Alice by Lexa

‘I’m always right by your side;

it feels as though your life depends on nothing else but my jokes,’ the girl let out a quiet chuckle and, swaying slightly towards the now rather rusty fence, leaned against a post. 

‘Well, who are you to me? You’re almost like a sister to me; how could I possibly live without you? Life without you is no fun, my dear,’ Zhanna declared dramatically, almost theatrically, spreading her arms wide as if in a play. 

‘Right, actress, we’ve got an exam tomorrow after all, so we really ought to start making our way home, or my parents will make me dance across the floor with a mop!’

The two girls set off along the dusty road towards the town, which in the semi-darkness looked like the light of a very powerful lantern. The gentle whistle of the summer breeze rustled the trees, cooling their faces slightly after the intense 30-degree heat. Zhanna, already quite tired after today’s walk in the countryside, felt as though she were on cloud nine. Her friend, Alice, whom she hadn’t seen for a good three months due to her studies, was finally in town, and they were spending all these days together. Days of fun, joy and laughter until late into the night. Yet something was still a bit odd. Alice was acting strangely. She was quiet, which was quite unlike her, as she was usually such a chatterbox—the sort you couldn’t shut up—and yet now she was silent. Most of the time it was Zhanna doing the talking, but that was completely out of character for her. Her laughter wasn’t the same—not as loud or cheerful.

‘Alice... listen, there’s this thing...’

‘M?’

‘You’ve been a bit withdrawn lately and hardly say a word. Is everything alright?’

‘...’

‘Hey, can you hear me?’

‘Zhanna. It’s not your fault.’

- What am I to blame for? What’s happened?

- It’s not your fault. It’s not your fault.

Alice’s voice slowly shifts from deeply calm to a heart-rending scream, the kind that would burst your eardrums instantly.

- What the hell is wrong with you? What am I not to blame for??

Everything goes dark. Alice’s face blurs, leaving behind only a mangled, contorted... her face covered in blood. And those dead eyes. Empty, like cheap glass balls from a souvenir shop. 

- ALICE, NO!

....

The hospital ward was cramped and reeked of overly polished sterility. Zhanna sat on the bed, wrapped in bandages, staring at the floor. 

- Doctor, what a blessing that she’s alive! It’s a miracle!, - her mother’s voice could be heard from behind the door, like the distant mutterings of a madwoman.

‘If she’d been in the front seat of that wreck, sadly, she would have met the same fate as that poor girl...’ the doctor sighed and walked out into the empty hospital corridors. 

‘It’s not my fault, Alice... I should have been in that seat.’