One day, I was watching the news. The stories presented on there were terrible. Death, crime, death, tragedy, death, hardship, death... It almost literally broke my heart.

"Oh, that's terrible," Mrs. Stueck sighed. I bit my lip. One swali was still boiling in my mind. I took a deep breath.

"What happened," I squeaked. She stopped and looked at me.

"Excuse me?" she asked, confused. I took a deep breath.

"Averil," I said. She paused for a moment, and sighed sadly.

"She had a brain tumor. She died two years ago."

"Oh," I said. "S-s-sorry," I alisema awkwardly. I didn't know what else to say.

"That's alright dear. We're glad to have wewe here. And she lived her life to the fullest. Maybe that's why she left; so wewe could have a chance." She smiled and patted my head, then left. I whimpered. A girl died, just to give me a chance? That made me feel even worse. A tear rolled down my cheek.

***

They found the kids who organized the shooting. It turned out to be that senior that was picking on me, along with a couple of his friends.

"His name's Mark Tellar," Chasity told us. "And two of his friends. He was the 'leader' I guess."

"Why...?" Liberty said. "Why on Earth would someone do something like that?!" Chasity pursed her lips.

"Well, he was mad..."

"At me," I finished. Everyone stared at me, shocked.

"Hecate, wewe can't blame yourself for that. They alisema he had slight mental problems and anger issues. It could've been anything that set him off," Raven alisema softly.

"Yeah," jogoo agreed. The others nodded. It was nice that they were trying to comfort me like this, but we all knew it was me. He was mad that the daughter of his father's murderers was here. With him. And all he had to do to get rid of me was to shoot me.

I got home, and went straight to my room, closing the door behind me. I sat on the floor, with my back against the door, letting everything sink in. I'm not supposed to be alive, I thought. If Mark had been able to find me, I'd be dead right now. Why did I live?

"Dinner!" Mr. Stueck called. I sighed, and wiped away a tear before going downstairs.

***

There's nothing good in life.

This was my conclusion. Sure, there are some good things, but it seems the bad outweighs the good. People are horrible, greedy, ruthless creatures. I was sickened to be one. I started to be hopelessly depressed. This world is terrible. People dying, because others are too self absorbed to do anything, murder, crime... This place must be Hell.

"Hecate? Are wewe alright?" Axel asked one siku after school. Everyone looked at me, concern in their eyes. These people were good at sensing feelings.

"Yeah," I nodded. Still, my voice was barely audible. But it was getting better. I still couldn't get my self to say complete sentences, but I was proud of myself for being able to say something.

"Do wewe want to talk about it?" Raven asked.

"No thanks." A car horn honked. I waved bye to everyone, and left.

"We're going to the sinema and then out to dinner," Dad said. I'd gotten a little zaidi comfortable calling him that. Sometimes I'd screw up though, and call him Mr. Stueck again. "Do wewe want to come?" I shook my head. He sighed. "Ok, I'll drop wewe off at home." As soon as I got out of the car, Amica Amory, and Mom got in.

"Honey, aren't wewe coming?" Mom asked. I shook my head.

"She probably just had a long siku at school. We'll see wewe later, Hecate," Dad alisema as they pulled away. I went inside, and got a snack. A weird feeling seemed to be boiling in me. It felt like fear, sadness, but mostly resolve.

My mind was made up.

I went into the bathroom, and opened up the medicine cabinet. I grabbed the first can of pain killers, and opened up the canister. My stomach whirled. I'm terrible at taking pills. I went to the jikoni with the bottle of pills in my hand, and filled a giant glass of water. I poured out a handful of pills into my hand. I put them in my mouth, and then took a big gulp of water. I got all them down, but I gagged and choked. My mouth started to taste like blood. I poured out a sekunde handful, and did the same. Now, I was starting to feel sick to my stomach.

Two zaidi handfuls later, all of the pills were gone.

I felt nothing now. The only thing I felt a little of was excitement. I couldn't wait to get this over with. I smiled to myself, but then frowned. I didn't want my family to find me like this, with no explanation. I grabbed a piece of notebook paper and a pen, and sat down at the jikoni meza, jedwali and began writing.

I thanked them for adopting me, and trying to give me the best. I let them know that none of this was their fault. It was mine. I just wasn't built to live in this world; I couldn't deal with the sorrow, pain, and despair. I nodded contently at what I had written, and went upstairs.

Just as I was halfway up the stairs, there was a knock at the door. I sighed and went and got the door.

It was all of my friends.

"Hecate, wewe ok?" Raven asked. I stared at them in confusion.

"We thought wewe seemed a little down today," Chasity explained. "So we came to cheer wewe up!"

"Are wewe free?" Axel asked. I did nothing for a while, then unthinkingly let them in.

"Haven't been here in so long," jogoo alisema somewhat sadly. Raven nudged him and whispered something in his ear.

"So, where is everyone?" Liberty asked.

"Gone," I said.

"Well, good thing we came then," Chasity alisema cheerfully. "Watcha wanna do? Watch TV? Play a board game? Go Fish?"

"Yeah, and maybe we can play hide-and-seek too!" Raven alisema sarcastically. She rolled her eyes and turned to me. "You got any ideas? They've gotta be better than Chasity's. Chasity frowned, but didn't seem to hurt. I shrugged.

"Hecate...?" Axel said. He stood over inayofuata to the jikoni table. Everyone looked at him, then it hit me. I ran over and snatched the paper off the table, crumbling it in my hands.

"What?" jogoo asked, coming closer. Axel stared at me with his mouth wide open.

"What's wrong?" Raven asked, tension building up in her voice.

"Sh-- She's going to kill herself!" Axel spat out. Everyone gaped at me.

"What?!" they all shouted in unison.

"Hecate, are wewe crazy?!" Liberty shouted.

"What are wewe thinking?!" Chasity exclaimed.

"Don't do it!" Raven cried.

"This is nuts!" jogoo sputtered. Tears started flowing down my cheeks, and they all made a group hug.

"Don't do it," Axel said. The tears came faster.

"Bu-- Bu--" I stuttered.

"But what?" Liberty asked. I managed to get out of their hugs, and went to the sink. I limply held up the empty bottle of painkillers.

"Oh my God," they all said.

"Call an ambulance!" Chasity shrieked. Axel picked up the house phone, and dialed 911. I felt a sharp pain in my stomach. I cried out in pain. The pills were starting to take effect; the opposite of a pain killer. This pain was excruciating. I laid down on the jikoni floor, and everyone crowded around me while Axel urgently explained to the police what was going on.

"They'll be here soon," Axel said, his voice trembling.

"Not fast enough!" Raven shrieked. I closed my eyes.

***

I woke up in a hospital room. I felt incredibly sore from the pain coursing its way through my body. I'd been so ready for my demise, but now I was nearly ecstatic to be alive. There were sighs when I opened my eyes.

"Honey, are wewe alright?" Mom asked. I blinked, confused, and pouted.

"Yeah. I'm fine," I said. I almost smiled. That was incredibly easy.

"What on Earth were wewe thinking?" Dad asked. Amica and Amory frowned at his side.

"I'm sorry," I whimpered. "I just... I couldn't deal with life anymore." They shook their heads. "But I want to live now." A tear rolled down my cheek. "I don't want to die."

"You're not going to," Mom said. "They pumped your stomach just in time. You're lucky, Hecate." I nodded.

"I am! I'm so lucky to have wewe guys! Thank wewe so much, for everything. I upendo wewe guys," tears fell quickly down my face, probably forming a puddle in my lap. There was a soft tap at the door, and the person let themselves in.

It was Officer Truman.

My mouth dropped, and once again I was speechless. I couldn't believe it was really him!

"Hey Hecate," he alisema softly. He came over and gave me a big hug, and this time I hugged him back eagerly.

"I'm sorry!" I shouted. He seemed alarmed, but then shook his head.

"Hecate, what wewe did was stupid and irresponsible. Promise me you'll never do that again," he alisema sternly.

"I won't," I promised. "I want to live now!" There were zaidi footsteps, and before I knew it, all my Marafiki were there. They waved.

"How wewe feeling?" Axel asked. I nodded.

"Thank wewe guys so much. I cannot thank wewe enough. If wewe guys weren't such great friends, I would've..." I stopped. Their eyes were filled with tears, and they all hugged me again.

"Don't ever do something like that again," Chasity said. "Losing one friend is hard enough."

"I'm so sorry," I said. I hugged each and every person in that room again.

***

I did have to go to group therapy now, to make sure I wasn't depressed anymore. It was a lot easier now. My near death experience made me realize how precious life is, and no matter how hard it may be, it'll always get better.

My SM is nearly gone now. It's nowhere near as hard to talk as it used to be. Now I can easily have long, meaningful conversations with my friends, family, and even sometimes peers and teachers.

Officer Truman visits every once in a while, and sometimes it's a real comfort to have him there.

"Dream as if you'll live forever. Live as if you'll die today."

The end.

Thanks for reading! :) It sucks, so I appreciate it. Thanks a lot! XD