Avescope Memento Mori

impact, which I trust will be instantaneously lethal, sparing me any
extended suffering.
And…it hits, tossing me backwards with its wave of destruction.
But I should have been killed by the impact, not tossed to the side.
I open my eyes and see my neighbor in the first rank, or what’s left of
him anyway, lying in a heap. Poor Anton. He was seventeen with a
wife and child to live for and now he’s just a pile of meat. I can’t even
tell where the ball hit him. He seems to have been simply
squashed,like a bug.
Looking myself over, I see no major trauma. A few parts of me throb
painfully and blood is dripping past my eye, but I’m relatively intact.
My ball picked someone else!I’m alive! I’d thank god if I believed in
him, but I don’t, so I’ll just have to thank the fates.
Now, about that little matter of marrying Sophie. Why would she
want to marry me?Didn’t she say she wished I would die? No, I’ll
leave her be, it’s better for everyone involved.Travel to Venice, that’s
what I’ll do. The life of a gondolier will be perfect for me. Lots of fresh
air, beautiful women, delicious food, wine, and maybe even some
decent money. If Monsieur Death came that close and didn’t take
me, I think it’s safe to say that my time isn’t up, and I’ll survive this
war. Yes, things are looking up for me.
But what’s that? Something rigid and slippery has appeared on my
back right next to my pack.
When I reach around to feel it better a sharp pain shoots through my
right lung all the way to the front of my chest.The other soldiers are
looking at me as if I’m some sort of freak. Haven’t they seen
countless wounded soldiers already? I can’t look that different.
I give the slimy stick a sharp pull and it comes loose, immediately
causing my chest to explode in pain. I try to take a deep breath, but
my lungs allow in only a tiny fraction of what I need. What the hell is
happening? I look at the stick and fall to the ground as shock and
disbelief overtake me, followed shortly by despair.
In my hand, formerly in my chest, one of Anton’s long bones sits,
taunting me. Its jagged edges are now coated in a mixture of my
blood and his.
My breath comes only with great effort and I lay my head on the
ground. Reaching behind me I feel my coat becoming soaked with
blood, and my vision begins to narrow. It won’t be long now. At least
there isn’t much pain. The shock must have taken care of that.
I send my goodbyes to Mama and Sophie and hope they will miss
me. My apologies also go out to Venice as I’ll no longer be able to
help transport their citizens through its canals.
As the light begins to fade, I see Monsieur Death walking toward me,
smiling grimly. “You might as well come in.” I say as he makes
himself comfortable inside my soon-to-be corpse, preparing for the
long task of staring at other frightened boys through my sightless
eyes.
Avescope | 48