Flight

Chapter Two - Only call me by the name, Abby Anne

My heavy backpack slows my walking. I am carrying a shoulder bag on my left. A thick Physics book rests on my right arm. My now frizzy almost white hair—yes it is white, they say it may be albinism and I was born like this—sprawls at my face as the wind blows away. I shake it away because it is covering my eyeglasses and it made hard to see, I’m currently walking in the middle of the night—not really. It gets dark early in this city. It’s just five-thirty but it feels like it’s eleven already. I still have a fifteen-minute walk till I get home. But in this situation—it starts raining—it would take much longer than that. My book almost fell as I was struggling to open my pink and green umbrella. At last I got my umbrella open! I can now continue to walk again. 

My name is Abby Anne. Those two names should always go together. It is supposed to sound like ‘Avian’, which means birds. My mother said that she saw a flock of pigeon pass by her hospital window after she gave birth to me. She was holding a Thesaurus though and tweaked the word ‘bird’ a bit. It must be weird to having named after birds but I love how she would correct other people whenever they called me only Abby or only Anne.

I’m now in my senior high school year. You know how stressing it gets when it’s almost the end of the year. Projects, assignments, tests all pile up in your shoulders. I also had a fight with Hazel, my best friend—not exactly a fight. I’ve known her for as long as I can remember and now she won’t even talk to me because of—I don’t know why! It was a misunderstanding. We’re not even talking that much anymore—maybe that’s the reason why? I’m not doing anything wrong, am I? These days I’m just hanging out with Maile—pronounced as ‘May-lee’, she’s Hawaiian—and it’s not my fault we aren’t in the same class anymore. Hazel seems fine with it in the past months anyway. I don’t know what triggered her to not talk to me at the school canteen earlier and gave me back her friendship bracelet.

Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeep! It happens so quickly! I don’t even know what is happening. My thoughts come running over, jumbling and dancing. Why can’t I see anything? People are screaming! Was that a car? Was something hit? Oh no! Was someone hit?

I feel nothing. I feel light. Where is my backpack? I feel my shoulder bag missing its weight. And where did my Physics book go?! All of a sudden, someone starts yelling my name.

“Abby Anne!”

“What?!” I yell back irritatingly but no voice comes from my lips.

She continues to call my name. I’m more than irritated right now—can’t she tell I can hear her? She repeats calling my name. It’s Hazel’s voice! I wave my hand in the air in response although it did not feel like I’m doing it. I felt a slight shake on my right shoulder. I hear sobs. I hear a guy repeatedly saying he’s sorry. For what? The last sound that I was able to pick up is that noise coming from an ambulance. That’s when I realize what is happening—especially to me. There is nothing more I can do as my thoughts fade into the darkness.