A circle, everyone stood in a circle. My vision was hazy, yet fear was clearer more than ever. Everyone was quiet, silent anxiety passed through the air like an electric wave. A single man stood in the middle. In his hands, a gun.
Deep within, I felt fear, yet for some reason, I knew that I was in no danger. I looked around - fear, I could see fear in every pair of eyes. All, except one. I stared at him. And in that instant, everything became clear - my fear, my calm, my pain. It was him. It was all because of him.
Within the circle, there were three of us wearing white. Their faces were unclear, but I knew they were my people. And so was the gunman. In my body, every cell yelled out for me to do something, to stop all this. But my body blatantly refused my mind's orders. I stood rooted to my position.
The gunman whirled around suddenly. I squeezed my eyes shut and covered my face with my hands. Seven. There were seven shots. I exhaled the breath I was holding, but dread was creeping up the walls of my stomach. I knew it, I knew before I opened my eyes. He had been shot.
I opened my eyes, tears already leaking down my face. What was this feeling? Anguish? Regret? I knew not. But as soon as I saw him, I felt my heart stop. He was looking straight into my eyes, his wide with surprise. His expression changed as soon as I saw him. Calm, emotionless, yet really really warm. He was clutching his side, his hands bloodied. His face was pale, sweat rolling down his expressionless face.
I stopped breathing, feeling helplessness as a tidal wave which crashed mercilessly over me. Heavy, my body felt heavy. My head was spinning, yet he stood clearly in my sight. Someone was screaming, but my confused mind did nothing to interpret the string of words. I looked down at my hands, they were shaking - no, in fact, my entire body was shaking.
I looked up once more at him. He smiled at me, his eyes ever so gentle. In my chest, a sharp pain attacked my heart. He took a step toward me, but stumbled forward. My body moved on its own accord, catching him as he fell, heaving as I struggled to hold his weight. He put his arms around me in a gentle embrace, as if I was the most precious thing in the world to him. And just like that, he went limp in my arms.
