Aliya

SO.... I’ve been helping plan my sister’s wedding. Then just tonight, we decided that we were gonna have a bridal shower too. Well, I was gonna do something to help with invites, but ended up starting this instead. So while I had the story in my head I decided to finish this…. depressing thing. If anyone has ever lost family to a car crash, I’m sorry, I just…. Had to get this out of my head or it would have sat there just making me sad.

It was a cold winter night. Though the storm blew high, and Aliya’s spirits were low, she pushed forward toward home. She knew that she would have to cross the street eventually, but she couldn’t see well enough to know what was coming for her. As she reached the next sign, she craned her neck to look at it. It was the right road; she had to turn. She was getting colder, and she wished she hadn’t thought she could make it home before the storm set in.

Aliya turned, trying to listen for any cars. She couldn’t hear any, and saw no headlights. She started walking, but just as she was about to reach the other side, a car slammed into her cold body. The impact broke several ribs, and punctured a lung. As Aliya lay on the ground, blood filling her lungs, she faintly saw someone come up to her. She couldn’t really hear anything anymore either. All she could do was lay there and gasp, trying to get air into her lungs.

It was to late though. With the storm picking up, and no way for whoever had hit her to get her to a hospital, she did the only thing she could think of. She stuttered out a name, and an address.

“Natalia An-nise. 3 … 5 … 7 H-holloway d-drive.”

As the last syllable fell from her lips, so did her final breath. The last thing she saw, was a young man bending down, and pressing his lips to her cheek with tears in his eyes. Then everything went dark, and she knew no more.

It was the next day, before Charles could track down Natalia Anise. HE had sat in his car crying until he could get the service to call the police and paramedics, even though he knew it was too late to save this girl whose name he didn’t know. When he was let go, he didn’t go home. He went to the address he had heard, and knocked on the door.

Charlie had sat in his car for a good hour before he found his courage to get out. It took him another twenty minutes to walk up to the door. Natalia, who was inside noticed him. When he started pacing though, she knew something was wrong. He was clearly distressed, but she gave him the time he nodded to knock. When he did knock, she was slower to answer the door than she usually would have been.

“Hello, how may I help you?” Natalia said; her nerves strung high.

Charlie swallowed as he tried to find the right words. How could he tell her that he had caused her friends death? What was he to say to her? That it was an accident, and he was sorry, or that he had been crying all night, because he knew that it had been too early for the girl he had hit?

“Hello, my name is Charlie. Are you Natalia Anise?” The words seemed choked, and already tears could be seen in Charlie’s eyes.

Natalia took a deep breath, and nodded her head. She had seen the tears, and knew whatever Charlie was about to say, hurt him to the very depths of his soul. On instinct she reached out, and placed a hand on his arm, nodding at him that it was ok.

“I was driving home last night, but I never made it. You see…. The storm was so bad, that I couldn’t see much, and even though I knew it was stupid, I was going faster than I should have been.”

Charlie paused as he watched the face of this woman, who had shown him kindness, when she had no idea what he had done. Her eyes began to show tears as he spoke, and as he continued the tears began to come faster.

“ I never learned her name. She died before I could, but what I came to tell you, were her final words. In her last moments, she thought of you. Which is the only reason I was able to find you. She gave me your name and address.”

As soon as the last word had finished, the hand on Charlie’s arm fell, then rose again as its owner slapped him. He heard nothing but her sobs mingling with his own. The slap had hurt, but he knew he deserved much more hurt than that. The world seemed to stop for both Natalia and Charlie.

“I can say nothing; that could ever describe how sorry I am. If I could go back and change it, I would. If I could take her place, I would. The thought that has been nagging me though, has been this. How old was she, and what was her name?”

Charlie choked this, through his tears, hoping that he would get an answer. He waited, and listened as Natalia tried to catch her breath; to stop crying if only for a moment.

“Her name.... was Aliya. She was twenty-three years old, and was a sophomore in a college, where she was a figure skater.”

Natalia paused, choking back a shuddering sob. Then, as she continued she looked back up into Charlie’s eyes with sadness.

“She had a boyfriend, whose name is Naru. He had planned on proposing when they had both graduated.”

As Charlie heard all of this, he collapsed on the porch, and curled into a ball as he began crying even harder. He did not hear however, the third voice crying out in sorrow. He did not realize that someone else had heard this whole conversation.

OK, now that my thoughts are out of my head, I hope I made you all cry. I don’t like to cry alone, and I definitely cried while writing this. So… let me know what you think I guess. I don’t even care if you tell me it’s complete shit.