Aftermath | Teen Ink

Aftermath

December 18, 2013
By Valhalla-is-calling GOLD, Waterboro, Maine
Valhalla-is-calling GOLD, Waterboro, Maine
13 articles 0 photos 38 comments

Favorite Quote:
"No parent should have to bury their own child." -Theodin


I don't think some people notice how much their existence matters to people. You might've had a bad day so you go home and you take out that note you've written and rewritten a thousand times. You cut for the last time and go to your bathroom and take out the bottle of pills you've been saving for a rainy day. You grab them and go to your bed and down all of them. Your head reclines into your pillow as you shut your eyes for the last time.

Hours pass and then your little brother comes upstairs to get you for dinner. He opens your door and tries to shake you awake. When your eyes don't open, he goes downstairs and tells your mum and dad, "sissy' eyes won't open." Your parents exchange a look and bolt up the stairs. They quickly open the door and start yelling at your body. Your mum looks down at you and sees the note clasped in your hands. She takes it and reads it. Sobbing, she gives the note to your father who instantly regrets every harsh thing he's said or done to you. Your mum remembers every time she's yelled at you for not being on track in school. Every time she badgered you into doing your work. And your little brother who is too small to understand what is happening just looks between his parents and your lifeless body.

The next day, the morning announcements come on and word of your death spreads like wildfire. Your teachers sit at their desks with their open mouths. Your friends sit at their desks and cry. Your boyfriend remembers every fight both of you had, every mean thing he's said during those fights, and instantly regrets them. That one teacher in your fourth block study hall who always asks you how you are or how your day has gone sits down and cries. And your best friend? Your best friend doesn't utter a word. No tears. She just gets out of her seat and lays down on the floor. She goes back to every time you said you've had a bad day or you want to die, and recalls how she dismissed them as just you being over dramatic. Those mean girls who spread rumors behind your back feel immediately guilty.

Two years after your death, everyone's life is different. Your friends have a new crop of friends, but none of them will compare to you. Your boyfriend never recovered and now goes how and cuts his wrists because he blames himself. The girls that were all mean to you now all have eating disorders. Your family keeps a picture of your beautiful face above the fireplace on the mantel. They don't talk as much as they used to. Your little brother, having grown up, learned the truth about your death and cried himself to sleep every night. He's going down the road you did. Your best friend is in the hospital again for attempted suicide. She has scars all over her gorgeous body and has cut herself off from the outside world.

No ones life goes back to the way it was after someone dies. Your life could impact someone you don't even know. That person would miss the friendly smile you gave them when you passed them in the halls. Don't kill yourself. Find help. Please.


The author's comments:
Your life could affect someone you've never talked to.

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