Birdsong | Teen Ink

Birdsong

September 5, 2011
By Erecura PLATINUM, Eugene, Oregon
Erecura PLATINUM, Eugene, Oregon
26 articles 11 photos 50 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Hell is empty; all the devils are here.&quot;<br /> The tempest


I stand on the dirt ground, my bare feet rough and calloused. The barbed wire fence is at its tallest here. I have to crane my neck to see the top.

I wish I were a bird. They can fly. Fly over the fence. Away from this god-forsaken place. Away from Poland, from Europe, over the sea to Britain, where they aren’t looking for me.

Mother grabs my shoulder. “Where were you?” she yells, shaking me.

“Being a bird.” I tell her, because I have nothing better to say.

“Get back to work.” She replies tersely.

I nod, still a bird in my mind.


The summer passes slowly. We eat little, sleep little, and work too much. My legs and feet ache. The leaves drop off the trees. The birds fly south, calling out to one another as they fly.

New faces show up at the camp. A girl about my age arrives in early fall, weighed down by the burdens of life and carrying two babies as she supports her dying moth through the gate. Her mother disappears a week later. Everyone knows where she went, but nobody dares to say.

Fall turns to winter and I meet the girl at last.

Her name is Maurine. She’s Fifteen. Her sisters are two. And she, too, wishes to be a bird.

Somehow we form a friendship, surpassing all the camp’s wishes. She’s so similar to me that I want to yell it to the entire world.

But of course something has to happen. Something terrible. Something life changing. I didn’t expect it. Nobody did.

Her sisters are gone, gone to be experimented on by the Angel of Death himself. There have been whispers all through the camp of his deeds. He has taken identical twins, they say, taken then and given a disease to one and killed the other.

Maurine is devastated.

Who will be next? I ask myself the same question every night. Who will be taken?

It’s not me. Not Maurine. It’s Mama.

The world is dark and grey. No light shines through the burnt our sky. I am living a nightmare that I cannot get out of. “Take me!” I plead in my dreams. “Take me and not her!”

Winter’s snow begins to melt, creating muddy puddles of water in the roads. The bids come back and in my mind I follow them, all the way over the ocean, to a place other than this.

I wrap myself in darkness, a cloak, a shield against the evil done here. I do not speak. I do not eat. I work very little. Maurine tries to get through to me, but she can’t. I stay by myself, a body devoid of spirit. Nobody comes near, nobody cares enough to do anything.

Summer comes to the camp again and I stay hidden, weaker and weaker everyday. And finally they come for me.


The death camp. What a horrible name. I shiver as we pass through the Stone Gates of No Return. They take me to a tent. A tent. I want to scream, “Kill me now! I don’t want to live!”

I don’t. I wait. I don’t know how much time has passes when they come for me again.

We near a brick building and suddenly I want to live. I don’t want to die. Silent tears run down my face. How could I have done this to myself? I want to live. I don’t want to go in the building.


But I have to. And just for a moment, as I step through the door, the birds stop singing.



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This article has 8 comments.


on Oct. 21 2011 at 6:44 pm
BrightBurningCampeador PLATINUM, Portland, Oregon
42 articles 11 photos 333 comments
I like how you don't really tell the reader straight out what's going on. It makes the story much realler.

on Oct. 17 2011 at 3:39 pm
TessaGraves394 BRONZE, South Haven, Michigan
1 article 0 photos 10 comments
Wow. That was sad, but great! I loved the last sentence, it really pulled the whole story together. This was truly amazing :)

on Oct. 16 2011 at 8:46 pm
Sarajustine BRONZE, Massapequa, New York
1 article 0 photos 35 comments
Wow, this is really great! Very, very sad! The last sentence really wraps the whole thing up very well. Well done!

on Oct. 6 2011 at 10:16 pm
Erecura PLATINUM, Eugene, Oregon
26 articles 11 photos 50 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Hell is empty; all the devils are here.&quot;<br /> The tempest

Thak you so much!

on Oct. 1 2011 at 10:36 pm
Garnet77 PLATINUM, Sinagpore, Other
31 articles 6 photos 577 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Everything&#039;s a triangle.&quot; ~ My mother<br /> <br /> &quot;Write what you love, write what you care about, because sometimes, it&#039;s the easiest way to be heard.&quot;

Wow, I honestly have nothing to say except that this is amazing. The whole symbolism with the bird... Truly and really amazing :)

LaceeJade GOLD said...
on Sep. 29 2011 at 8:37 pm
LaceeJade GOLD, Bucyrus, Ohio
17 articles 4 photos 136 comments

Favorite Quote:
&hearts; I&#039;ve made mistakes in my life. i&#039;ve let people take advantage of me, and i accepted way less than i deserve. But, i&#039;ve learned from my bad choices, and even though there are some things i can never get back and people who will never be sorry. i&#039;ll know better next time and i wont settle for anything less than i deserve. &hearts;

I am big on World War 2 and this gave me shivers! its sad and great!

Your have a great imagination! keep on writing:)


on Sep. 24 2011 at 6:15 pm
Iamonlyhuman SILVER, Spring Valley, Illinois
7 articles 0 photos 5 comments
Wow. Sorry it took so long for me to relpy. This just honestly took my breath away. It's written very well. I absolutley adore the last sentence. I love it. Keep doing what you do! Your great at it.

leafy said...
on Sep. 14 2011 at 8:22 am
leafy, City, Other
0 articles 0 photos 682 comments

Favorite Quote:
Gil: I would like you to read my novel and get your opinion.&nbsp;<br /> Ernest Hemingway: I hate it.&nbsp;<br /> Gil: You haven&#039;t even read it yet.&nbsp;<br /> Ernest Hemingway: If it&#039;s bad, I&#039;ll hate it. If it&#039;s good, then I&#039;ll be envious and hate it even more. You don&#039;t want the opinion of another writer.&nbsp;

Oh wow, this is so sad, but definitely powerful. I loved, great job! 5/5