"Can't bre--ath... Thank you, Vincent, for always being by my side, I--I'm Sor--ry" A teardrop float as she let her last breath out, she was experiencing the 7-minute theory of death where, she heard his voice echoed "Elena" she found him in her memory, his silky white hair, with those rarest red eyes...

FLASHBACK..

Have you ever dreamed of traveling to space and find out what's happening outside those drizzling universe? Well she dreamed...Elena which meant shining light always dreamed of finding a light outside the home(earth) "The small ray of light there my last hope, maybe it's the space shift, hey I am here. Please look here." The small light became brighter as it came closer. "Elena, wake up get ready for school" Mrs. Emma Vildeze(Elena's mother) Drew the curtain open where, the direct ray of sun hit her face forcing her to open her eyes. "Ah...dream again" she yawned.

Elena ignoring her mother layed back, and thought 5 minutes more, when the sound of a slamming door warned her that mother was not going to repeat. Her eyelids still heavy, reluctantly she peeled away the blanket, and slowly its warmth fade away. She rubbed her eyes to chase away the remnants of sleep. She put on her soft sleepers and gently walked towards the bathroom door. "I don't want to go to...wait-- I want to go to school"

Change in mood, she brushed her teeth softly, added a small amount of face wash on her palm and gently rubbed it towards her face in every corner, she rinsed it with cold water feeling the chill of water and shivered "Winter..." cladding her teeth. After washing her face she put on face pack and started wearing her school dress. She sat infront of mirror and let her self calm and removed the face pack which left glory on her face and started with her hair, her silky brownish hair was perfect for ponytail, she tied her hair neatly and put on a little makeup "A little makeup wont hurt."

"It's already 6:40 a.m" the school's reporting time was at 8:00 a.m but Elena just for one reason rushed to school early. She grabbed her bag pack and ran down the stairs took a big bite of sandwich "see ya all later, bye" she informed, "Elen--a" before Mrs. Vildeze could say anything she left. "Elena, is leaving the school early nowadays" Mr. Vildeze said slurping tear with his eyes still glued on newspaper. "Ah...I don't know what's going on she wants me to wake her early, she leaves early and never explains on why" Mr. Vildeze frowned.

Elena ran fast towards the bus stop to fetch the bus for 7:00 a.m. She saw the bus moving on, she still ran towards the bus when she finally decided to give up and breath heavily when suddenly the bus started slowing down.

Before she could further rest, the bus stopped, inviting her to step inside. In relieve, within a minute she caught the bus and swap her card, got herself a comfortable sit near window and started collecting her breath, that's when the sky darkened, and soon, the rain began to fall, soft at first, then gazillions of rain drops falling with pitter pater sound where the rain drops painted the earth in shimmering droplets. She enjoyed the view, the rain left droplets on the glass reflecting the blur image of her smile.

Only a handful of people remained, scattered here and there as it was still early. "Ring, ring" Elena's phone buzzed, its screen lighting up with a single notification, interrupting the stillness of the moment. "Is she already there? " she asked herself, unlocking and checking the notification. Nina Forger her bestfriend had texted her. Nina Forger was a cheerful soul, widely admired for her vibrant personality and natural leadership qualities that inspired those around her.

There was a day stood out when Nina had an unexpected emergency and had to move early that's when Elena was in charge of cleaning with Amanda and some other girls. Everyone excused themselves and pushed the responsibility to Elena leaving the room completely silent where Elena stood there all alone with mopping brush resting in her hand. Elena let out a long sigh and started cleaning without complaining and that was when Amanda Britin, the bully, showed up and the bucket tipped in contact with her foot, water spilled onto the freshly mopped floor leaving Elena completely pale.

"Oh! My mistake, mrs.innocent" She allowed a small grin to escape, a fleeting curve of her lips that hinted at her unspoken thoughts "Or maybe thats, what you deserve" she confirmed with her words, leaving no room for doubt on her purpose.

Amanda was about to bully her further when Nina showed up, her sudden arrival halted her in her tracks. "what in the world is happening here? where are the other cleaners? And why are you spilling water over the floor Amanda?" Nina being the class president had the full right to ask. Amanda was frozed and could not reply, her face draining of color until it was ashen, a pale mask of shock and disbelief."I think you are also incharge of cleaning, arent you? " Nina asked Amanda "Ye--s" a wave of fear washed over her as she replied with trembled voice.

"Amanda Britin, will you mind if I take Elena with me? I guess she already did fur more than she was supposed to, actually beyond what she was expected to, please you do the rest. I am shifting the responsibility to you with trust, now excuse us" With that Nina reached for Elena's wrist and took Elena with her before Amanda could release a single word. Nina was powerful, and her presence commanded respect, even one word could strike thunder, she was cool and always supportive towards the kind. Since then Elena and Nina had been best friends forever...

Elena checked the notification...

1 notification

Nina: I won't be able to make it to school today 😭

Elena: What's the reason behind?🤔

Nina: I am under the weather...but nothing serious just simple fever...😷🤒

Elena: ah!!!ASAP to the hospital 🏥 or should I call Alan over there...

Nina: Maybe second option will heal me better...🫠

Elena: ...🫣

Nina: JK

Elena: Anyway take care and keep me updated, don't forget to visit the hospital once 🤗

Nina: okie dokie.😘

To break the ice. Nina Forger had a huge crush on the basketball leader, Alan Stuart, a young man with black hair and dark eyes. There was a tournament on coming month, so Alan and his team had been seeing each other early, putting tireless efforts, dedicating themselves fully to winning and learning.

Nina had been begging Elena to accompany her.

Elena had been accompanying Nina with a quiet presence, standing by her side as her gaze met his. It seemed that he also liked her. They pretended to run freely, giving the title for fitness in PT, while the real reason was to steal glimpse of Adam from corner of her eyes.

But, today Nina wasn't here, so there was no particular reason for Elena to jog around, it was still early and there was ample of time before classes started, so Elena decided to stop by the park. The rain had already stopped by then. She stepped inside the park where the rain had left an earthy aroma.

She settled down on a bench under the tree but not for a very long time, as the tree's leaves trembled, sending droplets of rain that gently kissed her hand and shoulder. She stood up patiently and decided to take a walk, that's when she heard a puppy cry. She followed the voice and witnessed a puppy struggling to escape from the thread tied tightly around its paw, each movement more desperate than the last.

Elena freed the puppy from trap, she gently took the puppy in her arms, bought two hot dogs and one bandage. The puppy was injured, so she bandaged the puppy and fed the dog two hot dogs. She knelt down and chatted with the puppy, the puppy was as white as snow with cute green eyes "What should I call you? Ah…you are as white as snow but I can't call you snow white…" she giggled chatting.

"Snowball...do you like it?" she patted it. "Are you fine now? Snowball you need to take care of yourself, somewhere, somebody might be happy for your presence, someone might be waiting for you..." She comforted the puppy. It was 7:40 by then, so she decided to head to school. "I'll come to meet you later take care" she kissed the puppy goodbye. She rushed towards school.

Elena reached the school and settled herself for classes. It was sunny outside, the sun ray kissed her face slowing warming up. It was a long day without Nina around. She decided to visit Nina anyway.