Drowning in Guilt

Part Two (Five Years Later)

Miri looked both ways and proceeded to cross the street when the coast was clear. When she reached the middle of the street, someone yelled, "Miri, look out!" Miri spun around and saw her best friend Jaymi make a running tackle at her, knocking her three feet backwards just as a large black van sped by out of nowhere. "What were you thinking?! Didn't you look before you crossed?"

"I swear I did!"

"Well then where did that car come from?" Jaymi accused.

"Maybe it was parked? I know it wasn't on the street when I looked."

"You must be a slow walker," Jaymi teased. She knew Miri was in cross country, but she liked to make fun of her because Miri always laughed at her running.

"Oh well. Thanks for pushing me onto hard gravel," Miri rolled her eyes.

"Hey, it was either a tackle or a car. Which one did you want?" They laughed and raced home. "Last one there is roadkill, like an ungrateful Miri!" Jaymi took off running.

"Hey! That's not fair!" Miri took a shortcut and sprinted down a narrow alley. She paused to think of the fastest route to take. While she made her way to the house, she thought about the almost-hit-and-run.

"Welcome home," Mrs. Tayt smiled. She took in her daughter's best friend five years ago, and even before the incident, Miri was like her second daughter. "So how was your day?"

"You should tell her about how you think someone's out to get you." Jaymi nudged jokingly.

"I'm serious! I swear that car was waiting to ram me and all of those mishaps weren't accidents! You wouldn't be laughing if it was you."

"When did you notice that something wasn't right?" Mrs. Tayt considered Miri seriously.

"Now that I think back, I've had unusually bad luck since..." Miri's eyes widened in realization. "Since I started researching a cure for systemic inflammations. Even though everyone knows it's a real disease, the online databases didn't have anything about systemic inflammations—almost as if someone's hiding something." Miri's tone turned ominous.

"You should stop looking for more information on it for now and see if bad things stop happening." Mrs. Tayt suggested.

"But I couldn't live with myself. It's already been five years and I still hear that scream every day. I promised myself I would help others." Miri looked down at her plate.

"Your health always comes first. I know it's hard, but try to stay out of trouble, okay?"

"Mhmm." Miri nodded her head slightly. I have to keep looking. For mom.