Nearly midnight

By Tara Gray. Tara, 13, is a student at St. Francis’ College. She lives in Stevenage, UK. Please read her article and leave your thoughts and comments below.

This was supposed to be a happy day for her, it was her 18th birthday. As she looked over the view of the magnificent city, the heavy, cold wind pushed her grey hoodie off the top of her head, exposing her deep black locks, hiding underneath. Leaning forward quite dangerously over the top of the railings, she imagined falling into the depths of normal life below.

She could see her childhood home in the distance, where her parents were still sound asleep. As she thought about this, a tear of sadness crept into her eye, but she quickly wiped it away. The orange sign for authentic Thai food glowed dimly in the distance. That was her past and this was her future. Her stomach churned as she forced herself to walk towards the exit for the last time. This was her favourite place; you could sit, listen and just ponder about life in general. Life is delicate, and with one snap it could all be gone. I think that this is not what humans ponder about when they make life-altering decisions.

She reached the bottom floor and ran. She ran because she had a boat to catch at 12:00pm and it was 11:45pm. Nearly midnight. She ran because this was her last chance and because it was a 20-minute walk to the docks. She ran down the empty always that made her pounding footsteps echo and bounce along the cobbled floors and walls. She ran through the crowded streets where all the people with their whole lives ahead of them stared at her strangely. All of this would be gone soon.

Thankfully, as the boat came into sight, the door was still open for her to slip through and run up the stairs. She went through a door that said ‘cabin crew’ only and onto the view deck. Bending over to catch her breath and below her in the deep, dark viscous water she investigated her reflection, her face blank. There was a silence, an echoing type of silence. A silence that holds secrets. However, this particular secret was world-shattering, heart-breaking and terrifying. The secret was that they only had days left. Three days left and counting down from now.

It was nearly midnight.

5 comments on “Nearly midnight

  1. Vicky Bryan on

    This is very suspenseful and well-written! This really engages the reader to wonder what the girl’s secret is. I love how she wants more than a ‘normal life’. I enjoyed reading this entry a lot! Fantastic!

    Reply
  2. Ann Whelan on

    I enjoyed this piece of intriguing writing, leaving my mind wondering as to the possibilities . Fantastic and thought provoking .

    Reply

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