6 Seconds of Life
by Tonya Fitzharris
Maura has just jumped.
Now she has precisely six seconds until she hits the water below her—just six more seconds until she is finally freed from her mundane and aimless existence. Freed of all of the regrets and disappointments that have haunted her throughout her nineteen years.
She just needs to be free.
But as she falls, the most pivotal points of her life start to replay like a movie in her head: her family falling apart, her first love, her first heartbreak, her first true friends, and her first betrayal. As she remembers these moments that brought her to this point, will she feel a sense of peace? Or will her death be her greatest regret?
Please enjoy these excerpts from 6 Seconds of Life:
“I guess I’ll just know it when that time finally comes along,” he whispers. His lips graze my cheek and we stop waltzing. His hand comes up and brushes my flyaway bangs behind my ear, the tips of his fingers running along the back of my earlobe. An overpowering wave of desire and anticipation wells up from my stomach, causing my internal hurricane to erupt into a monsoon. I let his eyes lock with mine, restraining me like a pair of handcuffs. They inspect me, almost like they’re looking right through my skin and into everything that’s underneath, begging to learn anything and everything about me. I don’t move. Maybe if I can manage to stay totally still, this moment might last forever.
His face moves closer. My chest is caving in on itself.
Is this it?
His face moves closer. My chest is caving in on itself.
Is this it?
I think deep down, I’ve always known it was going to end this way. I was never meant to live a long life. I accepted this fate a long time ago. I was just waiting for the right moment.
I wanted to fall in love first.
I wanted to experience what it was like to have a real family first.
I wanted to know what it was like to be sincerely happy, even if it was short-lived.
I got all of those firsts.
And now I’m ready to move forward.
I inch my feet closer to the open sky. And closer. Until my naked toes are peeking over the edge. The water cracks violently below me, begging for me to join in on all of the fun.
Just a few more seconds before it’s all over.
Until I’m free.
I’m totally relaxed. This moment, it’s all mine. No one can take it away from me.
I close my eyes. The sounds of high heels clicking on the walkway and cameras snapping and preserving memories and street musicians begging for spare change surround me. I breathe in their music and let it be the soundtrack to the closing credits of my life.
I raise my arms up to my side, reaching for the skies that surround me.
And I step into the air.
I’m flying now.
I wanted to fall in love first.
I wanted to experience what it was like to have a real family first.
I wanted to know what it was like to be sincerely happy, even if it was short-lived.
I got all of those firsts.
And now I’m ready to move forward.
I inch my feet closer to the open sky. And closer. Until my naked toes are peeking over the edge. The water cracks violently below me, begging for me to join in on all of the fun.
Just a few more seconds before it’s all over.
Until I’m free.
I’m totally relaxed. This moment, it’s all mine. No one can take it away from me.
I close my eyes. The sounds of high heels clicking on the walkway and cameras snapping and preserving memories and street musicians begging for spare change surround me. I breathe in their music and let it be the soundtrack to the closing credits of my life.
I raise my arms up to my side, reaching for the skies that surround me.
And I step into the air.
I’m flying now.
About the author: Tonya Fitzharris is a writer, reader, blogger, mediocre cook, photographer, runner, Florida native, and cat lover. She used to be a Middle School English Teacher, but now she's trying out the whole novel writing thing. She lives in New Jersey with her husband and her Belgian cat named Waffles.
You can contact her at her website, Tonya Fitzharris, on twitter and facebook.
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