last day

      My hands brush against the dead grass, something once so green now unrecognizable. The sky is black with smoke, though there are no clouds. I pull up my mask slightly, trying to stop ash from getting inside. We use masks for more than one reason now.
      I look up, trying to spot the once-bright sun up in the sky. It is small, a pinpoint of brightness. I don't have to shield my eyes to look at it anymore, as it is but a fraction of what it once was.
      I stand, trying to act brave. My final day on earth will be a good one. I stand, and start walking along the sidewalk, looking at things that once were beautiful that are now only a small bit of what they were before. Green is a rare sight to see normally, but I know just the place. I pass a clumb of bare spots in the grass. Once trees, cut down. Then tree stumps, rooted out for more wood. Now bare spots in the grass reminding us of our broken past.
      I climb over a rock and shuffle below thorny bushes that again lead towards once-was woods. Now it is a tall bramble of thorny bushes, no longer growing berries. No one dares come over here. Few people even come outside anymore, but I do anyway.
      I push back a think clump of thorn, and it reveals a tall oak, with short branches. You can’t see it from the outside, which is good. I smile, because this is one of the few trees left, probably the only one with leaves. I inhale the beautiful scent, taking in fresh air. No smoke comes in this time, so I take down my mask. I pull from my bag a watering can, using water from a pond by my house. I’ve been saving the water for a long time, and there’s about two gallons in there.
      I gently sprinkle the water around the base of the tree, and over a little dandelion growing, and the small patch of green grass surrounding the tree. Hopefully, they’ll grow. I also pull from my oversized backpack a small contraption. It senses whether the ground is dry or wet. Right now, it’s wet, so when I hook it up to the watering can no water surges through. I’ve tested this, and when it gets to dry it’ll put out some water for the tree, dandelion, and grass.
      It seems like the tree is smiling at me as I lay down on the dirt, away from the grass so I don’t kill it. I let the green override my vision, and soon I finally feel at peace.

 

EverlastingWaves

VT

15 years old

More by EverlastingWaves

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    skin pulled taut and tight
    burning like the light
    that seeps through cracks
    underneath the door

    from stray branches and walking
    throughout the woods, balking
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