Why Did They Have To Die?

 I looked at my teacher who was reading the list of those in our own class who died. She looked as if she was crying as well. Everyone looked like they were crying.

Why did they have to die? I thought to myself as the school counselor read off the names of those who didn't make it. I turned to face my friend Renee. She was crying too. Her boyfriend along with many of our friends was along the list. This wasn't supposed to happen. Not to them. They were going to grow up and lead good lives. They had so much they hadn't done yet and just one day, everything was taken from them.

 

 "Richard Durden," read the counselor. These names were so familiar. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I wanted to leave this place, surrounded by those fortunate to have survived, mourning over those who hadn't been so lucky.

 

 Could it of only been yesterday? I couldn't believe that. Just yesterday morning, my friends and I were laughing and joking and having a good time. Now they are gone, forever. I'l never hear their lauhgs, their voice, or their sarcastic tones again. I have taken our friendship for granted all this time. They were amazing people and they were taken from their families and their friends. How did this happen? Why did this happen?

 I looked at my homeroom teacher, Ms.Startcher, who was  reading the list of those in our own class who died. She looked as if she was crying as well. Everyone looked like they were crying.

 

 I wished we never went on that stupid fieldtrip! I couldn't realy blame anyone, no one could of known what would happen. I wished more than anything that I could hear their voices, see their faces, or feel their warm hugs one last time. It wasn't fair. No one ever deserves to die.

 

 Renee and I didn't look at eachother again. We were both too afraid to see the emptiness in eachother's eyes. The sparkle in her eyes was replaced by a dull blue. Her face was blank too, no longer expressing any emotion. She wasn't the Renee I used to know. She was different, a stranger. I guess in a way we were all strangers now.

 

 I didn't want to cry anymore but I couldn't stop the tears. Everytime I came close to stopping the memory creeps back in my mind and the tears start again. I couldn't erase it. The images were painfully burned in my memory forever. The whole scene replayed iteself without my permission.

 

 Fire was everywhere and the ceiling started to collapse on us. We were running but we didn't know where. We promised we would all stick together. Despite the terror, we weren't crying or screaming. We were determined to get out. When Renee and I ran through an emergency exit door we expected the others would be right behind us. We were mistaken, when we turned back there was nothing but fire. They were gone. We didn't have to say anything, we both knew it. They weren't comming. We were too shocked to even cry. We stared at the fire till EMT's spotted us. Now here we are, barely scratched or bruised, and our friends were dead. They perished in the fire we barely escaped.

 

 Finally I couldn't take it anymore. I ran into the girls bathroom and screamed my broken heart out. I couldn't breathe. I was feeling lightheaded. I wanted them back more than anything. I cried on the floor. No one bothered me and I was greatful. I needed to be alone. We were all suffering. At the end of the day, we were no longer strangers. Those who once hated eachother were now best friends. Everyone was so nice to eachother. We all had something in common. We had all lost someone important to us in the tragedy.

 

  I kept expecting to wake up and find out that this was all just a dream. But I never did. The hole in my chest kept burning and I couldn't stop it. It was impossible to grasp. Our friends weren't comming back. We would never see them again. Why were they taken from us? Why did they have to die?

Author's Note

This was a dream of mine...it was so realistic, odd, and to be honest it was so depressing I woke up crying and screaming into my pillow.

Reviews

[natalieox]

creates real empathy for the character.