Disclaimer:
Roses are red,
Violets are blue
I don't own
So please don't sue.
*
And there she was.
She lay as still as a stone. Not moving. Not breathing.
I feared the worst, although I couldn't see her face. I touched my own face, and felt blood on it.
Her blood.
And there she was.
I walked to her lifeless body, afraid of what I would see. She was lying on her back, her eyes closed, her face at peace.
Indeed, the only sign that she wasn't simply sleeping was the small, round wound, right in the middle of her forehead.
The sniper had aimed true.
The peacefulness of her features was at odds with her sudden yet violent death.
And there she was.
Up until now it had been a routine assignment, concerning terrorists and missiles. Albeit a terrorist who was in love with her, and yet wanted to kill her simultaneously.
We had ambushed them, but we were outnumbered, our four to their twenty. They fought back hard, but nobody could beat her.
We had grouped together on the rooftop. We thought that our adversaries were a problem no more.
We were wrong.
And there she was.
There! A man!
The stray shooter took aim briefly, and fired.
She took the bullet without flinching, without doubting whether she should. She knew the consequences. She accepted life as it was, and collapsed onto the hard, unforgiving concrete of the rooftop.
And there she was.
I had feared the worst, but she was still breathing. For now.
Her Kevlar body armour had protected her like a shield, preventing the cold, shaped metal of the bullet from striking vulnerable flesh.
As I helped her up, I was overcome with relief. I was grateful that she hadn't left us.
And there she was.
I praised her. She had succeeded in protecting him. That was her job, and she had done it well. She seemed surprised – not many serious words escaped my mouth.
She smiled at me, and said:
"I thought I'd die before I heard –"
And then the sniper fired, and she said no more.
And there she was.
Lying on a cold, hard slab in the morgue, awaiting autopsy.
She didn't deserve to die. She was a good person. An angel in disguise.
Every day I infuriated her with my thoughtless, foolish comments. I regret them now.
And yet she was never cruel or cold to me. She accepted me for who I was, right from the start.
She didn't deserve to die.
And there she was.
Lying peacefully in her coffin, surrounded by her family and her friends.
Her medal of honour was draped carefully around her neck. Rosary beads were arrayed gracefully in her hands. The bullet wound painstakingly hidden.
I was only dimly aware of the people around me. The people, sobbing and laughing, reflecting on her beautiful life and her tragic death.
And there she was.
As I gazed at her face, I remembered her life.
I remembered the way she laughed – but never at me.
I remembered the way that she cried, when she thought I was dying. She had stayed with me.
I remembered her enthusiasm, her love for life and all those in it.
I remembered the times we had together, insignificant as they might be.
And there she was.
I was the last in line to pay my respects. I stood by her coffin, and placed onto it a single flower.
A red rose.
Story Notes:
Originally written as a monologue for my English extension class. Oneshot.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Tony reflects on Cate's death, as he sees her lying dead.
Chapter End Notes:
Originally written as a monologue for my English extension class. The topic: 'and there she was'. Oneshot.