We All Die in the End

I watched, unable to muster the courage to jump in after her, as my sister fell down the cliff edge. My voice was hoarse from shouting her name and I saw that her body was submerged in the water. I was screaming for help, for anyone to come and make it stop, to end the nightmare. The picture in my head of her, finally surfacing on the water, unmoving, haunted me. Her long, black hair lay in a waterfall of seaweed. My mind was numb, I was numb, the whole world around me was just a distant noise in my ear as I focused on nothing but her, lying there as the ambulance men appeared over the beach. She couldn’t be saved. I stood on the cliff edge, watching the scene unfold.

I woke up. I’ve had that recurring nightmare for a year now, a year since she died. You’d think it might get better, but not in my case. She comes every night. Every night, without fail. Some night, she just sits on the end of my bed, humming softly as her black hair floats in wisps around her face. Others, she is sat on the chair next to me, silent, facing away from me. The most terrifying is when I wake up with a crushing pressure on my chest, and find her sitting on my legs, pinning me down. I never see her face. At first, she was just a faint glow, and it was comforting, but each day her figure got stronger and the vivid colours of her hair and dress became easier to see. She is almost complete now, just one more night and she will look like my sister again. Tomorrow, it is the anniversary of her death. Tomorrow, I might see her face.

When I woke up, the morning sun penetrated my curtains, and I got up. I walked down to my sister’s grave and placed a bunch of lilies on the gravestone. They were always her favourite.

I got into bed and drifted off to sleep. As usual, I was awoken at 3 ‘o clock by a glow I could see through my eyelids. Opening my eyes, I saw my sister, standing at the edge of the bed, facing me. Her eyes were sunken and her lips were cracked from the salt water, although strangely I felt comforted. She never spoke, just led me w path out of the front door to the cliff edge. Her intentions only became clear once she grabbed hold of my arms. My eyes filled with fear as she jumped, pulling me with her. I hit the side of the rocks multiple times and feel into the water, paralyzed. The surface drifted away above my head as her shiny black hair enveloped my body. It was quite peaceful actually.

After all, we all die in the end.