Emily Davison was an English Suffragette who died during the Epson Down horse race of 1913. This is a work of fiction inspired by her last day on this earth.

“Emily, you mustn’t!” Catherine chased her friend through the crowd, their short-heeled shoes clicking on the platform.

“I must,” Emily squeezed Catherine’s hands. “No more ignored protests. We need to act.” 

Emily exhaled deeply. She remembered the burned mailboxes, hunger strikes, and the times she chained herself to buildings, yet the people hadn’t listened. They extinguished the fires, force-fed her or cut her chains.

“It’s time for them to hear us,” Emily whispered. “To achieve that, I need to make them see.”

Catherine closed her eyes. She knew she couldn’t change Emily’s mind when her eyes shone with determination. “Just… be careful.”

Emily waved from the train window, checking her handbag for the return ticket and the folded suffragette banners before settling into her seat. She leapt off at Epsom Downs, just as the 1913 Derby was about to start. The ideal place for her to take a stand.

Once she believed all the horses had passed, Emily ducked under the barrier, clutching her banner meant for the Royal Enclosure. With all the cameras and press, the world couldn’t ignore her, and she wouldn't leave until it listened. 

She ran, the banner in one hand and her skirt in the other, when a thundering horse slammed into her, sending her sprawling to the side.
She could hardly breathe or move, yet she held on to the banner.

“Miss!” a man shouted as he knelt next to her. 

Emily lifted her banner towards him. “I have done it,” she coughed. “Now the world will finally hear me.” 

“You’ll be all right, Miss,” the man said.
“No,” she whispered. “I don’t need to be.” Emily stared at the sky, a faint smile on her lips. “Deeds, not words, will change this world. Let this deed be the start of a better one.”