Some ponies may think that living forever is better than not living at all, but to me, that wasn’t always the case.
Lemme show you what I mean. It all began many years ago, on my sixth birthday. When I was about to blow out the candles, a loud ringing sound hit my ears from nearby. It was the phone.
As my mom was speaking to whoever was on the phone, I could just hear the distress and disbelief in her voice.
"O-okay. Thank you for calling." She hung up the phone.
"Who was that, Mom?" I asked as she walked towards me and placed her hoof on my shoulder.
"That was your doctor, sweetie," She replied.
"And what did she say?!" I asked, leaning over my seat in panic. "Is it something bad?!"
She nodded her head before telling me what was going on. As I heard her talk, I could feel water coming from my eyes. I just couldn't believe what I was hearing. It turned out that I've developed a rare disorder called Syndrome Z, meaning that my age has been permanently halted today.
I didn't know what to say at the time. Just hearing the news made me feel like my heart was about to drop inside. All I could do was hug my family tight and pray to myself that every moment I have with my loving family lasts before they're all gone and I'm all alone… forever.
Unfortunately, the inevitable slowly happened. My father wouldn't wake up from his slumber. We had to bring him to the hospital in order to see if he's okay. The doctor said that his heart stopped in his sleep. My heart felt like it was about to literally break as my mom and I buried him at the cemetery and mourned for his death.
Weeks have gone by as my mom couldn't stop thinking about my dad's death due to living with him so much. In fact, she was so distraught and filled with grief that she started developing a heart attack before eventually falling in her bed. When I went inside her room to cheer her up, she was lying on the ground, completely unconscious.
I lowered my ear onto her chest to check her heart, but there was no beating, no pulses to be found. I gasped as I covered my mouth and tears began enveloping again. I then clutched my hoof tight before lowering my head and sobbing. Tears landed on my mother's chest as she laid there with no movement at all. Why is this happening to me?
I then buried my mother at the same cemetery and laid a flower on her burial ground. When I went back home, I packed my things in my saddle bags and went to my grandparents' house. After a few months of my long walk, I finally made it to their home.
However, when I got there and knocked on the door, it slowly creaked open. I peeked my head at the inside, only to find out that the whole living room was completely abandoned. The lights were broken, making the whole room dark and empty. There were broken objects all over the ground and other places. And nobody was there to greet me.
As I walked inside, I felt a loud cracking sound beneath my hoof. I glanced down and moved it, only to see some broken glass around a torn up picture of my grandparents and me that we used to take at the weekend. Fearing that they might be gone too, I picked up the picture and piece the broken glass together in the frame.
Suddenly, a loud ringing noise hit my ears as I saw the phone vibrating. "Hello?"
'Hey, if there's anyone there, I'm afraid my wife and I might not make it once this message is done. If you hear me groaning and moaning, please don't panic. I'm sure we'll…'
And that’s just what I heard over the voicemail. I covered my mouth, trying hard to hold back my tears, this time, but that was easier said than done as they started forming anyway. As soon as the groaning stopped. I dropped the phone and then to my knees in despair.
Many years later, after most of my family members passed away, I had to stay in a large house with my uncle, aunt, and baby cousin. Even though most of my family is gone right now and I still haven't aged since my sixth birthday, I'm still able to make the most of what I have left in terms of family.
Me and the rest of my loving family's relationship wasn't perfect. I used to unintentionally get into a lot of trouble and sometimes even argue while my baby cousin would cry a lot, but we still loved and embraced each other. We used to fly kites in strong winds, buy groceries at the market stands, and hug each other when we're feeling down.
But then, one day, my uncle was making some food when a light-blue piece of cloth suddenly fell from the top shelf and landed onto the frying pan. It suddenly caught a blaze as he carefully took it and tried to put it out, but the fire landed on some wooden drawers and slowly grew to an immense size.
My aunt called the Fire Department while I quickly grabbed my baby cousin out of his crib and into my forelegs. As the fire was getting bigger, both my aunt and uncle tried to find something to put out the fire while I moved out of the way until the fire department arrived.
Once they quickly came, they climbed up the ladder and took both me and my cousin out of the house. Unfortunately, before my aunt and uncle could escape along with us, some burning debris fell in front of them, blocking the window. All my cousin and I could do was watch in horror as the whole house was starting to collapse with my aunt and uncle still inside while the Fire Department used their hoses to put it out.
I bolted towards the dried-up house with my little cousin held close and dug through the pile of rubble, trying to find our uncle and aunt's bodies, but there was nothing but ashes, burnt wood, and hay, as well as a small locket at the bottom. A teardrop fell onto the locket as I started crying along with my baby cousin, hugging him close while we were in the debris.
Now, I'm starting to think that the whole world is against me for some reason. I've lost almost all of my family, I have an anti-aging disorder at age six, meaning that I'll never be qualified to get a job on my own, and the only things I have left are my little cousin, my aunt's locket, and all the memories that I still keep inside my head.
With nowhere else to turn to and no other family members to live with, I've decided that the best course of action is to get myself and my cousin adopted. So I gathered up whatever was left in the debris, placed them inside my saddle bags, and walked through the town while carrying my cousin.
We both went towards a large house nearby and knocked on the door. A tall green stallion opened it up. He had gray bags under his eyes and his mane was frizzled up with some stray hairs sticking out of it. The sound of broken plates and other children laughing and crying could be heard from inside his home.
"Uh, excuse me, sir. I see that you have a lot of other kids in-" He quickly slammed the door right in front of us. And that's only part of what I mean when I say that the whole world is against me. We went to the next house, expecting the owner or owners to be a lot nicer than the last one.
The door opened to reveal an old mare who had a large cat laying on top of her head. "Excuse us, ma'am. We don't have anywhere else to go, so do you think that we could stay at your house, please?"
"Oh, sweetheart," She replied. "I'd love to have you stay with me. Really, I do, but I'm afraid my cat doesn't like visitors that much." She said, pointing at her cat, who gave me a loud hiss and swiped her claw at my direction.
"Oh. Well, it's okay, ma'am," I said, turning to the next house across the street. "We understand."
As we walked towards the next house, a speeding cart passed by us and accidentally splashed water on us in the process. My baby cousin let out a loud cry and my eyes became filled with tears as I felt like crying, too. However, I decided to hold back my tears and made it to the next house.
I breathed out a soft sigh before gently knocking at the door. But nobody answered. I then knocked even harder on the door to make sure if somepony was home. Still no answer. Maybe they must be sleeping inside or haven't came back home yet. I guessed the latter, so me and my cousin sat on the porch and waited.
A few hours passed as I slowly began to lose hope. So much that I thought that they weren't coming home or, if they were home, were either sleeping or just didn't want to answer. As I started crying, I decided to reach into my saddle bag and take out a small, sharp knife. "I'm sorry to do this to myself, little cousin, but I just can't take the pain anymore. I just hope that whoever finds you is nice enough to take you in and treat you well."
"Stop! Don't do that to yourself, or in front of the baby!" A strange, feminine voice said out loud as I pointed the knife at my chest. My head turned to see a middle-aged mare and stallion standing right in front of me. I placed the knife back in my saddle bag as I blushed and chuckled with nervous embarrassment. "Sorry about that. Who are you, though?"
"My name's Sourdough and this is my wife, Sweet Tart," Sourdough replied.
"What's yours?" Sweet Tart asked.
"I'm Amara," I replied. "Me and my baby cousin were going to ask if we could live here, since we don't have a home or family anymore, but now I'm starting to think that that's not possible."
"Oh? Why is that?" Sweet Tart asked.
"Because I have a rare physical disorder that stops my aging for eternity," I replied.
The two sat next to us on the porch as they both wrapped their forelegs around us and smiled. "Oh, Amara, darling. Don't worry. As long as you've got both love and the memories you've gotten from your old family, they'll always be with you right here," Sweet Tart said, pointing her hoof at my chest.
"Hey, you're right!" I said. "I'll always have my family with me in my heart! Thanks, Sweet Tart!"
"Please, Amara. Call us dad and mom," Sourdough replied, gesturing his hoof at both him and Sweet Tart.
"Huh? You mean, that both me and my little cousin can live with you, regardless of my disorder?" I asked.
They both nodded their heads as Sweet Tart levitated my baby cousin with her magic. I jumped for joy before running inside of their home as they followed suit and closed the door behind them.
And that's what I meant when I asked if living forever is better than not living at all. It might not be worth it if you start to lose your loved ones due to your immortality, but as long as you keep those memories and that love with you deep inside, you're never alone.
Author's Note
This is my first shot at a very sad, heartbreaking, and serious story. It took me a long time to think of the hook for the story, but I think it was worth it if it means that my story turns out great and genuinely heartbreaking.
What do you guys think?
