone floor as it streamed through the windows, so different to everyone there. Except her. Those people, crammed into such a tight space. All because it was what they said she would have wanted. How could they know what Alice would have wanted, she thought, she hadn’t made any plans for this. No one expected this to happen.
Megan glanced around, taking in the sight of the altar, the people, the flowers. The flowers which were supposedly Alice’s favourite, only they weren’t. Alice loved sweet peas, she knew that. She may not know much about her anymore, but lilies were definitely not her favourite. Unfortunately, that was nearly all she knew now. She used to know her favourite colour, her favourite place, her favourite month; but she didn’t anymore. And she’d never get the chance to know now.
They’d hidden behind the rhododendrons in Grandma’s garden. They had just sat for hours, talking, telling each other everything. They shared their thoughts and feelings and hopes and dreams. How Alice wanted to be a nurse, how Megan had no idea what to do with her life. Alice had laughed at that; how she at only fourteen knew what she wanted to do but Megan at seventeen had no idea.
Regret filled her. They had known each other then, properly known each other. Then they just didn’t have the time, Megan had started working and Alice was still at school. The age gap between them had become more apparent, they couldn’t find something they shared anymore. She used to know her so well, and now she didn’t.
They had argued. It was the first time they had truly rowed, and it felt terrible looking back at it. Alice thought that Megan was wasting her life, flitting between things and never taking them seriously. It wasn’t that she wanted to waste her life; she just couldn’t find anything that suited her. The things she had said to Alice, she couldn’t even bring herself to think about it.
The last time they’d seen each other had been awkward to say the least. Oh, they’d exchanged emails every now and again but hadn’t properly talked in years. They had exchanged greetings, discussed how Alice was getting on with her degree, how Megan’s new job was going. Yet it felt wrong to Megan, a few years ago they wouldn’t have had to ask each other how things were going. They would have just told the other, without having to be prompted. That had changed. Alice’s mum had to make most of the conversation instead.
Then the accident happened. She wasn’t speeding, or driving recklessly; she had simply been caught up in it all. Out of the two cars, there had only been one serious injury. Alice. And that injury had proven to be too much, too much for her to be able to live through. Megan had gone to visit her, but she never got the chance to apologise. To apologise for the lost time, for her mistakes and for the argument. The coma prevented that.
The days when they had sat together and laughed so easily felt miles away. Now, instead of having those exciting conversations they were discussing the weather with Alice’s mum. She had begun to regret the distance between them then, and had planned on doing something about it. Then, well then this happened she thought, I’ve lost my last chance of ever getting to know her again.