Never again

Never again.

Sal strode down the dusty street, long ginger hair flying in the wind,
as she enjoyed the October dusk happily. She was confident and she was
smiling a big smile with buck teeth and plump lips. She had passed her
exams successfully, and was keen to tell the world of her success. As
she reached Number 22 of the street, her house, her mum, came rushing
out of the creaking door to her. She was crying, painfully, unable to
stop. She could not speak and she was having trouble breathing.
'Mum...' Sal's faint words were lost in the slight breeze as her worry
exploded inside her brain. Stay calm. Stay calm.
'We've got to get inside, mum. It's almost dark.' Her mum sank to the
yellowy green grass and tilted her head downwards. Her frizzy ginger
hair was flecked with grey, and her lines of age seemed more
predominant now. Her mum shook her head, and with a shaking hand,
pulled out many pieces of paper from all the pockets she had. The pages
fell to the grass. Anxiously, Sal picked one up.

'Dear Beatie (Sal's mum),
I'll be gone by the time you read this letter. Gone to Bybanks,
Kentucky, where my poor ma lies. It was her deathday today. Be back
soon. Love Sam.' (Sal's dad).

It was an old letter, on a yellowing piece of paper with faded words.
The letter was old, painful news. The last message from Sam to Beatie
before he tragically crashed and died in his car driving to Kentucky.
That was six years ago, and when Beatie cried about Sam, she always had
a distinct smile on her face as she remembered him again. It wasn't
about Sam. But it involved him.

Sal picked up another piece of paper, beginning to cry as she
remembered her dad again.

'Dear Ma,
Gone to Kentucky, the route dad took. I will not die as dad did there,
but I need to see the spot before I move on.'

A new page. Sal swayed on the spot. It was her sister's hand that had
written this. Sal's elder sister, Mary Lou, had been thirteen years old
when dad had died. Sal had been seven, and although she had been deeply
affected by the death, she had never felt the full blow that Mary Lou
felt. 'Before I move on' was the clear part of her letter. Mary Lou had
been constantly depressed for the six years. She had forgotten her
friends, and was a lone girl. She didn't care about her schoolwork, and
got bad exam results. She didn't care about anything if dad wasn't
there with her to see it. She was going to commit suicide.

Sal was swaying and shaking and crying at the same time, but asked
Beatie why hadn't she gone after Mary Lou.
'Because I love her.' That was the response Beatie gave, but Sal didn't
understand.
'What has that got to do with it?'
'She has felt so much pain. She needs to stop suffering.'
'But I'm suffering! You're suffering! There are other reasons to live!'
Sal was angry and sad. She didn't care about the pain Mary Lou had
felt.
Beatie shrugged, and whispered, 'She'll make a choice. What there is
left in her life or an end to her suffering.'
'But what if she chooses the wrong one?'
'It won't be wrong. It'll be in your opinion.' Beatie was not crying
now, but turning back to the house. Sal ignored a car pull up behind
her as she screamed at her mum, 'What mother lets their daughter DIE?!'
A person got out of the car, 'Sal. I'm home,' said a voice. Sal turned
around, and looked into Mary Lou's eyes.