DYLAN'S POV
We were all beginning to feel it; the effects of the gas. Pastor Everdeen lay down with his eyes closed, he had accepted his fate. Anisha cried her heart out, her tears socking my shirt. By that time, our bodies were clutched together. With our hands tied to the back, we were not able to hug each other, but we brought our torsos as close to each other as we possibly could. She cried on my shoulder, while we both knelt on the floor. I wanted to hold her, but it was impossible. I wanted to dry off her tears, and tell her that it was going to be ok.
"I still have hope that we will live," I told her, not sure whether or not I really meant it or I was just trying to be strong for her.
"I have lost hope," she coughed. There was silence. I had never felt as helpless as I felt at that moment. When I finally found my voice, I realized that my hope too was thinning off, so I told her, "Anisha, the
pastor has said his last words. I might as well say mine. Although I believe…."
"No, no Dylan please don't say that! you just told me that you are optimistic", she cried.
"I know, but just in case we do not make it, let me tell you what is on my heart. Anisha, meeting you and spending these last days with you in this dark room, has been the best part of my life."
"Has it really?? Has it, Dylan?" she cried, her eyes searching mine. It looked like she was hunting in my eyes, to see if I meant what I said. How I wished to be able to hug her. All I needed at that moment was to hug and comfort her; but it was impossible at that moment.
For a moment I even asked myself how many people before us had died in the very same room; in the very same way. How many gas tanks had been brought into the room, and the gas released, killing innocent people? Where were their bodies buried; and were ours going to be buried in the same spot as well?
"Anisha,", I continued talking to her. "It was on my twelfth birthday when I saw you for the very first time, and I knew there was something about you which made you stand out. There was something about the way you love and care for others, the way you always put others first and forget yourself in the process. You did not have much, yet you gave more. You taught me life, Anisha"
"Is that so, Dylan? Did you really think I was different? Did you really see anything good in me??"
"I saw everything good in you, and I still do. When Olga children's home was closed, I felt like my heart too had been closed. Anisha, if I must tell you, during my teenage years, I lived for the first Thursday of the month. I lived for that day; the day when I knew we would visit the children's home, and I got to see you."
"I lived for the first Thursday of the month too, Dylan, I really did. But I never thought you would ever see me. For me, the first Thursday was just to satisfy my eyes by looking at you. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think that you saw me. I never imagined a day would come when you would tell me that you noticed me. Dylan, you noticed me (cough, cough). For me, it is enough to know that. Even as I die, I would rather die knowing that you noticed me."
"Anisha, it is a pity that we are dying now, in this room. I would have loved to spend my remaining years with you. I would have loved to know you better, and for you to know me better. My whole life I have always lived imagining how it would be to spend the rest of my life with the girl that I met at Olga."
"Oh Dylan, don't make me cry even more." She wept through a faint smile.
"It is the truth, Anisha. It is the truth. You are not only beautiful, you are also kind and loving. You have a heart of gold, and you are intelligent. You are more than what I could have ever imagined any person to be. I was not aware that such selflessness and kindness exists, until I saw it all in you. When I saw you and how you lived your life, without you saying anything to me, you taught me life, Anisha."
(Cough, cough, cough.) "Anisha, from you I learnt that we don't need to have much in order to give. We just need a heart of gold. I watched you every first Thursday of the month, as you freely and happily gave yourself in service to those who needed your help. You are a gem, Anisha, a true gem. I always used to believe that people without money could do nothing to help others in the world. I started to believe otherwise on the day that I met you. I met you, Anisha, I met you and I understood what it means to be human. Being human is more than flashing money for all to see. It is not being famous and being well known across the world. Being human is rather depicted in what you do to those around you. Before the whole world sees an angel in you, the ones around you should also see one. Being human is about caring for those who need us, showing love unconditionally, and doing it all with a smile. When it comes from the heart, you don't even need to be told to do it. You do it with love. You look out for your fellow brethren and you show them love. You taught me all that, Anisha. You taught me life."
"Oh Dylan please, thank you for saying such beautiful words about me." The beautiful angel cried her heart out.
"It is the truth, Anisha. As we are both facing death now, how I wish I could have done more to protect you. I let you down…"
"Don't blame yourself, you did a lot for us, Dylan. You stood up to Eden, you managed to convince that man to take a bribe and let you go, even though our plan failed to come through. And the prescription too. It's a pity that you were not able to do much, Eden had a lot of armed men (cough). You did a lot and for that I appreciate you. (cough)"
"Probably I could have tried harder. We wouldn't be here now. But still, Anisha, being here, dying here beside you, this is the place where I would rather be. Today I die a premature death, but the one positive thing about it is that I die with you by my side. We are dying, Anisha, but it is a great pleasure for me that I managed to see you and know to you better; to hear your laughter and your music whenever you sang for Liam. Indeed, my life's biggest dream has been fulfilled".
We were all startled by the pastor's very loud cough. He coughed hard and started forming from his mouth. The form was immediately followed by large bouts of vomiting. It was blood.
"Face down! Don't let the vomit chock you!!", I encouraged him. He simply stared at me for a few seconds and faced down while the vomiting continued. My heart felt like it was ripping apart.
Anisha started to cough too "I… I feel (cough cough) I feel (cough cough cough) I feel tight in my che….(cough cough) chest!" she cried. "My chest! M…my chest!!" she cried even more.
At that moment, I had not started to feel any serious effects of the gas, but I could tell that pastor Everdeen was failing to take it anymore. I felt useless as I watched them both; knowing fully well that I was the next one in line. The pastor's head was now hanging very low; the vomiting had stopped and he was sitting on top of his legs which were folded backwards beneath his body.
The pastor slowly lifted up his head to face me "m…m…my ch…chest!" he said, and he started breathing heavily, with much difficulty.
"M..my ch..chest!" Anisha cried before she made sounds as if she was being chocked. And she vomited some blood.
"Try and hold on please," I said the words from an aching heart.
I failed to believe that Eden was so good at hiding us that even my father, being as powerful as he was, failed to get us help in time? And my grandfather? With all his powers, working beside the president of Lakeworld; he had failed us? Of course my grandfather and my dad were not in good books, mainly because the latter always condemned the former's corrupt ways of doing things. But then, what about me, grandfather? Had he forgotten me?
The pastor's breathing became louder, and he was wheezing in pain. The foaming started again, and this time it was worse than the first time. Lifting his body up with great difficulty, pastor Everdeen brought himself to the kneeling position. The elderly man slanted forward in immense pain and receded, allowing his head to hang forward. It was a pitiful sight to watch. He remained in the same position for a while.
Anisha was also having serious difficulties in breathing. She was no longer talking or trying to talk, but just heaving in pain, breathing in and out loudly.
A jolt of pain shot through my chest. I felt a knot and heaviness, as if a rock was placed on my chest. The pain came suddenly, forcing me to immediately gasp, and I started breathing using my mouth. The pain was unbearable, and at that time the last string of hope that I was holding on to just snapped off. It was all gone.
I remembered my parents; how they had loved me for all my days and made sure to give me the finest of everything. I remembered Ciera; our sibling rivalries since we were little; and I was sure she was going to miss me. And Arianna; my little sister who I loved so much! I saw her in my imagination, and since she was always fooling around, I failed to imagine how she was going to handle the news of me being no more. And Anisha. All I had wanted was to get to know her; to be her friend, and to see where our friendship was going to lead us. I waited for such a chance since I was twelve; and here I was, watching her die.
Why on earth did we have to die just after we had finally met? From what she told me, she too had been waiting to meet me; and only heaven knew why we had to die so soon after our meeting.
She hung her head on the side, with lots of foam coming out of her mouth. She was no longer coughing but just remained motionless in one position, with her eyes closed. I could not look at her anymore. With tearful eyes, I looked aside and saw pastor Everdeen also looking at me. "T…take care of her. You will live, just hold on. Take care of that girl, my son. I feel like she is a child to me, and I urge you as her father, to love and take good care of her."
I wanted to talk, but when I opened my mouth, a sharp pain ripped through my ribs, running as a jolt of pain which moved from my ribs up to my chest, growing in intensity as it ran.
"I…I will," I managed to stammer in response to the pastor.
"Remember to look f…f..for A… A…Am…Ame…Amelia Reshell"; he dragged the words, forcing them to leave his tongue, and he let his body fall to the floor.
"We will do our best to find her!" I promised him, although my heart told me that I too was dying. At that time, the pain was not yet intense for me. Except for the pain which suddenly shot through my body, everything else seemed still manageable.
I told myself that is we all died, no-one was going to look for Amelia Reshell. But a small part of my mind refused to believe that we were dying. A glint of hope started to come up again, I told myself that we had to live. The three of us had to live. The three of us had to go together to look for Amelia Reshell.
Suddenly vast pain gripped my entire body. I wanted to turn to look at Anisha but I found it very difficult. Besides my head aching as if it was just going to explode into two pieces, I was feeling an unexplainable tightness in my chest. I forced myself to turn, slowly and in great pain, just in time to see her body collapsing to the cold floor. Her hair was a mess, soaking in the mixture of foam and blood, and there was no sign of life in her.
I wanted to use the last strength in me to call out her name, but I suddenly felt my throat blocked; and the foam started to come out of my mouth. It was thick and in addition to choking me, the foam made me feel nauseous. The vomit followed soon after the foam, and my vision started to become blurred. I saw in a hazy image, as if there were two Anishas. Four Anishas. The more Anishas I saw; the more the image became faded, getting replaced by a cloud of darkness. Six Anishas. Eight….ten….twelve Anishas….fourteen…sixteen.....countless Anishas!