1 minute read
Lungs Study
The students crowd around her. 238. She pushes them away. 238 days. Through the field, down the stairs, past the walls, around the corner, by the windows. Esme stops to catch her breath, her hands on her knees. Utterly and completely alone, she shuts her eyes to the darkness she knows, the only comfort she has. She sits down, terrified to see the reality. It couldn’t be real. Esme must keep going, the heat is becoming more and more unbearable, but something is in her path. In a blur, she opens her eyes. There was the path she had walked countless times before. This time it was different. The bread that was neatly packaged was no longer there. It had vanished, into nothing but ants. The only thing left was a tall hill of ants. Ants everywhere.
