When Did It Go Wrong?

Chapter 17: a Tragic Loss

It was nearly midnight when Jasmine's mom called me, and I could sense the unease in her voice. She never called me at this hour, and it was rare for her to call me without Jasmine's consent.

My heart was racing with terror as I picked up the phone, and I greeted her with a trembling voice.

"Hello Miss, how are you?" I said. "Hey, Taha. Are you home?" She asked.

"YESS, I am. It's midnight, and I have to be home," I replied anxiously.

" Why do you need anything, is everything okay? I gotta tell you, I'm a bit surprised by your call, I wasn't expecting it," I added.

"Yes, dear! Listen. Please don't freak out, but....." she trailed off, her voice choking up.

Before she could say anything more, she started crying, and my heart sank. I knew something was wrong, and my mind raced with all the possibilities. As she finally gathered herself enough to speak, she delivered the devastating news.

"There's no other way to tell you this, I'm just as hurt as you'll be. But Jasmine had passed away a few minutes ago.

She had a car accident earlier while she was coming back home from college with her uncle. They were hit by a truck on the highway, and the car drifted away from the main road only to have a downfall next to the highway," she said, her voice trembling with grief.

I was in shock, and for a moment, I couldn't believe what I had just heard.

I asked her repeatedly, "are you sure? is this a joke?"

But her sobs only confirmed the tragic news. I hung up, desperate to call Jasmine's friend, Alisha, hoping against hope that it was all a mistake.

But as soon as Alisha picked up, her words confirmed what I had been dreading.

"Did you hear the news, Taha?" she asked, and I felt my world shatter into a million pieces.

Alisha told me that they were at the hospital, where Jasmine's body lay after the accident.

I switched to video call, hoping that maybe it was all a misunderstanding, but as soon as I saw Jasmine's lifeless body, my heart sank even lower. Her once-bright blond hair was now stained with blood, and her eyes no longer sparkled. Her beautiful yellow sweater was now stained with blood, and bruises covered her body.

As I stared at her lifeless form, memories of our time together flooded my mind. Every moment we had shared, every laugh, every smile, played out in slow motion. I was grateful for every second of it, and yet, at the same time, it only made the reality of her loss even more painful.

Standing there in the stillness of the night, the weight of the world seemed to bear down on me like a heavy burden. It was as if time itself had come to a standstill, and all that remained was the overwhelming sense of loss and despair that consumed me. At that moment, my heart shattered into a million pieces, as my first love ended in the most tragic way imaginable.

It was as if fate had dealt me a cruel hand, snatching away everything we had planned for the future in the blink of an eye. All those moments we shared, all those dreams we had together, now lay shattered and broken at my feet.

As I struggled to make sense of it all, I realized that I had not just lost Jasmine, but a part of myself as well. It was as if I had been stripped of my identity, my purpose, my very

reason for being. The pain was overwhelming, and I felt lost, alone, and utterly broken.

At that moment, I realized that life is unpredictable and that even the best-laid plans can come crashing down in an instant. But amidst the wreckage, I knew that I had to find a way to pick up the pieces and start anew, to rebuild my shattered life and rediscover who I truly am. For even though I had lost so much that night, I knew that I still had the power to find hope, to love again, and to forge a new path forward, no matter how difficult it may be.

I hung up on Alisha, the phone feeling heavy in my hand as I tried to process what had just transpired. At that moment, I wanted nothing more than to shut down my thoughts and drift off into a peaceful slumber, hoping that when I woke up, it would all just be a bad dream.

With a heavy heart and a weary mind, I crawled into bed and closed my eyes, willing myself to forget the pain that had been inflicted upon me.

The tears came unbidden as I lay there in the darkness, my mind racing with memories of Jasmine and the time we had spent together. I felt as though a part of me had been ripped away, leaving me empty and alone. Despite my exhaustion, I could not shake the feeling of loss that consumed me.

Eventually, I succumbed to sleep, my tears mingling with the soft pillow beneath my head. As I drifted off, I knew that this was the last day I would ever speak to Jasmine, and my heart ached with the knowledge that our time together had come to an end.

As I lay in my bed, the early morning sunbeams filtered through the window, casting a warm glow over my face. Yet, the usual brightness failed to stir me from my slumber. My mother's voice calling out to me went unheard, drowned out by the deafening silence in my mind. My dreams had been consumed by the news of Jasmine's death, and my subconscious had already flooded my brain with a surge of serotonin, leaving me in a state of profound sadness and depression that would last for years to come.

The weight of Jasmine's passing weighed heavily on my heart, and I couldn't help but replay the moments leading up to her death, searching for answers to the endless questions swirling in my head. Every memory, every interaction we shared, now felt like a haunting reminder of what had been lost.

As I lay there, enveloped in my grief, I knew that the road ahead would be long and difficult. But I was determined to navigate through the darkness and find a way to come to terms with what had happened.

Three and a half years of my life were lost in the struggle to overcome this overwhelming feeling of grief and figure out where it all went wrong. Each day was a battle, as I tried to navigate the complex emotions that plagued me. But despite the overwhelming sadness that enveloped me, I refused to give up. I was determined to find a way to move forward, to somehow make sense of the tragedy that had befallen me. And so, I persevered, never giving up hope that one day, I would find the strength to emerge from the darkness and reclaim my life.