12

Oz's ears started ringing as his heart sank lower and lower. He heard the voices pitying the girl who had gotten into the accident saying how such a young woman had met this kind of tragedy. The policemen started to push away the crowd from the scene when Oz sat upon his knees and began to stand up despite the fact that his feet had lost all their strength. He breathed in harshly as his chest had gone all stuffy. As he pushed around the people to reach the car some of the policemen tried to push him back but he spoke to them in a grieving voice.

"Let me go! I need to see her," he said breathlessly, Were there tears in his eyes? Nobody could tell as the rain had become one with everything. He made his way to the car. Its door was wide open and blood trickled down the seat cushion as rain fell on it. A sharp pain stung his chest making him shiver all over. And just beside the seat, he saw a gift bag with a velvet box in it alongside a card. HE gave out a sharp breath before looking around the place.

The ambulance had just driven away with the injured people.

"Please be alright. Please don't be dead." HE chanted to himself and started to run in the direction where the ambulance was going. "Please don't be dead! Please!" HE pleaded as his breath shortened.

For a long time, he ran until he reached the hospital on foot. He was drenched, Every single fiber of his clothes was cold yet he couldn't feel it. HE rushed to the reception and asked in a choking voice.

"I am looking for a patient named Kiara," He said breathlessly and gulped in his saliva as to wetted his throat. The receptionist went through the computer and saw no record of a patient by that name.

"I am sorry but we don't have a patient by that name," she said.

"What do you mean there is no one by that name? She was just brought here. It was a car accident, please check it again!" HE insisted that the receptionist look at the papers at the side.

"The patients from the accident were taken directly into the operation theatre, We haven't added their names to the system yet, I am sorry but I can't help you in locating your patient." She apologized when Oz looked around the place to find Kiara.

"You can wait by the operating room, I am sure you will soon get news." She said when she saw his sorry state. Oz nodded and rushed to the place where she was pointing to. He sat on the bench and nervously shook his feet while occasionally glancing at the blinking light of the operating room.

"Please! Please! Be alright." he pressed his finger together while rocking his knees up and down.

Hours after hours passed and he drifted into sleep while sitting there all tensed up not noticing any movement around him. HE only woke up when a family took a seat beside him. He opened his eyes and looked around dumbfoundedly, almost 6 hours had passed. He sprang up and ran to the reception where the lady had changed shifts. WIth guilt painted on his face, he asked her in a weak voice.

"I am looking for a patient named Kiara, She was brought here yesterday because of a car crash." He was nervous, the lady looked at the computer screen and tapped the keyboard a few times before saying.

"What are you to her?" She questioned. "Are you a family member?" He got flustered and shook his head and had no words to say.

"I am sorry to say but all the bodies have been collected by their families. I can't disclose any more information."

"huH?" He asked as he thought he had heard it all wrong. "Bodies?"

"Yes, All the people involved in the accident are dead." She said as if it was nothing new but for Oz, he stood there with a face that seemed as if life had been sucked out of him.

"Hah!" He gave out a dry laugh full of disbelief. "That's not possible. That is not true… How can she just die? She said she had a gift for me, She said she would give it to me so how can she just die?" He mumbled to himself with a crooked smile on his face. She pulled out his phone and called Kiara. "I know she is alright! She would never break her promise." Breathed unevenly and waited as the phone rang numerous times. And as the rings continued the smile slowly faded while his eyes started to shine with tears, an indication that he was slowly being proven wrong. Something bitter boiled up in his throat and just then the phone got picked up.

" Kiara?" He said desperately. "where are you! YOu didn't pick up the call and the hospital people are talking nonsense."

"Hello?! Do you know the owner of the phone?" Said an unknown voice.

...........................…

The rainy season had stretched for much longer than expected. And just like that on a rainy and stormy day, Countless black cars were parked by a graveyard, and men and women in black mourning clothes stood with large Black umbrellas over their heads. Many eyes were wet holding in the tears as they looked over at the freshly buried body with pain.

A tall figure stood before the grave, An umbrella being held over him by his assistant, while he held a bouquet of daisies. He had clean dark fringes falling over his forehead, a sharp pale face with a pair of eyes that seemed as if they had been deceived. He wore a black turtleneck shirt and a black coat buttoned neatly, and the oddest part of his outfit was the red handkerchief in his chest pocket that he pulled out and tied on the bouquet of flowers before placing it on the grave. "You left too quickly, Now it makes me feel guilty of you and I ultimately pity the ones you left behind…it's not fair," His tone was rough and dry.