Why Can't I Be Yours?

Chapter 1// Tragic Information

"Maureen!" Claudia, my short blonde colleague said and I rushed to her.

"What's the matter?" I asked in confusion as her face bore sadness and it lingered on it.

"Maureen! Please help me!" She called out and I became worried.

"What?" I exclaimed.

"It's my friend," she said and paused thereby keeping me in suspense before she spoke again.

"It's Hannah, my childhood friend. Her mother called and informed me that Hannah hasn't called since she left for Tokyo. Marise confirmed that she didn't get any phone calls from Hannah when she arrived at the airport which became a norm since Hannah had been traveling. She wasn't even honoured with a message. She also said that her flight took off by 9:30 a.m."

"Calm down!" I admonished.

"How can I? I'm worried about her. I'm more scared because it's been a long time since she left. She didn't even send a message or a pic. What if it's serious?"

"You don't need to be bothered. She could have forgotten, don't let this weigh you down, c'mon. It could be that her phone was stolen before she arrived at the airport or has been misplaced. Worse, her sim card could have been destroyed by the thieves. You don't need to take this to heart. Please don't." I begged and wiped the tears off her face but she didn't yield my words and she kept crying.

"What if she was abducted? Marise said she was having a weird feeling and believe me a mother's instincts shouldn't be disregarded.

"It hasn't gotten to that. Relax a little." I continued.

"Look at me, Claudia. You need to calm down; everything will be alright."

Done with drying her tears, I turned her to face me.

"The only thing you can do is have faith that all will be well. You shouldn't welcome negative thoughts because they won't help– not even a little bit. Please think positively and I promise you will be surprised." I said as I glared at her.

"You're right. I shouldn't be like this over a phone call besides she travels often to Japan for business and like you said her phone could be stolen. I hope that's the case." She said, sniffing and wiping her face.

"That's more like it," I said as I watched her wake up.

"Thanks."

"Oh c'mon, don't thank me. I'm glad that you feel better. I'd head back to the kitchen okay." I said.

"Okay," she said and I left.

*****

A FEW HOURS EARLIER

It was 11:30 a.m. when Airstay A245 MAX - one of Westland Airlines' passenger aeroplanes basked in the warmth of the clouds. Then suddenly, it developed a fault.

The plane was to travel to Tokyo Narita (NRT), Japan 5,487 miles from Los Angeles (LAX), The United States but just around The North Pacific Ocean - a few kilometres from its destination, the pilots lost control over it. The plane started losing balance and the air controllers lost contact with the pilots.

"Fasten your seat belt and use your masks immediately." The air hostesses instructed as they walked along the aisle.

"What's the essence when we will all die? There's no use of it if we won't survive." one of the middle-aged passengers said in a sad tone.

"Please be calm and follow our instructions." a blonde hair hostess replied as she understood the old lady's feelings.

"What do you mean by I should be calm." the lady yelled and the hostess became angry.