Melody of death | English Version | Charles Leclerc FF

sixty-one ఌ

C H A R L E S

Highly motivated, I got into my racing car that Thursday morning. One of the three free practice sessions has been postponed to today, as there will be a big ceremony tomorrow, in keeping with the French culture. The FIA said it would be too much of a program if there were two practice sessions on Friday. So, I'm allowed to go out on the track today.

Together with the nineteen other drivers, I did a few laps around the track. In the end, however, I was not satisfied. I only finished eighth. Just as I was about to do my last lap, however, I received a radio message that made my heart stop. It came from Sam. "Charles, something is wrong with Célina. Her best friend sent a message on your phone telling you to call her back quickly because there was something wrong with Célina.", I lost my ability to act for a short moment and almost ended up in the gravel bed. "No..." was the only thing that left my dry throat. I shot at the lap and drove straight back to the pit lane. My breathing had rarely been as fast and uncontrolled as it was at that moment. I felt something bad coming.

As soon as my car was in the garage, I jumped out and ran towards paddock. Sam caught up with me before I even reached the motorhome. I completely ignored the confused looks of the employees from other teams. I had only one intention: get my things and go to the airport!
„What happened?" I hurriedly asked Sam as I entered my room in the motorhome and threw the race clothes to the floor.
"All I know is that she's on the way to the clinic. Maybe you should call Ayla back.", I didn't answer anything, but put my mobile phone, wallet and my paddock card in my jacket. The next moment, I stormed out of the room. Sam ran after me, irritated. "Charles! What are you up to?" he shouted uncomprehendingly.
„What would you think?" I replied without much explanation. Only a little later I reached my car. Sam jumped into the passenger seat next to me. At a higher speed than allowed, I raced out of the area past the security guards. When I reached the main road, I asked Sam to book an immediate direct flight. "It takes off in 15 minutes, we can't do that," Sam shook his head. "Yes," I pressed the accelerator so that we were equally pressed into the seats. Whatever it costs, I had to go to Célina right away!

Shortly before our plane took off, we reached it and took place on our seats. Below us, France was running away. The thirty minutes flight to Nice seemed like an eternity to me. But when the plane finally landed, I wanted to jump up. My pulse was so fast it almost hurt. That's how hard my heart pounded against my ribcage.
It was a quick arrangement with Sam that we would take his car, which was still parked in the airport parking lot, to the hospital where they took Célina.
The journey took no more than fifteen minutes. In front of the huge building, Sam stopped abruptly. Even before he parked, I jumped out of the car and sprinted to the entrance. On a chair in the waiting area, I saw Ayla sitting. She got up as soon as she recognized me and came running towards me with tears in her eyes. I immediately wrapped her in my arms and listened to her trembling words. "I wanted to make her a surprise visit. Then she lay there in the bathroom... Oh God. The pill pack was almost empty," she sobbed, her whole body shaken by it. I stared past her into space. She wanted to take her own life. Slowly, I became aware of the bitter seriousness of the situation. Damn. Why wasn't I there? I knew last night that something was wrong. She looked so broken. But I went anyway...
When I saw a doctor in a white coat step out of the hallway, I ended the hug and stared at him questioningly. All I got back was an unmistakable shake of the head. "I'm sorry, there was nothing more we could have done for her..."
The words flew past me as if I had gone deaf. Tears welled up in my eyes. All of a sudden, the ground was pulled out from under my feet. It was over, once and for all. I sank to the floor and screamed. I screamed so loudly, as if I could give voice to the pain inside me. My sobs made me tremble. She's gone. This can't be real. I needed her. Here with me. Not away in the hereafter. In me, it didn't want to turn out to be true. Célina? Dead? The Célina I saved from this fate five months ago?
I could barely hear the voices around us, only Ayla's shocked crying muffled in my ears. It wasn't until Sam pulled me into his arms that I saw something again. Even if it was nothing more than a blurry outlook. "Charles, I'm here," he assured me, his voice just leaving his throat with trepidation. I know he just wanted to help me, but reality was slowly forcing its way into my vision and hitting me harder than I could have ever imagined.

I lost her, as well as my father...

~~

I'm sorry for this:/