Second Prize winner - Youth Writers Short Story Prize 2026

The Way She Lived by Sachini Wimalarathna

I take a deep breath and look over the crowd of people.
“Yes, she had a… rough childhood. She often felt like she wasn’t loved, she always wondered whether she was good enough. In return, she loved everyone else fiercely, so that no-one ever felt the way she did. She toughened up on the outside, but she was soft and tender underneath her skin. People often talk about a friendly face hiding a dark soul, but she was more of a sheep in wolf’s clothing. In this way, she was like the sea…
“She was the sea. She lived like she was wild. She was brave and loyal. She was scary when she stood up for those she loved, and she loved everyone. She was a kind sea. The sort of ocean that saved people rather than drowned them. Not the merciless whirlpools or monstrous tidal waves; she was the blue lagoon in a world of storms.
“She often called me her anchor when she found herself in the eye of these storms. She would say that I held her fast, that I was her rock. Part of me didn’t believe that she would need an anchor – she had survived those years between thirteen and twenty-one, the years in which one faces the most pressure. She was the one who calmed the hurricane of this world down, she was the anchor in everyone else’s storm. The other part of me knew that it was hard work being loving to everyone, that, some days, she would need a shoulder to cry on. She always said Be kind to everyone. Not because they’re nice, but because you are. I always replied You don’t need to save everybody. You can just rescue yourself.
“She did actually rescue me as well. I think, as men, we often think that it is our job to save the damsel in distress. For what is a queen without her king? Well, historically speaking, more powerful. She radiated a sort of power that gave her a glow, like a photo taken with backlight. Just one word from her could silence an army if she wanted. If she wished, she could have made that army turn and bow down to her. I always admired that power, because she never used it so people would worship her. She would stop a bully picking on another, or she would quell a fight with little more than a stern look. She never expected anything in return, she never even turned a hair towards recognition, yet even those who hated her would secretly praise her.
“She was the one who taught me that you can’t hate someone you never cared about in the first place. Rich, coming from the girl who cared for everyone but herself. But I saw her point. And, really, that made my life a whole lot happier. It is because of her that I realised that I didn’t have to hate the grumpy shop owner just because, or despise that one bus driver because he missed my stop. I couldn’t hate them, and a weight was lifted off my shoulders.
“After years of waiting, of mustering up enough courage to finally do so, I asked her to marry me. She was well out of my league, she was out of everyone’s league, but still, she said yes.
“I never imagined that when she came down the aisle, it would be in a coffin.
“It was an accident. A truck driver came way too fast, and she managed to save an old lady, but she did not rescue herself, the one thing I asked her to do. I was not there, but I can imagine the scene all too well. The old lady was crossing the road, focussed on her steps, oblivious to the truck hurtling down the narrow street. She noticed, though. She ran out in front of the truck, pushing the old lady out of the way. I always imagine the next bit in slow motion. By then, she knew it was too late. At least she knew that she had saved everyone but herself. She turned so she was facing the truck driver head-on. I don’t know whether the truck driver didn’t notice her or he couldn’t brake or neither, whether it did not even occur to him that he would have to stop, but I don’t hate him for what happened next. I didn’t care about him in the first place, after all.
“Today, we’re here to remember her. But I don’t want to remember her the way she died. I want to remember her the way she lived.”