2 May 2012
The numbers on January's arm caught the light.
Three minutes. Twenty seven seconds - make that twenty six.
January cradled her head in her hands, and kept her breathing as normal as she could.
Three minutes.
At her side, her younger sisters watched her with dead eyes.
They knew what would happen. They'd seen it happen to Mother. And Joshua.
The time on everyone's arms ran out, eventually.
Two minutes.
Thirteen seconds.
January stood and stretched, her hair brushing her shoulders as she moved.
It was probably the last stretch she'd ever have.
Two minutes.
'Sylvie, Fiona?'
January's sisters raised their heads dully at the sound of their names.
'I love you.'
A tear rolled down Sylvie's cheek.
January caught it.
One minute, seventeen seconds.
'Stay safe. Use the credits carefully,' January gestures to the stash of credits in the satchel next to the girls.
Fifty nine seconds.
Fifty eight.
'Why do you have to die?' Fiona asked the same question every time.
Thirty six seconds.
'Because we're not rich enough to buy life. You know that, Fiona.'
January bent and hugged her sisters.
Nineteen seconds.
A smile lit January's face. At least her sisters lived, still.
Fourteen.
Thirteen.
Twelve.
And January would be meeting her brother and mother again.
Eight.
January lay on the floor. Closed her eyes.
Six.
Sylvie and Fiona grasped each of her hands in their own thin, small ones.
Two.
January let out her last breath.
One.
No Time. • Opuss № I