Mocking Death

A short story about the last few minutes of a very special life.

Finally the first rays of sun peeked over the ice bringing the snow's cape to glittering life. All of nature's odds and ends seemed perfect, simple, and happy. This disgusts me. How cruel it is to taunt me in my agonizing pain. What have I done? Why must you beat me repeatedly? I cry for the help I desperately need. Only the frozen water of Antarctica's ocean can hear me. I think. The fluffy, cute, white baby seal I know I was this morning is covered in rusty blood, making my hair stiff. Just this morning was the first time my mother would allow me to leave my dark, hidden den in the snow where I was born. I now understand why. Today was my first major milestone, and my last. I have just watched my sister slowly die without anyway to help her, and now it is my turn. You do not know suffering until you have experienced this. My mother is nowhere to be seen, and no one else is going to rescue me. I cannot move. I am losing consciousness. I deeply inhale my final breath and use what life is left in my body to whisper my last words. I try to cry, but cannot as I say goodbye to my short life and prepare to say hello to my maker.

Author's Note

I'm not a depressing person, I just sat down and wrote this one day.

Reviews

[DC Patterson]

I liked this - sometimes we use extreme images to explain what's circling the drain in our minds. You did a great job of making a seal pup a 'person' - and one we were invested in.

I haven't cared that much for a seal pup since 80's rock stars started setting their fur on fire.

The gentle setting you open with is a perfect foil for the pups' bloody demise. And it's appreciated that you didn't revel in gore, but just a few choice words imparted the violence (I suspect a boy might fail in this area).

As far as short, sharp and nicely descriptive fiction goes, this is tidy, and more importantly, interesting.

Keep writing!

[rnuff]

amazing imgaery and detail, emotional and deep. Nicely written