I look to my left to see my older brother, James. He smiles as he drops an apple into the basket beneath us. The warm sun on my face, the smooth apple in my hand. The warmth is replaced by an agonizing burning that spreads through my body. The apple turns black and ashy as my light touch crushes it. The scene blurs and all I feel is the pain. The sound of his screams and my heartbeat blend together and surround my ears. I can't see, I can't breathe.
When I awake, I am in a white room with a blue curtain drawn back to reveal a bed. My heartbeat quickens as my breath catches in my throat. I can't go back to that place. I can never go back.
I reach across the edge of the bed from the plastic chair and take his hand. I grasp it tightly as hot tears run down my face. I hate that damn orchard. The place where James had his damn fall. Where he almost died.
His eyes are closed, as they've been for past sixty days. A tube breathes for him, a machine filters his blood. It's sickening. I am so tired of being here. Of seeing him like this.
YOU ARE READING
Haze: An Autumn One-Shot
NovellerIf he knew his fate, would he have visited that damned orchard? When two siblings visit an apple orchard, continuing an old family tradition, things do not go as planned. Highest ranking(s): #81 in #autumnleaves - 10/29/20 #31 in
