This one was written for TuesdayNovember's new writing challenges forum. I hope you all enjoy!
Prompt: Birthdays. Write a one-shot of between 500 and 1,500 words in which a character of your choice is contemplating or celebrating a birthday. Reference to the birthday can be explicit or oblique, so long as it's there.
Disclaimer: Disclaimed.
Simon was dead. He was killed. Killed by people he thought were his friends. And they were - he held absolutely nothing against them. Simon just wasn't the kind of person to hold a grudge. It wasn't their faults. Not in the least. And, after all, the Lord of the Flies had warned him that something evil was on the rise. Simon just didn't expect it to be so soon. But he wasn't mad.
Simon didn't regret being killed, either. He got murdered committing a noble act - trying to pull each boy on the island out of their fear by telling them what this beast they were afraid of really was. Just a parachuter, although he wasn't the true beast. The real beast had always been inside them. He tried to tell them that, too.
No, Simon did not hold many regrets in his life. He knew as he lived that he had always done the things he was supposed to. He always followed the rules and always listened to his elders. He tried to stay in line and concentrate when he was asked to. He always let his mum know when he was going somewhere and always made sure he and his friends were safe.
Simon was proud of the way he had lived. Always with integrity and honor. But there was one thing, just one thing, that he was having an issue with. And the ironic thing was, it was something that happened to him after he died. Simon was stuck in between the land of the living and heaven.
Simon made a promise during his time on Earth that the heavenly Gods clearly wanted him to keep.
"You'll get back to where you came from."
Simon made this promise to Ralph not too long ago, because Simon knew Ralph would get home. Deep down in his heart, the late Simon knew he would never be the one going home. But now, before Simon could move onto becoming an angel, Ralph needed to be rescued – and Simon would make sure that happened. And not only for the sake of moving on, he really just wanted his friends to go home.
Two days had passed and tragedies had befallen the island. Simon had watched as all the disasters had happened and he began to feel guilt. He should've been working to get them rescued, but unfortunately, now Piggy had died, as well. Piggy had quickly moved onto the other side, having not left any promises unkept.
But, Piggy dying wasn't the only catastrophe going on at the current moment. Ralph was being chased down and hunted by the savage boys of Jack's tribe, and his future wasn't looking so bright. In turn, neither was Simon's.
Simon's spirit sighed as he quickly counted the days the boys had spent on the island. As realization dawned on him, he noticed that it was his birthday. If he had been alive, he would've been twelve. The right side of his mouth lifted in a slight smirk, deciding that even if he was dead, he was allowed to make a birthday wish.
I wish that the Ralph and the others would be rescued for the island so that I can move on.
At that moment exactly, all the chaos continued to unravel around Simon. In an instance, a mysterious savage lit a tree on fire. Then another, then another. He continued until the neighboring trees began catching on fire due to the domino effect. The boys were soon surrounded by fire, each of them barely escaping with their lives. They ran in the direction of the beach, which was also the direction Ralph was hiding in.
As Ralph was almost engulfed by the flames, he made a run for it. At that moment, Simon felt something strange happening to him. He seemed to be fading away, his mind drifting, his super-human eyesight blurring before him, his erect hearing starting to dull. And quickly, Simon realized why.
At the beach, a large Navy ship awaited the boys to exit the forest. They were going home; Simon had kept his promise and his birthday wish had come true. That meant he was moving on to the other side. Finally.
Ralph escaped the forest, tripped and fell right into the feet of the Naval officer. At seemingly the exact same moment, a blinding flash of white light blinded Simon from seeing the rest of the story unfold.
But, he really didn't need to see how things ended. He was sure his friends would be fine. And so would he, no matter what heaven had in store for him.
Simon closed his eyes and smiled. He had one last thought before he was thrown into the world of the late saints, non-sinners and promise keepers.
Happy Birthday to me.