occasional paper: alone on a park bench

I shared an "OP" with my English class today - an OP is basically a paper about any topic which you present to the class. It's pretty nice because you get 100% no matter what you write, so it's a very stress free assignment where you can literally write anything you want. I'll share you the one I wrote:

I wrote a short story.. here it goes -

Sophie was sitting alone on a park bench. This was where they used to play; where they used to have deep conversations about life. She was miserable. How could her sister leave her? How could her sister simply depart from Sophie and leave her poor sister’s world shattered? It wasn't fair. During the funeral, the preacher had said something about how Debbie was in a better place, a place with no more suffering. That could have been true, Sophie thought, but she left us all here to suffer. She knew of people who had committed suicide and never even considered her sister to be one of those people. Had she done anything wrong? All of a sudden, she noticed something in the corner of her eye.

It was a red sun dress with sunflower embroidery on the bottom. She recognized the dress – it was her sisters. She looked up at the face and saw her sister’s beautiful but pale face. Sophie was shocked as Debbie sat down next to her.

“Why’d you leave us?” Sophie muttered, happy to see her sister, but still angry.

Her sister was quiet.

“Why’d you leave us?” Sophie said a little bit louder, with a bit more force.

“I guess the hatred and sorrow of this world overcame my soul” she said dryly

“But… What about us? What about our family? What about me??”

“Let me tell you something Sophie… I was SO sure that I wanted my life to end. That it was better to be dead than suffering alive. But right as my body was under the water and as I looked up at the San Francisco Bridge above me, I thought ‘I don’t want to die.’ I thought of all the good things in life – the beautiful smile of children, the smell of the ocean breeze, the sound of the piano playing a melody, and the simple time spent with you. I was suddenly filled with an urgency to live. I struggled to reach the top of the water. I did really try. So, in a sense, I had not committed suicide. I died by drowning. But I tried to live. I tried for you Sophie. So please live life to the fullest. Live it for yourself, live it for your foolish sister who couldn’t see past the pains of life, and live it because you can. Cause there is wonder, magic and love all throughout. You just have to stop your busy life and look around sometimes.”

Tears filled up Sophie’s eyes. She could not stop them from coming out. It was the first time she had cried since she had heard the news of her sister’s death. She then wiped the tears and looked out the playground. She saw how much life was around her – the little kids playing tag, the mothers with their cameras and a soft breeze in the air. She smiled. It was like the death of her sister taught Sophie how to live. She was ready. Sophie turned around to tell her sister this epiphany, but she realized that she was alone, sitting on a park bench.

^bye bye until next time