1 PROLOGUE

It's time to bid adieu. Wet soil, annoying drizzle, people dressed in black and coffins. Not an ideal place to meet your best friend for the last time. There are at least a hundred people in this cemetery. None of these people seem to have a face. Or its probably just that I've never seen them. I've never been amidst such a huge crowd. And yet, this is the loneliest I've ever felt.

I walk up to my best friend and remind my hands to keep to themselves. The most beautiful woman my eyes have had the pleasure to see. She still looks beautiful. Even though she's inside a coffin, it doesn't sink in that she's gone. Forever. My mind and body seem to reject the idea of my best friend being non-existent. That she won't laugh at my lame jokes anymore. That she can't hold my hands as we cross the road because she thinks I am too reckless.

I turn and walk back in a daze. I see him standing away from the crowd, at a safe distance. Some girls from the university seem to recognize me. They try to reach out and hold my hands. In an attempt to provide comfort, I assume. But its too late. No amount of comfort could douse the fire in my heart. All these people make me angry. They never really knew her. They have no idea about the battles she's fought. They don't deserve to know her now.

"I'm so glad that you came. And thank you for helping me with all this. I don't..." I hug her mother tightly as she completely breaks down. Our tears did the rest of the talking as slowly people began to leave.

My whole body is numb as I drag myself back into the university. The dorm hallway is empty as it is past curfew. I finally reach our room and unlock the door. Pain hits me in waves as I get a whiff of her perfume that still lingers in our room. I run my fingers over her desk and trace the patterns over her doodles. Her jacket rests on the back of the chair. Almost as though it was waiting for her to return and slip them on. I gently pull it off the chair and bury my nose into it. It smells like her and I just can't hold back anymore. I let my tears flow freely on to the jacket, tainting the last piece of her memory that I was left with. Dimly I'm aware of a knock at the door. I dab at my tears with the end of my sleeves as I walk up to the door and turn the knob.

"How can I help you Aiko?"

"Mágissa Redwood wants to have a word with you."

"Let's go then. We both know that she hates waiting."

"I'm sorry about what happened to her. I wish there was something I could've done to help."

"Don't-- It's not your fault."

We enter the extremely posh looking lobby of the office as we are greeted by her assistant, Janice.

"I'm so glad you were quick Anaya. I can take it from here Ms. Kobayashi. Thank you."

She waits until Aiko is out of her sight and surprisingly, pulls me into a tight hug.

"I'm so so sorry about what happened Anaya. I really am."

"Please Janice. You know that it wasn't really your mistake. Let's just get over with this."

She turns the knob of the large Oakwood door and it opens with a click. The office looks just like I had last seen it. Spotless, impeccable and cold. It takes me less than a second to figure out that Janice left me all alone with the devil as I find her facing the window and away from me.

"I'm glad you're in one piece Ms. Sharma.", she says in a monotone.

"You weren't at the funeral, Magissa."

I accuse her, very calmly.

She turns around sharply, "Watch your tone, Ms. Sharma. I won't tolerate any disrespect!

"DISRESPECT?", I roar. "She died trying to protect us. To protect you. And you're here making pathetic excuses for not attending her funeral?"

That's it. I pick up a wooden chair and hurl it at the stupid Mahogany desk and watch it break into a hundred pieces. It still doesn't lessen the pain that's deeply imbedded in my heart.

I smash a vase against the carpeted floor and another. And another. I go around throwing things to the ground and to the windows. I run to her desk and throw all the papers to turn them into a paper-tornado. I destroy most of the furniture in the office and it is now completely unrecognizable and looks nothing like what it was when I stepped in.

And just as I turn to leave the office, I blackout.