[Valentine Contest Entry 2017] The Other Side of the Sunset

I overslept. I can’t believe I overslept. Somehow. Scratch that, I knew how. I’d only stayed up almost all night fretting about today. I hurried off the bus; it took every ounce of willpower to not run down the sidewalk. I was already beyond late. Even if I sprinted the rest of the way non-stop—

The sight of long black hair above me caught my eye. I stopped and craned my head up toward a two-story balcony.

The bump came hard and unexpected. I grunted, rubbing my side.

“You dumb, kid?” A big burly man clouded my vision. “What you doing, stopping all of a sudden like that?”

I stepped to the side and looked back up at the balcony. It was empty. The man put himself in front of me again. “You listening to me, boy?”

“There was a girl,” I said, dumbfounded. “I think it was a girl.” The black hair reminded me of . . .

“Hmm?” He turned around and followed my gaze. We both watched the balcony for sign of movement. Not only was there no one up there, the door leading to it was closed shut. The man grumbled. “You seeing spirits. You’ll stay away if you know what’s good for you.”

“Uh, okay.” It was all I could think to say. I’d heard stories of spirits becoming quite the annoyance to people. On rare occasions, some were said to help you instead, but it was best to not risk it and not get involved.

The man pat my back hard, causing me to flinch. “Watch where you stop next time.” He went on his way.

I adjusted the tie around my neck. “Right.”



The sun beat over my head as I climbed the grassy hill of the cemetery. If this was a movie, it’d be raining. There wasn’t a single cloud in the sky. I had to adjust my tie again to keep it from choking me. I crested the top of the hill and partway down I could see Sara’s grave. The funeral procession was over already. One person remained however. Shoulder-length blonde hair.

My steps faltered but I pressed on.

Evelyn didn’t turn to look at me as I approached the grave.

“I didn’t think you’d show.”

It was a fair guess despite how much it hurt. I kept my hands thrust in my pockets, not saying anything at first. “Why wouldn’t I?”

“You didn’t show up for her before she died.”

Sara’s grave was a simple tombstone, nothing fancy—I knew her family couldn’t afford more. 2000-2016 was written beneath her name.

How could I tell her I was too much of a coward to face her when she was like that? That I didn’t want to shatter the fantasy that everything could be alright, that I’d agonized over going, pacing back and forth for hours while the homework due the next day was left untouched, only to slump back down on my bed? I couldn’t. A hot tear leaked down my face.

Evelyn’s hands trembled. “Her family was there. I was there, and she kept calling for you in the end.”

I realized she was angry at herself as much as me. She couldn’t do the one thing that would have brought her best friend comfort in the end. That power had lay entirely with me, and I did nothing. I wasn’t just a failure as her boyfriend. I was a failure as a human being.

“I’m sorry.” More tears ran down my face.

We remained standing side by side for awhile. Evelyn was the first to leave.

“I’m sorry,” I repeated to the grave when it was just me.



“How’d it go?” my mom called from the kitchen. The smell of onions frying hit my nose. I closed the front door, let my back fall against it, and slid down to the floor. Thankfully, she took the hint and left me in peace. By the time my dad got home, I had managed to make my way to the couch and lie down at some point.

I ate like a robot. The food may as well have been tasteless. My parents made small talk, every attempt to draw me into the conversation ending in resounding failure. They gave up eventually.

I tried thinking about the good times Sara and I had had together. Our first date. The concert we went to. The couple all-nighters we pulled studying. They almost made me smile until I came back to the fact that I would never see her again.

My father offered to wash the dishes for me which I refused. “Your mother and I were talking about it,” he said as I finished one plate and moved onto the next, “and we wouldn’t mind if you took a day or two off from school.”

“Okay.” It seemed like the answer that would get him to leave me alone the fastest.

So I stayed home three days instead of two. To please my parents.

I don’t know what was more frustrating when I went back. Evelyn ignoring me or my friends stepping on eggshells around me. I wanted people to move on and forget about it (yes, I know, I was being a big hypocrite), but they couldn’t seem to take the hint.

You might think Evelyn and I could relate to each other’s pain despite what happened, but she seemed content to ignore me now that the common link between us had been severed. It was a shame. It wasn't like we didn't get along before. I had thought of her as more than just my girlfriend's friend.

I trudged home after school was over. Several people ahead of me was Evelyn. She reached the intersection and crossed through to the other side. I stopped when I got to it. I watched her form get smaller as the distance between us widened before I turned left to go home.

I had seen no sign of that spirit since the day of the funeral. I guessed it decided I already had enough grief in my life.



I didn’t recognize the number on the screen of my phone. Against my better judgment, I set down the game controller in my hands and answered it. It was Evelyn’s parents.

“Is Evelyn over at your house?” her father asked.

My brow wrinkled in confusion. “No, why would she be?”

I heard the sound of their phone being set down on something hard followed by urgent voices too muffled to understand. A foreboding feeling worked its way into my head. This couldn’t be good. The phone was picked back up.

“If you hear anything, let us know, okay?” There was a twinge of desperation to his voice.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“She never came home from school. I already tried Sara’s home and the library. Please, if you hear anything . . .”

I looked at the clock. It was just before 7:00. “Right.”

“Thank you.” I hung up. Where would a devastated girl go after losing her best friend? I came to an answer surprisingly quick. It was just a guess though. It was probably wrong, but if it wasn't . . . The controller rumbled in my lap as an enemy stabbed me, finishing me off. You Are Dead flashed across the screen.

"Shit!"

I threw on my jacket and hurried downstairs. “I’m going for a walk!” I called as I made my way out the door. My mom turned her attention from the TV.

“This late?”

“I’ll be back soon!”

I locked the door and took off running. Above, the sky was turning a deep blue, but on the horizon it was a yellow-orange. Not even a minute later, I could already feel my blood pumping. I breathed in and out in an attempt to control my breathing. “Shouldn’t have quit track,” I said in-between breaths. My lungs were on fire and my side was beginning to ache by the time I made it to the school.

I stopped for a second to catch my breath. Three sets of stairs to climb up to the roof. I had better be right after all this. I hopped the fence around the school and climbed in through a window that hadn’t been closed. I was about ready to collapse when I barged onto the roof. Evelyn regarded me from the edge on the other side of the fence meant to keep people from falling, blonde hair swaying gently in the breeze. Her eyes went wide.

“Don’t do it!” I said.

She regained a measure of composure. “W-why not?”

“Because . . .” I just didn’t want her to, but I doubted that would work. “Sara wouldn’t want this, would she?”

“Sara’s dead!”

“What about your family?”

Her mouth opened and closed. She looked back out toward the fleeting sunset.

I took several steps closer. “They called me, wanting to know if I knew where you were at. That’s how I knew to come here.”

“I don’t get it. How would . . .” She continued to stare off into the horizon as if it were sucking her in. It was doing nothing to help my heart rate calm down after the run.

I swallowed. “Because I considered doing the same thing.” I had never gotten this far, but the desire had still been there, if only for a couple hours.

Evelyn didn’t respond, just continued staring.

“I—I’m going to come over, is that okay?” I was greeted with more silence. I took it as a sign to go ahead. I grasped the chain link fence with both hands and began to climb, the metal cold against my skin. I reached the top and hesitated. I’d never done this before on top of a building. Slowly, I flipped myself over climbed down. I would have sighed in relief when I hit solid ground again if I wasn’t an inch away from open air. I began creeping my way to Evelyn. I shivered against the chill up there.

I looked up when I was almost there and my heart skipped a beat. Long black hair. The spirit, standing on the other side of Evelyn.

I hurried the rest of the way. Evelyn seemed to come out of a trance and whirled around, throwing herself off balance. She screamed as a foot slipped over the side, but I was there. I grabbed a hand as it flailed in the air. I was trying to save her life. Instead I was about to get us both killed.

Evelyn’s weight began to carry me over the ledge with her. I reached out for the fence, but it felt as if an invisible force kept me from reaching it. I strained, grabbing on with two fingers. It was enough to delay our fall by a few more seconds. I cried out as my fingers gave and then there was nothing keeping us from the hard concrete below.

We weren’t the only two to fall. The spirit dived after us, somehow defying gravity and catching up. I embraced Evelyn in midair and put myself on the bottom. I thought maybe if I took the brunt of the impact, there was a chance she would live. Because of this I was able to get a good look at the spirit. I gasped at what I saw. Then the world exploded in a blinding light.

The sensation of falling stopped sharply. I blinked rapidly. I was still hugging Evelyn. I could feel her quick breaths on my neck. We were no longer falling, we were standing. All around us was white nothingness. We were alone, except for the spirit.

It was said that the spirits that did help people instead of causing mischief usually had a connection or had formed a bond of sorts with the person.

The spirit smiled. It was like a fist hitting my gut. Tears streamed down my face. “Sara.”

Evelyn let go of me at last. “You lied, you meanie! You said you’d never ditch me!” She smiled at her own joke. I almost laughed until she started crying as well.

“I’m sorry,” Sara said. “But it’s just the way things turned out.”

“Why'd it have to be like this though?”

Sarah brushed hair back out of her face. “Killing yourself won’t change what happened, nothing will.” Particles of her broke off and floated away.

I stepped foward. “What’s happening?”

“The stunt I just pulled took the last of my energy. After this, it’s goodbye for real.” She began to break apart faster.

Both Evelyn and me cried out. “There has to be something we can do,” I said.

Sara’s smile faltered but never left. “My time in this world is up, but it’s not too late for the both of you.”

Evelyn shook her head. “No.”

“Do me a favor. Do both of yourselves a favor. Move on, don’t let my death consume you.” Before either of us could act, the same light as before emanated from Sara’s body. My eyes closed shut against it. When I opened them again, I was staring up at the stars of the night sky. I heard sobbing beside me and found Evelyn sitting up.

We remained at the school not speaking to each other for who knew how long. I was the first to act. I got up and placed my hand on Evelyn’s shoulder. She didn’t shake it off, at first.

“Sara,” Evelyn said, “she . . . if it wasn’t for me she would still be . . .” Here in our world, even if only as a spirit.

I put on a brave face although I don’t know how effective it was. “She didn’t look sad or regretful over it to me. Did she to you?”

I knew it would take more than words to get over what had happened there that night—for both us. But it was a start. I tried to steady the shaking in my legs, but they refused to listen to me.

It took another minute or so before Evelyn calmed down. “No. Not one bit.”

My phone buzzed. Five missed calls . . . It was almost 10:00!

I rubbed the back of my head. “My folks are probably worried about me.”

Evelyn stood up. “Mine too.”

We walked down a now deserted street together until we reached the intersection where we needed to part ways. We stopped at the corner.

“I uh, I’ll walk you home?” I asked. It was the least I could do. My phone started buzzing, but I ignored it. Even though it was quiet except for crickets and distant noises I couldn’t make out, I strained to hear what Evelyn would say.

“O-okay.”

Good titles are hard to come up with. Also, I felt the sunset, aka the point where Sara's spirit steps in and bids them farewell, is the climax of the story. It also serves as a divide where the outlook of Evelyn and the narrator make a big change for the better. The other side of the sunset is where (hopefully) they will finally be making strides in overcoming their grief.