Ding Dong

DING DONG

K. R. Stanley

Ding Dong                              Ding Dong

Ding Dong                            Ding Dong

Ding Dong                          Ding Dong

Ding Dong                        Ding Dong

Ding Dong                      Ding Dong

Ding Dong                    Ding Dong

The church bells woke me from what I thought was a peaceful slumber. Where am I? It was so black that it felt like my eyes were still closed. My head pounded and my tongue felt like sandpaper. Was I on the floor? The wood was cold under my fingertips, but the room was humid, stagnant, and small. My heart skipped a beat. “Help!”  I brought my hands in front of me, but they just hit wood. My hands scanned my surroundings, each touch was on more dreaded planks of wood. “Help” I cried. I kicked my feet but could only feel a wall and the sizzle of my joints. “Help” I tried to push the sides, scratch the nails, and punch the lid. “Help” I screamed, but I knew no one could hear me. My voice was trapped under 6 feet of soil.

 I was buried alive.

Ding Dong

            How did I get here? I tried to think about what happened, but I only remember taking a nap on the couch. I stopped smacking my enclosure once I realized how much I was breathing. I needed to calm my body and not use all my air. How long does it take for someone to suffocate underground? Two hours? Twenty-four hours?  I could feel blood on my knuckles and splits in my fingernails.

Would people know I was missing, or did they think I was dead? The coffin was roomier than I expected which felt like the only good sign to come from this. I pressed on the lid of the coffin again only to feel the heavy ground cementing me in place. Tears erupted from my eyes and streamed down my cheeks, passed my ears, and onto my hair. I wanted to curl up in the fetal position like I always did in times like this. I felt even more trapped as more tears spilled from my face. I rubbed them begging myself to stop to no avail.

            “Sara. Get it together. Quit Crying.” I said to myself, but the tears kept falling.

Ding Dong    Ding Dong

            Those dreaded bells had started to get on my nerves. I was drained, hurt, and absolutely terrified. The air had started thinning making my chest work for air. I don’t know why, but I started thinking of my sister. I only have one and she was so much younger than me. When I was eighteen she was born, It was the craziest experience to have a sibling after being an only child for so long. She was born blue. I remembered the doctor’s fighting to free her airway. She fought so hard to finally let out a cry. She was so little and soft in my arms that I knew all I wanted to do was protect her. It was a miracle to see her sitting still. Did she think sissy is gone forever?

            “I am sorry. I’m so sorry.” I tried to say to the image of her in my arms.

Ding Dong   Ding Dong   Ding Dong

            No. I refused to allow it to end like this. I was going to get out here even if it killed me in the process. I pushed the lid again, but no budge.  I trailed the seam of the coffin hoping there was a gap or something. It felt like forever feeling in the dark for a weak spot. There was nothing. I placed my hands back on the lid to push again when my pinky rubbed against something. A hole!

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            I peeled layer by layer of the wood. I wasn’t feeling good. My chest was tight, and my head pulsed. I just kept peeling and peeling and peeling.

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I feel dirt! Which was such a relief until it slowly started to crumble into the coffin. It was dry under my fingers as I pushed the soil up. I should be more scared hearing the creak of the being pushed down by the earth, but I couldn’t afford to me. I pushed the ground up until I was able to lean up. It started falling around me which made it harder and harder to breathe. I escaped the coffin, but now I was buried in the dirt. I ignored the burn in my lungs until I felt grass and air. I wasn’t buried that deep. Adrenaline flooded through me as I pushed and climbed out of the ground.

Ding Dong

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Fresh air hit my lungs as I pulled myself the final bit out of my grave. The sun was kissing the new day. The wind flowed through my hair, and it felt like I was flying. I don’t think I have ever seen sunrise. How come I always slept through the morning sun? It’s beautiful like a water painting across the sky. Tears welled up as the sun’s warmth danced across my skin.