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The Fence
Ella Crosby
Time to Write
Finalist
We are birds, we are free.
The Fence stretched forever, across the world, but to most it was
invisible. It was there, tall, endless and oppressive, yet one could
never reach it. It was always on the horizon, no one could ever reach
it. And on the other side were those who tried to cling to life, though
they should have passed on. They are from all times, all places, all
races, but on the other side of the fence it matters not. They simply
stand there, staring into oblivion, trapped in an endless reliving of
sad memories; in limbo for all eternity.
Only those who had longed for a love lost to the other side could
see it, and they are taunted by brief glimpses of what is on the
other side.
And the most heartbreaking of the people stranded on the other
side of the fence are the children. They are lonely. Confused.
Bewildered. Lost. And most heartbreaking of all: Completely alone.
They reach out into the ghostly space around them, searching
fruitlessly for the warm hand that had always been there before; for
the hugs that they once took for granted; for the people who love
them, and ask for nothing in return. They are the saddest to watch.
Some of the children are stronger. They stand bravely. They
patiently wait for the loved ones who never, ever, come. They press
themselves against the fence, staring at the living, trying in vain for a
tiny piece of recognition.
One of these children, one of the strongest, tried in futile hope to
reach the other side. She was determined to reach the other side.
Her name was Amora.
And on the other side was her twin.
They were two halves of a whole. Without her sister she was
nothing. Her only thought was to be reunited with her sister,
regardless of the consequences.
And so it was that she made a bargain with Death.
One day on the other side, in exchange for the rest of eternity as a
servant to Death. Her only condition being that if anything happened
to her, or her twin, one of themwould be granted freedom from death,
to travel freely between worlds, a spirit to rival Death himself.
And so it was that Amora returned to her twin, Carmen, for one
final day.
And they wandered around the city, admiring the grand houses as
they had always done, splashing in the fountains, scaring the pigeons,
as if nothing had changed.
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