Been Here Before

“Keep up with me!” Yells my friend who is lightyears ahead of me on the forest trail.

“I’m trying!”

We run until we reach the edge of a cliff. The sounds of the ocean waves crashing against the rocks fill my ears. Fear swims in my ears and skull, my vision blurs and I start backing away from the edge.

“What’s wrong?” Asks Ava.

“No no no no not again.” I trip over a stone and instantly fall onto my back. Air is stolen from my lungs and I fight to get it back.

“What do you mean?” she asks, her face unreadable, as per usual.

I close my eyes. Is anybody I meet ever actually my friend? Or is everyone I meet going to simply try to kill me? I end up here, every single time. How do I always fall for it?

It’s always the same face. The same personality. The same well, everything! Yet, I always managed to forget everything and end up here.

I knew I had to get up before it was too late, before it all began again, but I feel helpless. It’s inevitable isn’t it? I’m supposed to fall off that cliff to my death. That’s it. Should I just, go for it at this point? It’s never going to end. It’s at this point I realize that Ava had stopped talking.

I open my eyes and she is nowhere to be seen. That’s different. The pit in my stomach grew larger. I didn’t know if I should have been relieved or more stressed. My body chose the latter.

Thump. My heart threatens to jump out of my chest and run to safety and leave me behind. And understandably so. The girl who’d just been my best friend less than five minutes ago was standing on my chest, sunken eyes like a skeleton, and frail build. She did not feel frail, but the bones sticking out of her skin said otherwise. The small strands that was left of her brown hair was full of dirt and grass.

She was back. “When are you going to give up, huh? I will always find you. You will always find me. This is how it always ends.” She began dragging my towards the edge of the cliff. The forest floor didn’t hesitate before slapping me with stones and sharp pine needles. Dirt flew up into my face and into my eyes. I wanted to fight, but I wasn’t going to this time. I was tired. I’d had enough. I let it happen. I let the fear of death go. I let it all go. The feeling of falling was almost freeing, I expected it to last longer than it actually did.

Then I hit the water, but not before my skull hit a massive boulder.

I watched from the shore as police fished my body out of the water with a helicopter. My mother stood five feet away from me, holding my friend Ava’s hand while they wait for her mother to come get her. My mom used the other hand to quiet a sob that chose to leave her throat without her permission. Ava stood there with a blank, pale face. Unreadable.

I looked over at my reaper. “That’s it?” I ask her.

While she lacked eyes and most of her skin, she managed to look a little sad. She nodded, “That’s it.”