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Sugar
By
Christopher James Loki
[[Begin reading]]
A deformed, roughly put-together tent leans up a tree, in stark contrast
to the surrounding picturesque, moonlit forest. A young girl and her father
sit either side of a roaring fire as a large metal pot begins to boil.
The fire engrosses the camp in an intense, flickering orange [[glow]].The father is hunched over, searching through his bag. He pulls out a phone
and types ’My daughter is dying. Come quick. 35.03.N 193.23.W’ and sends it
to a contact labeled ’Forest Rescue’. He then turns the phone off and shoves
it into his bag. Anna sits in a shabby camping chair and stares spitefully
at the ground. The father stumbles and knocks the pot, spilling some water onto
the fire, causing a violence crackle. Anna glances up in contempt
as the light from the fire furiously [[quivers]].He takes a deep sniff of the boiling food and smiles to himself.
His smile promptly fades as he notices Anna’s bored expression.
He leans over and rustles through his bag, past the whiskey and
cigarettes, then pulls out a large mushroom. He holds it up
towards Anna and jokingly calls out;
[["Hey, hey look"]].Anna looks up as he makes the mushroom dance around the rim of the pot before throwing it into the water. Anna grins through her teeth and rolls her eyes. The tension in the air is matched by the intensity of the frantically boiling [[pot]].
Disheartened, the father walks over to Anna, slightly wobbling, before gently collapsing next to her. Annoyed, she turns away from him. The father’s eyes drift around the campsite, looking for any opportunity to lighten the mood. He quickly spots the cooking knife and gestures [[towards it]]."You remember when I tried to teach you how to use that.
Your little hands couldn’t even fit around the handle" the dad said, jokerly.
Anna shrugs as her dad laughs to himself.Happy himself, he takes
a deep breath and stands up, using a tree to [[balance]].
"Is one single day a month too much to ask for, Well, Is it!" the dad shouted.
Anna isn’t surprised at the outburst and gives a blank expression to her father.
He notices his mistakes and pulls back immediately.
He turns his back to Anna and takes the pot off the [[fire]]."Sorry. Just, just give me a break okay. You’ll see that I’ve changed.
Just... just give me a chance." the dad said, painfully.
Anna takes no notice. Discouraged, he crouches down next to the pot,
staggers slightly, then examines the contents. He begins to pour the
mixture of mushrooms, plants and leaves into two bowls but
drunkenly spills the majority on the [[ground]].Anna looks away in disdain.
The father looks over to Anna and sees her utter disinterest in what he’s doing.
He stares into the pot and pauses to considers his actions. His hands are shaking.
Hesitantly, he begins to carefully look around before he reaches into his pocket
and pulls out broken, dirty pieces of peanuts. He crushes them between his fingers
before spiking the dust into Anna’s bowl. He sways the bowl back and forth until
mixture has settled. He takes a second to contemplate his actions,
prepares himself, then holds the bowl out towards [[Anna]]."Here, foods ready." the dad said nervously.
Anna doubtfully grabs the bowl. She casually
smells the soupy mixture and immediately looks away in disgust.
The father lowers his head in disappointment,
then pauses for a moment before [[speaking]].
"Hey, come on. When have you ever seen me cook.
I put effort into this." the dad said, quickly.
Anna looks unimpressed. The father collects
himself, purposefully avoiding another outburst.
"Just eat it up, then we can get to sleep. I’ll
rop you off at your moms in the morning. Okay [[Sugar]]."Anna thinks it over and reluctantly accepts.
She examines the murky brown water and dark green
leaves, then starts to drink. The father looks on
intently. They lock eyes before Anna spits the food
out and starts to roughly cough and rub her chest.
Anna wheezes before saying
"My chest feels weird. [[Elijah, it feels too tight]]."The father quickly stands up with a striking look
of confidence on his face. "Don’t worry, your dad knows
what to do." the dad said, confidently. Anna shakes her head
in confusion. The father quickly starts to search through her bag.
Anna’s eyes begin to look puffy and her throat breaks out in a red, blotchy rash.
She immediately rubs her face as she becomes increasingly [[panicked]].
The dad continues to search the bag, becoming more confused
as he reaches the bottom and finds nothing. "I thought you had a...
a pen. ermm, your... your Epipen?" the dad shouts, frantically.
He starts throwing everything out the [[bag]].Anna attempts to talk but her tongue and throat are too swollen.
The father looks over and sees Anna’s distort state.
His legs weaken as he runs over, kicking the boiling pot over,
then dropping to his knees in front of her.
He scoops her up in his arms as her body goes limp.
Anna’s eyes roll back as she drifts in and out of consciousness.
The father can’t hold back his emotions as he holds her in his arms.
Her mouth slacks open as [[he shakes her]]."No no no no. It wasn’t supposed to happened like this!...
Help’s on its way." the dad cries. Tears stream down his face.
He looks up into the sky searching for the emergency helicopter,
but sees nothing. He wipes his face and looks down at
Anna as she lets out a harsh, shallow [[breath]].
He frantically starts scanning the campsite, looking for any
opportunity to save her. Suddenly, her deep shallow breaths
turn into gasps for air. Her breathing quickens before slowly
fading away. She stops breathing and loses consciousness.
The father breaks down in uncontrollable tears.
He again looks around for help but sees [[nothing of use]].Out off pure instinct he begins to preform an crude, terror-stricken form of CPR.
He compresses Anna’s chest with no plan or pattern, only passion and fear.
Her body violently moves with each push. He stops, emotionally drained and powerless.
Anna lies motionlessly. He hesitates for just a moment then continues.
His passion has now turned to frustrated as he relentlessly beats down on Anna’s [[chest]].Hope begins to fade from his eyes. Suddenly, her eyes burst open.
She gasps for air as she throws up a mixture of blood, food and vomit.
He quickly lies her on her side and rubs her back.
He cries out "Oh god. Thank you. [[Thank you]]."Anna is in shock and unsure whats happening but is aware
of her father looking over her. She remains still,
focusing on each breath. Her arms are tight around her [[father]].The father takes off his coat and places it over Anna’s back.
He strokes her head and comforts her.
Anna looks into her father’s eyes and tries to talk but coughs.
Through his tears, the dad cries out "Don’t talk. [[Don’t talk]]."The sound of a helicopter can be heard in the distance.
Anna tries to compose herself and concentrates all her energy.
Amma weakly whispers "You saved me Dad."
The father barely holds it together. "No Sugar... No."
Anna tries to smile, "[[Thank you Dad]]."The father is unable to speak. Anna softly smiles, further
breaking his heart. The sound of the helicopter gets louder
as the camp site is lit up by a spotlight. The father firmly
holds his daughter in his arms knowing it will be his last time.
The sound of the helicopter engulfs the camp site,
blowing what little was left of the fire out.
THE END."Elijah, When are you taking me back to mom?" Anna said, softly.
Anna’s satisfaction from calling her father by his name is short
lived when his face recoils in a confused and bitter manner.
His dad-like charm completely changes. The boiling pot is now spitting
out hot water, causing the fire to go into a subtle frenzy of light and sound.
He is slow to [[answer]].