Flytrap | WATTYS 2022 SHORTLIST

1 | Root

If you were to ask someone what is the most tragic thing that could befall a person, you would usually get the same answers. A loved one dying unexpectedly. Getting cancer or some other terminal illness. But what most people would not say is the death of a dream.

Unlike the other two, watching as your dream slowly dies is a different sort of grief-a different sort of pain. And unless you've personally experienced it, it is almost indescribable. It is a bitter, suffocating feeling that is equivalent to being knifed in the chest.

Or in Barbara Gordon's case, the sudden impact of thousands of pounds of steel pressed against her tiny body.

But that was a story for another time, one already told hundreds of miles away back in Chicago. This story began with a long, winding road towards Barbara's final destination, a destination where people—where dreams—went to wither and die. There was no doubt Barbara knew this while on that endless car ride over. The sullen look in her eye made her resemble a prisoner headed for the gallows.

Barbara pressed her cheek against the cool pane of glass and sighed, watching as the vast stretch of pine trees passed by. She hadn't seen a building for the past hour, only the swampy wasteland that was the Pine Barrens. The next time she saw signs of civilization, it would mean she was entering the city limits—that she was closer to her destination than she hoped to be. With each tree the car passed, the knot in her stomach grew tighter, and she was sure it was from her insides being all tangled up.

"Barbara," a soft voice called out next to her. "Are you still asleep? We're almost there, honey."

She shut her eyes and slowed her breathing, hoping her dad would think she actually was. Oh, how she longed for sleep, but the peace she had sought after had eluded her since leaving Chicago. That was nearly twelve hours ago.

But how could she sleep right now with everything weighing on her mind? She had a better chance of walking again.

A grimace crossed her lips at the thought. She couldn't start using dark humor as a coping mechanism. Only cynics did that and now was not the time to be cynical. Not when the pain was still raw. She had to keep hope alive... somehow.

But what light was there to search for in a city filled with nothing but darkness?

She opened her eyes to stare at the ugly, wet sight in front of her. She had read somewhere that the Pine Barrens were referred to as such because of the acidic and nutrient-poor soil despite the name.

Reading. That seemed to be all she did nowadays. All she could do after the accident.

Quickly blinking back the tears brimming in her eyes, Barbara tried to think about something else. Something that didn't involve the sound of bones crunching against metal, and the searing pain that followed. Something that was far more pleasant and wouldn't make her lip tremble.

Her father.

The last time she had seen him was at the hospital when he came to visit her. It hadn't been that long ago between then and now, but in her mind, it felt like a whole other lifetime ago. In a way, it was.

That Barbara Gordon, the one who could walk, would've been talking non-stop with her dad and singing along to her favorite tunes.

But this Barbara Gordon had been stuck in a car for the past twelve hours without exchanging more than a few words with him.

Although she had hoped things would go better between them, she wasn't surprised they had turned out this way. Her dad had a knack for acting like things were normal when they so obviously weren't. Even when she came to visit, he would act like everything was a-okay.