𝐹𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑠ℎ𝑖𝑝 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒

Chapter 8: Goodbye

"Back then, there were already rumors saying Hana would always run away from their house after getting into an argument with her parents but she would eventually come back and act as if nothing happened. Thanks to her good grades and reputation in school no one really believed that and forgot about the rumor after some time. However, right now, everyone is believing that that rumor has always been true. I was passing by the teachers office this morning, I heard them saying Hana left a note to her parents. She was bidding them goodbye. That's why her parents have been searching for her since last night."

                My classmate carried on elucidating the situation to me while my mind was in a total state of chaos. I'm feeling agitated. I don't know what to think, I don't know what to do. This is a dream. This isn't real. I don't want to believe any of this. I was so lost in my thoughts that I hadn't realized my tears falling down my cheeks uncontrollably. I suddenly stood up and ran out of the room. I didn't want to let anyone catch sight of my crying face. I ran to the school rooftop; I fell on my knees and started weeping. I don't even know if something terrible happened to Hana for me to cry like this. Why am I crying like this? Perhaps, something dreadful did happen to her. No, it can't be -- I'm sure she'll come back later, I hope she will. I heard footsteps coming from the stairs. I stood up and looked for somewhere to hide, but then this person shouted my name. It was Nikko, he sounded really worried; I forgot about hiding and just went near the stairs to meet him but he already got here and immediately ran to me. He stopped for a moment, he held his waist using both of his hands while gasping for air. He seemed extremely disquieted; he then went to me and gently caressed my shoulders, reassuring me that everything will be alright. I wiped my tears and thanked Nikko.

"Let's go find Hana." I insisted.

"All right, do you have any clues where she could have gone?"

"I don't..." After saying that, I had a vision of something. It was the porch Hana and I went to. Without thinking of anything, I immediately told Nikko to follow me. He nodded and we ran as fast as we could; some teachers were even asking us where we were going but we didn't pay them much attention. There was no time, Hana might be idling on that porch according to the vision that I saw, it might be a sign. We kept running and running until we finally reached the porch. However, to my surprise, there were a lot of people gathered there. I'm getting this feeling that these people are in utter disbelief. They're all whispering, muttering something; I couldn't figure out what they were talking about. I was taken aback from the anxiety I suddenly felt. This isn't important right now. I need to look for Hana. I turned to Nikko, I was going to say that we should look for a different route but just when I was about to say anything, he abruptly grabbed my hand and went into the crowd whilst holding my hand tightly yet gently. We finally reached the spot where the sea could be seen clearly. In spite of that, I was unable to see anything because Nikko suddenly covered my eyes with his hand and whispered something.

"Mei... I don't think it'll be convenient for you to see this..."

"What? What do you mean?" I took his hand away, uncovering my eyes. I was dumbfounded by the sight I was seeing. There were people at the sea, they looked like they were trying to retrieve something. Near the shore were people carrying medical equipment and two people who seemed familiar. Everyone including Nikko and I were just standing there watching the people who're trying to retrieve something slowly get back to land. The people who were carrying the medical equipment along with the two familiar people went to help them. To my shock, they were trying to retrieve a human body. They tried to revive this body but there was no use, It seems they're too late. I felt bad for them; still, there was this feeling in my heart that felt depressed somehow.. why though...

                I was just staring at that scene, and one of the two familiar people started weeping. Also, this time I could hear the people at the back gossiping about something.