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NASEER
MyheartpoundsasI accelerate. I feel the thrill of the wind on my body. I dodge between passing cars, revving higher and higher. Brian, my best friend, is right on my tail, his curses ringing in my earpiece. “Asshole” he shouts at me, but I laugh and push harder. “Watch out!” His voice crackles as a car appeared out of nowhere. I don’t panic, instead, I move swiftly and get a glance at Brian.
“I got this,” I yell to him in triumph, feeling great that I’m about to win his motorcycle. He shouldn’t have dared me, but he can eat my dust. The sudden impact of the car jolts my body.
“Fuck!" I scream out loud at the top of my lungs.
I’m violently thrown off my bike, sailing through the air. As I hear Brian shout my name, my body slams against a car, which screeches to a loud stop. The force of the hard brake tosses my body into the air again like a ping-pong ball and I land on another vehicle’s trunk. My body is out of control. I roll off the trunk, but my jacket is hooked onto a piece of metal, and I’m dragged across the asphalt. My blood is already pouring out before I register the pain of the metal piercing my skin.
The car finally comes to a screeching halt, that releases the hook and the car coming up from behind comes to a hard stop, trapping me under the hood.
“Naseer! Naseer! Naseer!” I hear Brian’s scream as I black out.
I awake to hear voices. Someone keeps opening my eyes lids each time I close it. I can’t talk. “We need to move him; we are losing him,” a female voice says. I blacked out again.
“Hang in there, Naseer!” I hear Brian again. I am not sure how much time has passed. There are lots of sounds, my nose is covered. I feel a needle in my body. I want to move but I can’t, I want to talk but I can’t. What is going on? I fade off.
I awake again and see my parents and Rilwan, my bodyguard. My mom is crying as my dad tries to comfort her. Rilwan face is set with an expression of stoic determination that I can’t comprehend. The smell of disinfectant invading my nostrils, I dislike hospitals. I need to get out of here, I silently willed myself to get out of bed only to realize, I can’t move. Flashes of my body flying in the air and body being dragged surges through me. The accident has rendered me immobile.
“He’s going to be alright, miraculously he didn’t sustain any organ damage or brain bleeding. He has multiple broken ribs, a broken shoulder, hands, and legs. The plaster cast will help with the broken shoulder, hands, and legs and we will know more in the next few days about the movement of his legs and hand. Right now, we need to monitor him to make sure the broken ribs heal, and his lungs don’t collapse.”
My mom bursts into tears as I lose consciousness again. I’m numb. I can’t talk and can’t move.Why didn’t I die?
JADE
Thewheelsoftheplane screech loudly against the tarmac as it touches the ground, rumbling my whole being. I should be happy for the safe landing, so l sigh. But I’m numb. The last two months have been the worst in my sixteen years of life. It all still feels unreal. I pinch myself, hoping I will wake up from this horrible dream, but nothing happens. I’m still on the plane.
Everyone is cheering, but I’m staring out the window, not looking at anything. One dire moment was all it took to destroy my future. Eight weeks ago, I was a regular student at Atlantia International Prep boarding school with my best friend, Tito. I can’t remember what we were laughing about before my name was announced. “Jadesola Bankole, Principal Buwa wants you in her office right now,”
Tito and I had looked at each other strangely. We tried to think of what either one of us could have done to have warranted the call to Principal Buwa’s office. We tried but came up empty. We couldn’t have imagined the life-altering event because as a teenager we had no cares in the world other than having fun and passing all the exams given to us by teachers. Our parents are meant to always be there to provide everything we need, we didn’t need to know how they did it, we just had to stay young, foolish, and happy.
Now happiness seems far-fetched to me.
“Ladies and gentlemen. We have arrived in the Kingdom of Rhanaz. Thank you for flying with Qatar Airways,” the air hostess keeps talking as I tune her out.
In the Kingdom of Rhanaz, the plan was for us all to visit next summer, but I’m here alone without my parents.
The gentleman next to me is out of his seat and grabbing his laptop and other belongings and I turn back to the window again. Staring at nothing.I’ll probably be the last to get off.
Just like I was the last to arrive at Principal Buwa’s office that afternoon. Tito couldn’t go with me, and I couldn’t escape the call, so I took the slip and off to the administrative building. It was a long, solitary walk as I tried to think again about what could warrant my call to the principal’s office.
My steps slowed as I enter Principal Buwa’s office, and my muscles tightened. But I saw my aunt. A smile spread wide across my face as I rushed toward her.
“Aunty Lara!” I hugged her tight. Usually, I saw her every two years for a few weeks when we visited the US. Mom said next year we would visit her in the Kingdom of Rhanaz because she was now working as a teacher at the international school.A pleasant surprise. I’d thought.
Aunty Lara was crying when I pulled out of the hug. “What’s wrong Aunty?” I asked, still surprised she was here. That was strange “Where’s mom?” I asked.
Without answering, she pulled me to the seat. “Jade---I’m...I-I’m Sorry. Your parents” Aunty Wiped her eyes and drew in a large breath. “Your parents died. Died... In a fire,” she said through sobs.
With those ten words, my world came crumbling down. I stared at Aunty Lara. She was probably wrong. Maybe she was playing a prank on me. Subconsciously, I knew she wouldn’t prank me, not with the loss of my parents. That was too heavy, but I refused to accept her words. “I spoke to mom three days ago.” My voice choked out.
“I’m sorry, Jade, they are both gone.” I watched her move but didn’t understand a word she said to me. The tears she was fighting back weren’t helping. I stared, lost for words.
“Both gone where?” My brain was working in slow-motion mode. I rose from the seat. I looked to Principal Buwa for answers, but she had this pitiful look on her face. The forceful and daring woman couldn’t look me in the eye. When she did, all I saw was sympathy.
“They died a few hours after your phone call. They are in heaven, dear. I’m so sorry, Jade.” Then it sunk in that my parents were dead.
“Both of them?” I asked, trembling in shock. I felt my body heavier than my legs can hold. My mind swirled. I let go. I whiffed Aunty Lara’s smell before fading away.
