I just finished the Lovely Bones (one of the best books EVER!) and it inspired me to write this. It's about a potential victim of Mr. Harvey who is spared by Susie.
...
Spared Bones
My name is Alex.
I am sixteen years old.
The date is November 21st, 1981.
This is a day that will stay engrained into my memory forever.
It was the day I was almost murdered.
...
It's the last day of school before Thanksgiving break.
I'm walking home through the leaves.
Crunch, crunch, crunch.
The sun is bright today.
It makes me feel satisfied with life.
I start on the path that goes through the woods.
It leads to the suburbs where I live.
Off I go between the trees.
Crunch, crunch, crunch.
Snap!
I turn around.
No one is there.
I start walking again.
Crunch-crunch-crunch.
Snap!
I turn again.
A squirrel scurries up a tree.
I walk a little faster.
Crunchcrunchcrunch.
Snap!
I don't turn around.
I'm afraid someone is following me.
Suddenly the sun shines through the golden leaves.
I see something up ahead.
It's a dog.
I slowly walk toward it.
It barks, but makes no sound.
And runs away.
I chase after it.
I hear footsteps behind me.
But I also feel someone beside me.
I feel no fear.
Soon I lose the dog, and the presence beside me is no longer there.
But I see that I have made it to my neighborhood.
I run to my house and lock the door behind me.
I am safe.
Home.
...
Later that night, I see that someone was murdered in the woods.
The woods I walked through.
She was young, only nineteen.
She was killed a while ago.
And they have found her body in a place I passed today.
The police warn everyone to be on the lookout.
As I look out the window, I see the dog that was in the woods.
Next to him is a girl.
She smiles.
And I know instantly why I made it home alive.
...
I will never know that the person chasing me in the woods was named George Harvey.
I will never know the reason he wanted to kill me.
I will never know the reason he stopped was because of the dog and the girl.
I will never know that the girl was Susie Salmon.
I will never know that he didn't kill me because she ran with me and her dog, Holiday.
I will never know that she was one of Mr. Harvey's former murder victims.
But I know this.
That the reason I live today is because of one remarkable angel.
I never knew her on Earth.
But I'll always be grateful to her.
