In a Perfect World

Beneath every tale is something true.

Beneath mine, it is you.

to S.M. (May 3rd, 1992 - June 21, 2004)

In a Perfect World
by Syd Nopsis

The sky was starless.

The house was crowded with kids who had on thousand-dollar dresses and sparkling silver crowns. A number of chauffeurs were waiting a few blocks away gulping down whatever little food they had time to find before being called over to pick up the little princesses. The antique table was covered in expensive purchases that were to be unwrapped after supper. The mix of perfumes gave the air a terrible scent and made the room that much more asphyxiating.

"Wanna' go outside for a bit?" Liv whispered to avoid attention.
"Sure." I spotted a soccer ball in the entrance closet and picked it up as we slipped out quietly.
We made passes back and forth on the sidewalk for a while, until the warm summer air urged us to lie down on the grass and remain still. Our silence was accompanied by the sound of the wind and cries of crickets. It was moments like this one that made our friendship golden.

Suddenly, the ball that was motionless next to my feet was kicked and went flying across the street. Vicky stood laughing beside me. "Let's play," she pulled me up to my feet. Liv was still on her back, shaking her head. I wanted to lie back down with her. I should've, I wish I had. But I didn't. I thought playing one game with Vicky would make her leave us alone for the rest of the night and spare us of her fancy party. Liv got up, and seven other girls came running from the house toward us.

We were just ten reckless little girls with a soccer ball in the middle of a 50km/h street. In a perfect world, it would have been a game where one team won, and the other lost. In a perfect world, all ten of us would've gotten back into the house. In a perfect world, no car would've come speeding down the street twice the speed limit with a driver too blind to care.

In a perfect world, Liv would still be here.

That was the only time I've ridden an ambulance in my life. Vicky, her parents and I sat outside an automatic door in the trauma centre, waiting. My mouth tasted of helplessness. We received the news of her passing at 23:40. "The severe trauma caused heart failure and damage to the skull. I'm so sorry, we can't bring her back."

The sky was starless.

Syd Nopsis
2004