New York, 1995.
Thana Desmona was carrying a grocery bag on her left shoulder, headphones on as she walked down the street, hurrying through the rain. The cars' headlights were augmented in the rain as they passed her down the road, like tiny stars in the street.
As she turned into her street, she reached into her pocket, silencing her phone, which had been vibrating vigorously for the past few minutes. Raindrops stained the once-pristine screen, as a text message appeared on the screen.
James, 19:56:
Urgent, Call me Back ASAP.
Sighing, Thana slipped her phone back into her pocket, as she entered the apartment block. The ancient elevator had been broken for months, so she climbed the flights of stairs hastily, wishing to shower and warm herself after the unexpected bout of rain that had left the streets sparkling in the moonlight.
Eventually, Thana got to her apartment, unlocking the door swiftly and dumping the groceries onto the kitchen counter. Pulling her phone out her pocket, she dialled James' number. He picked up immediately.
"Thana?" He spoke. He sounded out of breath. Worried.
"James? What's wrong?"
"Haven't you heard?" James said, voice thick as though he had been crying.
"Heard what?"
"Thana, something terrible has happened. Jessica, she was...she was killed. A hit-and-run, the police think. The doctors couldn't save her."
Jessica's laugh could be heard from the other side of the house, it was so loud; so pure that you could almost hear the smile that was almost always present. Thana laughed too, "Shh, mum and dad will hear us, we're supposed to be asleep."
Jessica tried to stifle her laugh, but it was unsuccessful. The door flew open.
"Girls, you're supposed to be asleep! Your bedtime was hours ago!"
"Sorry Mama," Thana said.
"Goodnight, girls," Their mother smiled, blew a kiss to the two of them, then closed the door gently. There was a brief moment of silence, before the two of them burst out laughing. Thana looked over at her sister, smiling.
The phone slipped from Thana's hand as she fell to the floor. Jessica: her only sister, the person who got her through the hardest period of her life when her best friend had killed himself, was gone. And Thana hadn't been there for her as Jessica had been for her. Thana would never get to tell her sister she loved her ever again, never wake up to a home-cooked breakfast, never see her face again. She wished she had kept every grocery store receipt, every photo, every scrap of a memory, for she didn't know that one day Jessica would be taken from her. And no-one could save her. No-one. Thana frowned. She knew what she has to do.
YOU ARE READING
One Last Call
Mystery / Thriller"I was eleven when the call woke me up in the middle of the night. A warning. The same night I found my parents dead." Holly Homewood is eleven years old when she receives a phonecall from the Prognosticate Society, the same night she finds her pare...
