Battle

...of the end

Feeling too exhausted she fell asleep after her shower. She was woken up by her phone ringing for the third time. Grunting, she walked over to her desk to pick it up stumbling on her way. She got a call from an unsaved number. Confused, she picked it up.

"Hello?"

"Hello, May I speak with Ms Ayana?"

"Yes, Ayana speaking. Who's this please?"

"Hello Ms. Ayana I'm Mr Barton, calling from the New York City Police Department. Correct me if I'm wrong, but you're the only daughter of Mr and Mrs Shivam yes?"

"Umm. Yes...yes I'm their only child. How can I help you?"

"Ms Ayana, I regret to inform you that the Boeing 787-2 boarded by Mr and Mrs Shivam from Velana International Airport to JFK International Airport crashed in the Indian Ocean. I'm sorry Ms Ayana. We would really appreciate it if you could come down to..........."

Everything went blur.

Ayana stopped listening after Indian Ocean. All her organs stopped working. It's like the clock stopped ticking for her.

"Ms Ayana are you there? Hello?"

"Umm.. yeah. Ummm sorry.....sorry what was it again? Sorry the line cut out.." Ayana replied running a hand on her face and chuckling lightly hoping that she heard it all wrong. Maybe this call was meant for someone else, not her.

She could feel her throat drying out and her ears heat up even before Mr Barton said anything. "Ms Ayana, the plane boarded by your parents crashed. I'm sorry. We're here to help you through the procedure so will you be able to come ...."

"Why..." Ayana's voice cracked.
"Well, the engine exploded and lost control mid air......"
Ayana started sobbing. What was happening?! None of this made any sense to her. There was a really big lump stuck in her throat and she couldn't get it out. All the sounds around her was muffled. The only thing she could hear was her own heart breaking.

"Ms Ayana? .....Please don't cry. We're... I'm here to help you. Ms?.....Ms Ayana, please stay where you are. I'll come to get you...."

Even before Mr Barton finished speaking, Ayana dropped the phone from her ears. She curled up into a ball on her bed and cried. A loud knock was heard on her door. "Ms Ayana, it's Mr Barton here. Please open up" After few minutes, Ayana gathered a little bit of courage and energy she had left and opened the door.

Mr Barton just stood in her doorway frozen looking at her. Her eyes were swollen and red. A few strands of hair were sticking to the side of her face. Without thinking much, Ayana hugged him and cried her heart out. "It'll be fine Ms Ayana, I promise" After calming her down as best as he could, he brought her to NYPD for some procedures.

After a long night of mostly crying at the police station, Ayana was sent back home by Mr Barton. He was sweet enough to share his personal contact number with her in case she needed someone to talk to. Reaching her apartment, Ayana had no tears left to cry. She pulled out her phone and called James hoping he could comfort her and let her know that she wasn't alone. The call went straight to voicemail. Not having the energy to keep trying, Ayana called Ed.

"Hello Aya, what's up?"
"Hi...hi Ed could you come over?" her voice cracked.
"Is everything okay Ayana? What happened?"
"Ummm... It's my parents... The plane crashed" at this point she was sobbing.
"Wha...oh god Ayana...stay on the line with me... I'm coming right now"

Within few minutes Ed busted through the door and found her curled up at the corner of the bed. He quickly picked her up pulling her into his chest letting her cry her heart out. He didn't say anything the entire time, letting her cry for hours. After about three hours Ayana explained everything that had happened causing Ed to tear up looking at her suffering in pain.

He slept with her that night comforting her everytime she woke up in the middle of the night crying.

~

Morning came and Ayana was required to go to the police station again to sort out some of the documentation and she was promised to be given a certain amount of money by the Airline corporation. None of that mattered to Ayana. All these documents and procedures didn't matter to her. She was alone. Her best friends left her. That's all that was running through her mind. Why? That was the only question she kept asking.

She convinced Ed to go for his classes promising him that she'll be fine which she clearly wasn't. She requested for him to talk to James about what had happened hoping that he would come find her at her apartment. She wanted to go back home to be around her parents memories but if she did, then Ed wouldn't be able to visit and he was the only one who was keeping her sane. She needed him.

That evening Ed came with dinner. When she heard her door being opened, she ran as fast as she could to see if James has come for her.
"Hey..Aya I brought chinese" he said with a sad smile. The disappointment on her face was apparent.
They sat down on the floor of her room and ate in silence. Ed was studying her face for something. But she gave nothing which scared him more. Out of nowhere in the middle of the meal Ayana started sobbing. Ed was by her side in a flash holding her tight.

~

Three days went by with nothing from James. Everytime she called him it went straight to voicemail. That three days flew by with Ayana crying. Ed, Mason and Clay visited her anytime they could bringing food for her. She appreciated their gesture so much. She didn't know what she did to deserve such good friends like them. Everytime she asked Ed about James he would tell her that he hadn't seen him around the campus. Something was definitely off but Ayana couldn't bring herself to get out of her apartment. Not yet at least. Thankfully her professors were very understanding of her situation since she was left with only a few classes to graduate.

The fifth day came and Ayana was done hiding in her room. She took a quick shower and threw on some clothes. As she was getting ready Ed came to visit her. "Hey Ayana where are you going? Is everything okay?"
"I'm going to the campus. I can't stay here Ed. I'm losing my mind. I'm going to go look for James"

Panic was painted on Ed's face.