I am not sure when it started. I don’t think the soundis something that you notice at first. It’s one of those sounds that sort of lives in the background of your life for a while, and you only notice it once it is gone. But it isn’t gone. It’s just changed. I wish it was gone, maybe it would be easier that way.
At my school, on the second floor, there is one classroom with a tree perfectly nestled under the window. I fought hard for that window seat every day, making sure to get to class early in order to claim it, and now everyone just knows it is mine. Anyway, that seat is where I first noticed the noise. I could have sworn I heard the leaves rustle on that tree, despite the loud chatter in the classroom and the window being closed.
There it is again, the noise, did you hear it? Like leaves rustling. Sam was the first to leave the classroom after the noise changed. He was never one for conversation so I guess no one really noticed that he left. I didn’t see him leave, but now he is impaled on the branches on the top of my tree. He isn’t dead. He’s just lying in the branches and leaves, staring up at the sky, smiling.
No one is screaming. You would think people would be screaming. There is the noise again.
Trisha has walked up to the window now. She is just looking at Sam, watching him, watching the sky.
“Oh Sam,” Trisha says, her voice sounding light like she is talking to a child. “What are you doing up there? You missed the ground entirely” Trisha puts her hand on the window and begins to laugh to herself. Sam is laughing now too. My stomach is hurting.
I don’t understand why you can’t hear the noise. Three more people just left the room. I can’t remember their names. Do they have names? I’m sure they do. Or did. They didn’t miss the ground. They aren’t laughing anymore, but they are smiling. The noise again.
“Don’t you want to watch the sky with us?” Trisha is looking at me now. She is smiling. I don’t answer her. I do want to watch the sky, but my stomach hurts, and I don’t want to look outside anymore. The noise is louder now, it’s angry.
Trisha is staring at me now. Her smile is getting bigger. The others are watching me too, all smiling. I can’t remember any of their names. My ears are ringing with the noise, but I know I cannot look outside. I close my eyes.
When I open them again it is just Trisha and me in the room. The noise is the loudest noise I have ever heard; I feel sick. Trisha hasn’t stopped smiling, her smile has grown, it’s now her whole face. She has no eyes.
The noise is a vibration in the sky; it is urging me to look. I throw up onto the floor next to my desk. When I look up again, I see Trisha leaving the room.
A few minutes have passed, and the noise is gone. At least, I cannot hear it anymore. My stomach doesn’t hurt anymore. I no longer want to look at the sky.