Short Story: Look into my eyes, by Amy Lim Su Yen

Short Story: Look into my eyes, by Amy Lim Su Yen.

I searched the darkness without a pause. Where is this strange and unfamiliar place? What am I doing here? I wandered around in total blindness, not knowing where to go or what to expect. Around the corner, I saw a commotion going on. Right in the middle of that commotion was a piece of metal scrap. A very huge metal scrap that looked like it was attacked by a suicidal squad of terrorists. 


It is a strange place, the colours surrounding me is so unreal. The grass is not green and neither is the sky blue. If my eyes are not failing me then I am certain my surrounding is similar to a slightly faded black and white film, before men were advanced enough to introduced colour film on television. Strange as it is, I reverted back to the center of attention, that piece of over-sized metal scrap.


The air is still around me but everything else is not. Everyone was moving here and there trying to get a glimpse from behind the tall armed men guarding that metal scrap. At a situation like this, the most anyone is able to do is to stand and stare. Their lips were moving, whispering at one another but no one moved more than their face muscles. 


I could see that at one corner, parked a white van that has an identity of its own, a red cross that was painted on its side. Coming out from that van are people dressed in white uniforms. They had a face that resembles angels, people who were sent to do good will to others. My eyes scanned the whole scene and simultaneously, my mind was putting the pieces of puzzle together.

Numbness spread through my whole body. I feared the reality that stood before my eyes. That enormous metal scrap is no scrap before this. I just realized that it looked awfully familiar. Now I know, I know very well that is was definitely not scrap because it was the most beautiful sports wagon.

The sports wagon was breath-taking. It has chrome-plated 4-bar wheels, metallic iridium silver coated body and most of all, inside it was one happy family. I winced at the fact that such a tragedy was to befall upon anyone. I am standing in front of me a family of promising lives that was crushed by not one but a few timbers that was fallen off by what was seen as a mistake of an unforgiving truck.


Little droplets of water started to well up in my eyes and my feet brought me closer to the scene. As soon as I got close enough to the tall armed men, the sight of thick red liquid came into view. The massive amount of blood that was coming from under that wagon indicates that there are lives in jeopardy. I tried to take a closer look.


In my heart, I was praying to the Lord for their safety even though I barely know them because if I were to know them then it would be devastating. Despite the crowd, I managed to slip my way through. Nobody seemed to take notice of my presence. Meanwhile, the white uniformed people are desperately trying to get the family from under the crushed, overturned wagon out to safety. The windows that were shattered into a million pieces made it harder for them.


I watched silently as they managed to grab hold of someone's hand. My heart is pulsating through my chest in anxiety. Two of the men are sweating bullets and one of them kept shouting at the person that they are trying to rescue to hang in there. They were quick and careful as they continued to pull the victim out. My eyes were glued to them.


Suddenly, I felt a chill running up my spine as they succeeded to pull her out. She is a female, most probably around her teen period and she was in pain. Her hands had black and dark blue patches, her hair soaked in red and her skin torn apart from her knees below. They checked if she was still alive, doing their best to save her life.


She is conscious and her mouth that is now half cracked open is moving. She is desperately trying to say something to them. She is a strong girl, I thought to myself. Her beautiful sea green eyes were wide open and I looked into those pair of eyes.Exasperated, I collapsed to the floor in dismay because in those perfect pair of eyes, I saw myself.


I immediately felt a thousand pins forcing through my body and a fire burning inside of me. I could feel the air brushing against my flesh as my skin was all torn apart like a piece of shredded paper. With my bruised hand I grasped the rescuer's arm. I forced words to come out from my half cracked mouth because I desperately wanted to tell them, "Please, save me".