Ava Hope***

The wind whistled through the trees, blowing her blonde hair around her frail face.

The young girl stood admist the bushes, her emerald green eyes closed as the breeze fluttered the hem of her dress.

Her mouth opened, the wind carrying her soft, sweet voice through the woods and to the meadow beyond them as she sang. A sweet song her mother had sung to her often when she was younger.

Suddenly, her voice stopped. The girl walked thorugh the woods, coming out on the other side in the meadow.

She stopped, pulling her violin off her back and taking it from its case. Then she began to play.

The soft, sweet, sad, notes that emitted from her violin were carried by the wind to reach far places, just as her voice was moments before.

Her emerald green eyes closed in pure bliss, she continued to play. The notes from her voice and violin contrasted greatly with her cold, seemingly uncaring personality.

She began to sing as she played the same song her mother had sang to her, alone in the meadow behind the woods behind her house.

The girl was 15, and her name was Ava Hope.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ava's life wasn't all peaceful. In fact, quite the opposite. Her mom and dad were never there. Always working or in her mom's case, drinking.

Being an only child, Ava often used books to escape the harsh reality of her life. She loved reading. it took her to a different world. She had bookshelf upon bookshelf of books in her room, which overflowed to the guest room (now the study). Her dad told her reading fiction books was dumb and that she should do other things with her time. He also disapproved of her love for the violin. She was aspiring to be a famous violinist when she was older. Her father constantly reminded her it was a childish dream that could never be accomplished. But Ava never gave up, no matter what he told her.

When she was 10 her mom took up drinking. She was too young to fully understand what was happening at the time, but she knew something was wrong.

As she grew older, it only grew worse. She would stay out all night, somethimes gone for days at a time. As Ava grew older, she began to understand what was happening, and grew bitter about it. Her mom was never there, and her dad was always working. He had no time for her, and never tried to make time. She was lonely.

She would spend hours at a time alone in her room. She became very withdrawn, and had two imaginary friends, or rather, stuffed animals that would "talk" to her. They were her best friends, her only friends.

All the other kids avoided her because she was "different". She hardly ever spoke and when she did it was quiet and in a monotone. She took her "friends" with her everywhere, including school. Kids often made fun of her and avoided her becaseu of this and many other reasons.

She still spoke to her "friends" when she was 18. She never grew out of them. When she decided to run away, she took only them and her violin. Nothing else, no change of clothes or anything.

She left the note for her parents and was gone, just like that. She was sick of being neglected and ignored. Her mom forgot her birthday. Her birthday! And her dad always had to work, so she spent every birhtday from age 14 and up alone.

By age 16 her mom had almost drinken herself to death, severla times. Ava had convinced herself she didn't care, but she did, deep down. And she knew it. And she hated it.

Angel and Demon, her two stuffed animals, were appropriatly named. Angel was a teddy bear with a silky white dress and a halo, with pure white fur and kind eyes. Demon, on the other hand, was a teddy bear with devil horns and pure black fur with glowing red eyes They went with her /everywhere/ and examined others and often made comments about them, which Ava would agree with or disagree with silently. they were like 2 different sides to her personality that were less dominant then her normal outer demenor, which was silent, apathetic, and uncaring. If anyone had shown any interest in her, then perhaps she would have turned out differently. BU tno one had, so it didnt' matter.

No one but her could see Angel and Demon's movements and voices, and often it looked like she was talking to herself. Her parents though she was crazy, but she was just lonely, so her mind made them up. Though they really were stuffed animals she had, but they didn't move nor talk, of course not.

Ava was actually a very happy child, at first. She loved to play and have fun, and laughed all the time. But once she turned 10, that all changed and she became the person she is today.

How did she die, you may ask? Simple. Snakes.

The day Ava ran away she went straight through the woods and to the meadow behind her house. She had planned to stay there until nightfall and plan out what to do from there. There was no breeze, and she began to play her violin. She knew it was risky and someone may hear her. It calmed her and she needed that so she wouldn't lose her nerve and go back home. No, she refused to call it a home. homes had family.

As she stood in the meadow and played, she began singingly softly along with it. Soon, she felt almost lost in her own world. She always felt that way when she really got into her playing.

She had her eyes closed, so she didn't see the large snake. It wasn't until it had wrapped itself around her leg that she felt it. It was a faint slimy sensation, and she did'nt think much of it, still lost in her own little world.

It wasn't until it had sunk its teeth into her leg that she realized.

Her emerald green eyes snapped open, and she fell to her knees.The snake slithered away, and she stared in shock at the bite marks on ehr leg that were slowly oozing blood. Panic rose in her chest, but she found she couldn't move.

'The venom,' she thought, also unable to speak. 'Must have paralyzed me.'

"Ava!" Cried Angel, poking her head out of Ava's now fallen backpack. Demon's head popped out as well a few moments later.

"Ava!" She repeated. Ava had tears in her eyes, but they didn't fall.

"Ava, get up!! Fight!" Angel yelled, but Ava could already feel her pulse slowing down. She fell on her side, the meadow becoming hazy and unfocused.

"No, Ava!" Demon cried. Ava tried to smile reassurangly at them, but her muscles wouldn't even do that.

She thought she saw death coming, but after about 20 minutes she still lay there. She didn't /feel/ like she was dying, though it was getting hard to breath. Before sh eknew it it was nightfall, and she still couldn't move. The venmon had spread through her entire body, paralyzed her body. She couldn't even blink.

Hours later she heard shouts coming from the woods. They were calling her name! They had found her!

She tried to yell back, but her throat constricted. Soon they found her body laying motionless, her eyes open.

"Is she....dead?" She heard someone ask. Her father! Never had she been so happy to hear his voice.

'No, I'm not dead,' she wanted to say, but foudn she couldn't. Another man, a doctor, knelt down and felt her pulse. Her heart was beating so slowly that he couldn't feel it.

"She's gone," he said quietly.

'No, I'm not!!!!' she wanted to scream. 'I'm right here!!' But could't. She felt them lift her and carry her back to her house.
~~~~~~~~
3 hours later, around 6 am they ahd the funeral. She had been changed into one of her nice dresses and was laying in the open casket.

But she wasn't dead.

During this whole time, laying on her bed and listening to them talk about her. She was still unable to move. Whatever snake had bitten her had paralyzed every muscle in her body. She couldn't move, couldn't talk, couldn't speak, couldn't /blink/. Breathing was so hard, and her breathes had become slower and slower. no wonder they thought she was dead!

She knew what was about to happen, as each person stopped by her casket and spoke words to her, as if she were dead. Soon her dad came.

"I'm so sorry, Ava," he said quietly. "I should have been there. I wasn't."

Then he moved on past her casket. Demon and Angel were sitting in one of the chairs. They knew what was happening.

"Come on, Ava!" Angel cried, standing up and walking over to her. "Show them you're okay!!" Demon was pulling on her dad's pants leg, trying to get his attention, but of course he couldn't see them. To him and everyone else, they were still sitting on the chair.


Ava listened to all the things being said about her. Suddenly the priest came up, quieting everyone down. He began to speak words about her life, and then invited several family members whose names she didn't even know to come speak about her. Finally it was her dad's turn.

"Ava was a sweet girl," he said, sounding like he was holding back tears, which he probably was. "Quiet and reserved, but sweet. She didn't have time to come out of her shell. She----" He was cut off, and sat down, crying. Ava's mom was invited up, but she declined. Ava felt hurt by this, though she knew herself that she /wasn't dead/.

"If no one else has anything to say, then we'll lower the body," The priest said. If Ava could scream, she would have.

"I'M NOT DEAD!!!" She yelled in her mind. "I'M NOT!!!!!"

Ava's eyes were still open as the priest closed the cakset. The light faded until it was completely black. She felt closed in, encased. She felt the cakset being lowered, and the dirt being thrown on top.

Soon, she could hear the faint noises of cars driving off.
~~~~~~
Ava wasn't sure when she actually died. She was trying not to panic in her small prison, but it was hard. Soon she felt the air running low, and that, combined iwth her shallow breathing, made her vision blur. She struggled to breathe, move even, but couldn't. She was still paralyzed.

A few hours later, she took her last breathe.