TAKEN or GIVEN

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The limp body was lying in the pool of blood, waiting to be picked up from the floor by someone who will care enough. The blood wasn’t dark red, it was coral which made it feel like as if the coral reef was bleeding instead of a human body. People, as usual, started to gather around, most of them were there to witness what death looks like, for others, it was mere gossip that they would talk about on their dinner table. And then there are always a few curious ones, who want to know what exactly happened that led to this situation, but none of them cared enough to touch the body. They all assumed that nothing was left, that the light has gone out, and the only thing they could do is call the ambulance to pick up the body. Yes, now it was just a body, ready for burial in the graveyard or might be cremated, who knows, after all, no one came claiming it yet.

The spirit of the body was hovering over it, wondering what the commotion was all about. Why suddenly all these people were interested in her. People who wouldn’t even return her smile were now asking each other about her existence. How come, she became the talk of the town by one act of pursuit. Most of them were whispering, so she couldn’t decipher what exactly they thought had happened to her. The only thing that she kept wondering was why the so-called caring people, who would go mad about run over body of a dog on the road wouldn’t even dare to touch her body which still has few last breaths to take on this mortal world.

She chuckled at the synchronicity of the situation, no one cared enough when she was there, existing with her breaths, and no one cared enough now when she was ceasing to exist with her last breaths. The only thing they were determined to know was whether It was TAKEN or GIVEN?

PS : The story came from the Limerick that I wrote long time back for a challenge.