Darkness

To start off my posting I guess I'll go for the big bang. The following poem/short story won the Scholastic National Short Story Contest and placed 43rd out of 17, 000 in the 77th International Writer's Digest Competition. It started off as a dream, grew to class doodles, and eventually found itself on paper. It was edited slightly to fit the length requirements of the contest, but I think the final outcome was the best.

Darkness. Then a flicker of light. I open my eyes to see the world hurling past me. I feel the power of the wind hitting my face and the strength of my feet hitting the ground. Before I know it, I see a huge abyss racing towards me. My mind wants to stop, but my body is willing me on. I reach the cliff and vault myself into the air. My arms outstretched and my legs sailing behind me, I feel like a bird flying for the first time. Gradually my flight abates and I begin to plummet towards sheer rock. I close my eyes. Thrusting my arms out in front of me, I feel a force pushing against them. As I reach out, I feel my hands touch a surface and I brace myself, preparing for the collision. But instead of rock, I feel a spray of water. The liquid swallows me up. I feel it pulling and pushing against my limbs, unable to decide which direction to go. I feel no pain, no urgency to breathe. I admire the world around me, deep and rich. Looking up at the surface, a shimmer of red catches my eye, calling me. I answer. When I reach it, my whole body shoots into the air as though a string, attached to my chest, is pulling me up. I hang there in mid-air, hovering over the restless sea below me, not a single drop falling from my soaking body. Then, a flash. Swirls of red encompass me. A pillar of flames reaches into the heavens, with me floating in the centre. Fire licks at my arms and legs, but all I feel is cool wisps of wind. A roaring silence echoes through my skull. I attempt to reach my hand out of the pirouetting whirlpool, but as I am just about to break free, I hit solid and can go no further. I try to see past my blazing cage and I catch glimpses of the earth falling away from me. I stare as it plummets downward until I see nothing but a tiny crumb confined to a hungry darkness. All that is left is the fire surrounding me. Then, that too, is gone. With a flick of the wind, the fire is extinguished and I am left alone to battle the unsatisfied raven. As soon as all light from the flame is dissolved, the darkness attacks me with all its strength. It rips into every crease in my body until I feel and know nothing but black. It runs its scraggly hands down my spine and engulfs my being. My body is a rag doll in its powerful grip. It is sucking existence out of me, taking with it everything I’ve ever known. Light. Coming forward, hacking against dark. I am too far-gone to comprehend. Then as my eyes slowly drop into unconsciousness, I see extreme light breaking forward and shining with all its glory. Then, I too am gone.