This short piece was written as part of a small writing contest. My first attempt in years so I may be a tad rusty. I had been allocated an hour to plan and write a fictional story or a piece of poetry with the following context as inspiration. It was a long dialogue exchange but summed up, the context was:

TWO PEOPLE ARE DISCUSSING HOW THE SUN HASN’T COME UP FOR A LONG TIME, ONE ASKS IF THEY ARE GOING TO DIE WHILE THE OTHER TRIES TO REASSURE.

Darkness.

Suzanna continued to stare out into the darkness of the forest surrounding them, letting the request sink in a moment before turning back to her eldest sister. Eyebrows frowning from anxiety.

"But...how DO you know?"

Anita let out a soft chuckle before walking over to young lady from her own tent. Carefully planting herself down on the log beside the kid.

"Suzy." Anita spoke in a hushed tone in an attempt to put her little sister at ease. "I've been coming out here, doing this for ten years now. Since I was your age, literally." she gently laughed, flashing Suzanna a wide smile. "Trust me, it always comes back up."

"I know... I..." Suzanna sighed heavily, hanging her head slightly to stare down at the small stones she was shuffling across the soil with her boots. "I know. I guess I just. I don't know..."

"This is your first time out here, you don't have to know-"

"I didn't expect this to be so.. so... "

"Hard?"

There was a brief pause between the sisters before the younger of the two let out a small, muffled squeak. Covering her mouth with the back of her hand as her eyes welled up, nodding quickly.

"Y-Yeah."

Anita swallowed hard, she never felt comfortable consoling those who needed it but seeing her baby sister cry made her chest hurt and her heart heavy. Carefully, she placed her hand on Suzannas' back and rubbed it in a slow, circular motion.

"This isn't easy, Suzy. Coming out here and having to fight for our lives... and so far away from home? It's not fair, especially starting you all off so young."

"It's bullshit."

Normally she would have scolded Suzanna for using such foul language, especially on duty...but not tonight.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

She was right.

"It really is" She whispered back shakily, using her free hand to wipe her own face. "But that's life, all we've ever known. It's not like the world mum and dad grew up in."

Suzanna let out a huff, disguised as a small chuckle.

"Yeah... And they still decided to have kids and raise them in THIS world." She joked, shaking her head while wiping her tear streaked cheeks. "What made them think that was a good idea, huh?"

"Right, Annie?" She sniffed, looking up at her sister. Waiting for a response.

"Anita?"

Anita blinked a couple times, having lost herself in thought at Suzannas' joke.

"Sorry? Oh.. Yes.. Yeah. They must have been mad." She slowly nodded, swallowing back a small amount of acidic flem before gazing down at her sister. "You still feeling sick?"

"A little, yeah. You?"

Anita slowly nodded back.

"So....we definitely aren't going to die, right?"

"No Suzy, like mum said. It's probably just a bug we both caught when we visited the school children back home."

"I guess, yeah. Can't be so bad though, I haven't actually been physically sick with it yet."

"You haven't?"

Suzanna frowned up at her sister with a sniff, turning her whole upper body to face her.

"You have?"

Anita froze for a moment, unsure of what exactly she was supposed to say and praying that she hadn't just put her foot in it.

"Once or twice." She whispered. "Nothing too bad though. Probably just acid reflux, heartburn. None of us have exactly been eating properly." She finished with a small laugh, gently rubbing her sisters back again.

"I'm sorry. Jeez, I thought the nightmares that came with it were bad enough. But actually vomiting? Why are you out here with me? You should be the one going back to sleep. You must feel like shit?"

"Language."

"Sorry..."

"I feel fine." Anita gave her little sister a reassuring smile. "I am fine and so are you." She whispered once more before looking out at the forest for herself. "We'll all be fine."

With that being said, she carefully stood back up from the log. Brushing down her trousers which were now covered in dirt and small, loose flakes of bark.

"So....shall we?" Anita smiled as she gestured back towards the tents a few meters away. "I know you feel like you’re barely keeping your head above water out here alongside us. But trust me, you'll feel better in the morning."

Suzanna giggled and pointed up towards the total darkness in the sky.

"And when will morning be, exactly? Next Thursday?"

"When I wake you up, cheeky sod." She giggled back, playfully grabbing Suzanna shirt and pretending to lift her as she stood up.

The two sister slowly walked side by side back towards the tent, both each unzipping their own to climb back in. But before they could do so, Suzanna stepped back out slightly.

"Anita?"

"Uh hm?"

"Thank you." She softly smiled. "I mean it, to both you and Nathan. For agreeing to come out with me."

"Suzanna, I'd never let you do this by yourself." Anita smiled back warmly. "I'm honoured you asked us to join."

Suzanna gently chuckled, her cheeks going a little red.

"Ah... It's not that big of a deal. Just... You know?"

"I know." She slowly nodded, pausing a moment before whispering one last time. "Good night, kiddo."

"Yeah, good night."

Anita watched in silence as Suzanna carefully climbed back into her own tent. Zipped it closed and got settled back in before turning off her lamp. With one last look out towards the forest, Anita frowned to herself. She knew they were out there, watching their camp eagerly but usually she could sense where exactly they were.

Why couldn't she sense them anymore?

Shaking her head in dismissal, she deeply inhaled through her nose to try and relax herself before climbing back into her joint tent and attempting to rest for the night.