Author's Note: I wrote this for English class, too!! I never mentioned the names, cuz I was afraid to…don't ask why, my teacher wouldn't have cared…but so you know, it's about Kari.
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For the Love of Life
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Pain. Insufferable, intolerable pain ripped and
roared through her body. Every pore in
her body, every single hair, each individual cell, felt as if it were on fire. Her fingers curled up tight into balls,
trying to release the agonizing pain by squeezing. It didn't work. Then
again, nothing did. Gritting her teeth,
thinking cheerful thoughts, closing her eyes, praying—nothing worked. If anything, these simple actions increased
the pain.
Pushing with all her might, she
tried to ignore what was going on around her. What ever had possessed her to go through with this? It felt like hell—a never-ending hell in
which she was a permanent resident. Tears seeped out of her eyes as if they were hot molten lava percolating
out of an erupting volcano. She had
been told that crying helped one to ignore the pain. If she ever got her hands on the person who had told her that,
she'd strangle and mangle them.
She tried her best to be brave, but
what did bravery matter in the face of the devil? Despite her best efforts, a moan escaped her lips. It didn't lessen the pain, but it made her
feel better. Cry. Scream. Shout. Wail. Howl. These thoughts coursed through her mind, and she finally succumbed to
them, letting out the shriek of a banshee. It sounded coarse even to her own ears, but she didn't care. It was a release of all the tension strung
across her body. Another unearthly
shriek escaped her lips. Bliss. Screaming is bliss. She screamed again as sweat dotted her
forehead. Closing her eyes helped block
out the pain mentally for a few minutes, but as another knife of pain went
rip-roaring up her abdomen, she would have gouged her eyes out if someone
hadn't suddenly grabbed her wrists and held them down.
A jolt of pain seared through her
body. She felt like she was being
ripped in two. Maybe she was; she
couldn't tell for sure. All she knew
was that she was on the brink of insanity; or perhaps she had already passed
over the brink. There was no definite
line as far as she could tell. Perhaps
she had passed the line back when the pain first started, or maybe even when
the first unearthly scream passed her lips. Or maybe she had yet to pass it. One could not tell when immersed in a world of agony.
One last scream escaped her lips
before the world blacked out around her. She was no longer aware of anything. Her conscious had slipped just beyond the grasp of her fingertips,
escaping her mind. All tangibility was
gone. She was floating in an endless
black void, empty of all emotions and feelings—especially pain. Pain. The pain was gone, or at least diminished. In this motionless state of nothingness, not even the vast amount
of pain her physical body was feeling could weasel its way through and torment
her. This place…this was the residence
of her soul. The calm, peaceful,
tranquil and serene residence of her soul and all things precious was here. She basked in the silence of it, the
peacefulness of it. It was everything
life should have been—and it was void of pain. This was life.
Life. Such a fragile word, that. What was life? Had she ever had a hold on it? Had she ever really had a hold on it? Or was she, just like so many others, a mechanical robot going
about daily activities that defined her as human, and as having a life, but not
having any true meaning? Was
there a true meaning to life? Or was it
supposed to be vast and empty? Empty. It was empty; life was
truly empty. There was nothing there,
nothing worth living for. Life was one
giant bout of pain shoved on you in the slow process of seventy years, or
however long you were meant to grace the planet with your presence.
At least, that's what almost
everybody said. But she knew
differently, oh yes, she did. To her, life had never been empty. Never, in all her years of existence, had it
been meaningless. Life was only
meaningless if one allowed it to become so; the meaning was put into life by
the individual living it. She had never
had trouble putting meaning in her life. From a young age, it had always been filled with light and courage. Later she had added hope to that life, and
then friendship, sincerity, reliability, kindness and knowledge. Finally, to top it all off, she had added
love. Those simple qualities and
virtues, plus so many more, made her life bearable, made it worth living while
she was on Earth. She had a reason to
wake up every morning and go about life with vigor, not because she had to work
or keep somebody happy, but because she wanted to—because she loved life. And because she loved life, she knew she
would live through this bout of pain, through this endless hell, for there was
something waiting for her on the other side.
Through the hazy world of pain, the
voice of an angel reached through to her. 'I love you,' were the three words she heard resonating through
the black vacuum. They came from the
voice of an angel—but not just any angel. Her angel. It was his
voice. His comforting voice, always
there when she needed its presence, was fulfilling its duty. The bearer of a message most sacred and holy
above all others, it told her she was loved and needed; it told her she had a
reason to go on living and to not give up the struggle.
Summoning every ounce of willpower
she had ever had in her life, she worked desperately to bring her mind out of
this carnal state of nothingness so she could return to the world of the
conscious. Fighting with a desperation
she hadn't known she was possible of achieving, she wove her way through the
sticky void holding her mind prisoner. She had a rock hard resolve to return to the land of the living, the
land of love, joy, happiness and misery. More than anything she yearned to return, to once again be with the
people she loved. She needed this,
needed it as much as a newborn needed its mother, as much as a child needed to
be nurtured, as much as a body needed water, as much as the soul needed
love. Putting all her determination
forward, she strove for the light, knowing if she didn't make it she might never
get out of her own private land of oblivion. That was not acceptable, for she needed light to live, needed it as
badly as anything. Letting her need
lead the way, she strove forward with all her might…
…And let her eyelids flutter open
slowly. The pain was all but gone, only
a trace of it left. She would forever
carry the memories, but it mattered not to her, for it was gone.
Opening her eyes all the way, she
was met with the smiling face of her angel, the carrier of the voice that had
led her out of oblivion. She knew not
how long she had been under, but in that one moment, it didn't matter, for her
angel, her love, her darling, smiling husband, handed her the fruit of her
pain, the most beautiful and precious of all things in the world—her baby.
As she carefully took the bundle of
joy in her arms, a look of complete and total awe overtook her face. This darling child, this tiny thing, this
gift, had come out of her pain and suffering. Somehow, despite how intense the pain had been, it seemed insignificant
compared to the joy of holding this tiny treasure.
Gently pulling the blanket away from
the face of her sleeping baby, still in awe she whispered, "Our baby girl. Our little Kaylee." She held the infant close, never wanting to
release this product of her pain. Lovingly she placed a kiss on Little Kaylee's nose. In a mere matter of moments, all her hopes
for the future had come alive in this child, and the light that had once hung
at the end of an endless tunnel was now close enough to touch and love. This beautiful baby stood for all that was
good in the world; she stood for all that made life worth living.
Turning her face to her angel, she
smiled up at him, letting him know she was all right. With one hand he took her free one, and with the other hand he
gently touched Kaylee's small head. They didn't know how long they stood there like that, connected as only
a family could be, but to them it felt like forever, a never-ending bliss that
represented their love for each other.
And all was right in the world.
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A/N: This is
one of my best pieces ever, so hopefully you liked it. Remember, I love long, glowing reviews, so
hit that review button!! ~~Callisto