Satsuki

Satsuki fidgeted with her glasses as she sat in her cell bed. A slender young girl of 11 years, her dark brown hair was cut short as per prison regulations. She was dressed in a baggy orange prison jumpsuit about a size too large with her prison ID number (7665490) printed on its back. The girl vibrated with nervous energy, her hazel eyes darting around. She wiped her brow, sweat pouring down her face. It was the middle of August, and the humid heat penetrated deep into the prison complex.

She flinched as footsteps echoed past her cell. Today was no ordinary day. She was scheduled to hang today. No time was given, but she guessed that it would take place at noon.
Satsuki looked up at the clock and gulped, her mouth dry. It was five minutes to twelve o'clock.

Footsteps again, but this time they stopped outside her cell. The clatter of the door opening made Satsuki squeak in terror. Two burly guards entered and grabbed the little girl by the arms. They restrained her with handcuffs and roughly led her outside. As they walked down the corridor towards the gallows, Satsuki struggled against the handcuffs.

The guards opened the door leading to the courtyard containing the gallows. Satsuki tried in vain to dig her heels into the ground. "Please, I'm too young to die, I'm sorry for stealing, please don't kill me", the girl tearfully begged to the guards. They ignored her and continued dragging Satsuki with them.

The gallows was a simple T frame made of metal pipe, embedded into a concrete square with two drainage pipes. There were five of them scattered around the courtyard, each capable of hanging two prisoners at a time. That day, two units were occupied, four other girls dangling limply from their nooses. Satsuki averted her eyes from the slowly swinging corpses.

Satsuki was led to an empty unit. A stool was placed in front of her. A freshly tied noose was thrown around her neck, then connected to the gallows frame. The guards lifted her trembling body up onto the stool, then tightened the noose around her neck.

The warden arrived, holding a tablet computer.
Clearing her throat, she began to read Satsuki's sentence.
"Prisoner #7665490, you are hereby sentenced to death by hanging. You have one minute to speak your last words, or engage in prayer". The warden put away the tablet, and checked her watch. Satsuki moaned in fear, her legs trembling. "I-I want my mom!" she whined pitifully. The Warden shook her head. "Sorry sweetie, we can't do that." She told the little girl.

The minute passed. The warden walked over to Satsuki, and gripped the stool. The young girl closed her eyes, tears welling in her eyes. With a grunt, the warden pulled the stool away. Satsuki dropped 3 feet then jerked to a stop as the rope reached its limit. She slowly swung in a circle as her slender legs kicked furiously. The noose dug into her soft neck, causing the 11 year old to grit her teeth tightly. Her hands formed tight fists as Satsuki experienced pain beyond anything she had felt in her short life.

After two minutes she stopped kicking. Her feet arched down, toes straining to find a foothold on something. The little girl's face turned red, then purple as she experienced oxygen starvation. Her tongue poked out between her lips as the noose slowly tightened further, sinking deeper into her neck. Saliva and snot mixed with tears, and slowly oozed down in strings. Her bladder relaxed, releasing a stream of piss from the crotch down on her prison jumpsuit. She felt a faint sense of shame as the world darkened around her.

Five more minutes passed before Satsuki Kawashima Antonelli passed away aged 11 years and 3 months. The prison kept her corpse hanging for an hour before cutting it down and sending it to be processed in the morgue.