Young writer 2024

The Glass Elephant by Zoe Lewis

Oh God. Glass is everywhere.

Hesitantly, I bend down to pick up the galaxy of fragments littered across the cracked pavement
but I know, it’s too late. The necklace is gone; crushed under the heel of my boot, scattered
across the floor. No matter how hard I try to rebuild it, the two largest pieces don’t fit together
anymore.

The last reminder of home I have… lost forever.

I am notorious for losing important things: my wallet, an old photograph of my parents, a
wedding ring. However, the necklace wasn’t missing, it had not simply been misplaced… it had
completely and utterly shattered. How can something so valuable be so delicate?

Scenes of my childhood flash before my eyes as if they were trapped inside the necklace: the old
school, my old friends, our old house. I could even smell the musky odour of my old classroom. It
burnt my nose. If I shut my eyes hard enough, I could even see the fishing boats coming into the
docks where I used to live. My cheeks are damp with tears; the ghost of my old life has finally
come back to torment me and I’m not ready to face it. Like the swimming lessons I used to have
as a kid; no matter how hard I fight to keep my head above the water, I’m sinking deeper and
deeper into the water. My throat closes up as if the air is thick with poison.

Perhaps, the most painful memories of all; the people I left behind. Ellie, Lisa and Anwen - the
three amigos. Inseparable, until, of course we separated. I gently cradle the glass shards in my
palm, Lisa gave me the necklace for my birthday; a beautiful iridescent elephant pendant
attached to a vibrant gold chain. Guilt gnawed at me; guilt for abandoning my friends, guilt for
breaking the necklace, guilt for leaving home.

I falter towards the general waste bin - the only one in the park - and as I tilt my cupped hands
forward, the elephant tumbles into the dark void until it is completely swallowed by the
darkness.