my song is: [The Funeral-Band Of Horses]
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"Leo!" My mom screamed. But her words might as well have been whispers, because she wasn't what I was hearing. I was hearing the last beats of a heart. The kicking of some one's breath, forcing itself out and in. The silent tears I heard, too, mouthing love to me. And goodbyes. The goodbyes that I didn't hear from Ruth, who lay in front of me in the convenience store floor. Her cheek held a bullet, but I ignored it. It wasn't her. But the mass in front of me wasn't her either. An ambulance's sirens plunged into the density of my eardrums.
"Leo!" My mom screamed again. I could hear the weakness in her voice, as if she had been shot as well. I closed my eyes and lay on my side, Ruth's eyelids fluttering open to meet mine. But they didn't open. Instead, they stayed gently over her tinted green-blue eyes. I touched her hair with my index finger. It wasn't as soft as it used to be. Everything seemed sharp around me. Things felt red.
"Leo.." Mom's voice echoed. I returned my palm to my chest, feeling a shard that was unnatural. A bump. I opened my hazy eyes. I was another Ruth. I was shot. Cringing, I saw everyone around me, onlooking. A little girl cried, shot. Her father held her, as repeated, small gasps and sobs escaped her. He cried, too, pushing his face into her body. We were all victims of murder. I held Ruth's hand and tried not to lose myself too soon.
"Leo," Ruth said gracefully. She whimpered. Her head fell limp as she gave into the bullet.
ew, that was morbid of me.
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