Chapter 97: The End
Chapter 97: The End
Lily finally started to accept her sister Milan when she stayed away from home after she joined college. Hostel life was hard but fun at the same time with all the friends, an introvert group, having fun in their own way. Hence her parents did not have that kind of worry others did about the girl ending up in bad situations, using substances or dating anybody.
It was New Year holidays and Lily as always wanted to spend it with her family though none of her friends returned home planning trips. Lily came back home straight and bought her family gifts she could afford with the savings she had she kept aside from her spending money her father sent her.
"Happy New Year," everybody wished each other as they settled down at the table for dinner. Aenon did the barbecue for his ladies and served them. Lily was all smiles and enjoyed them well. Milan served everyone with the cranberry drink she made and Rivera served baked potatoes, salads and alfredo pasta she prepared especially for both her daughters.
"Thank you mother," Milan and Lily said at the same voice.
"Have have, before everything cools down," Rivera said to everyone and spent a wonderful time with her family. After dinner, Milan put on a moive to watch with the family and brought popcorn she made for all. She sat next to Lily and enjoyed the movie.
The saying, "Life is what happens to you when you are busy planning them," have to say is one exceptionally meaningful thing anybody has ever said in the world. Never can we predict what would happen the very next minute forget a month or what happens a year later.
The sun's ray's woke Lily up that morning earlier than usual. She walked down the stairs and couldn't find anyone. She was feeling tired a little. Her parents weren't home neither could she find her sister. She decided to brush her teeth and have breakfast. She found no leftovers in the kitchen from the previous night's dinner. She got the usual cereals and granola bars. But she didn't want to eat cereals. When she checked the refrigerator she couldn't find any bread either to toast. She got irritated and walked back to her room. She saw Allen, her neighbour stepping of his house on his bike. She was sure that he must be going to the hypermarket to run an errand. She quickly changed in to her jean and a hoodie and ran out to get some bread.
The hypermarket was crowded. They were having the morning rush hour. She only had little time left before leaving to college since she had to attend few international seminars being held at her college organized by her commerce department.
Suddenly she heard some noises behind a few rows, she walked towards the isle to see what it was and saw a masked man getting hold of things and pointing at a child, capturing him at gun shot. She was shocked and panicked the moment she witnessed the scene. "WHAT THE HELL" She said out loud. She took the chance to go to the hypermarket so that she could enjoy watching her crush secretly and not end up facing a terror attack first thing in the morning. It turned to out to be such a terrible day.
She had no idea what was happening to her. All she could recall was that moment she was trying to save a child from the gun shot. She pushed everyone and rushed towards the child. "Stop it, someone call the cops damn it," she shouted. Then she reached for the boy and pushed him away. She was glad she saved him and pushed the thief away. She was panting hard after she did it, kneeling down on the floor.
The next moment she felt blood oozing out from her chest. "What?" She looked down at her abdomen. The pain slowly began to hit her. It ached. It started aching badly. She grew numb and fell on her side on the floor with a thud, and hut her head. She wanted to be brave in front of Allen, her crush, her neighbour since childhood. But unfortunately, fate gave her a chance to die in his arms. It felt funny at that moment. She tried to smile amidst of her pain as she saw him standing before her, holding two packets of bread. The two bullets pierced her heart, and her stomach. Then she heard him scream her name and rush over to her. She saw him crying and calling for the ambulance and the police once the culprit was pinned down by the people on the street.
"No, no no no, Lily, oh my god, Lily, please stay awake, it's alright, hang in there, am here, am right here, keep breathing, don't close your eyes," he kept saying as he cried. Lily heard the ambulance and through police arriving at the store. She touched his face with her bloody hands and tried smiling again.
"I..." she wanted to say something but couldn't move her tongue. She could no longer feel her legs, arm not anything beneath her head but just the pain all over the body. She started struggling to breath. The stretcher arrived at the right time and carried her into the ICU ambulance giving her oxygen to breath and took her to the hospital.
Who would have expected to die on a sunny day in front of a hypermarket while buying groceries. She was glad she saved the child. She was glad she had him close to her. But the pain was unbearable that she had ever imagined.
The pain of the death was approaching her. That coldness creeping through her bones and she was scared. A 22 year old girl, facing death in a heroic way, the headlines said. But do anybody know the pain to leave the world with unfulfilled dreams and goals.
The final tears along with her final breath, alone in the operating room surrounded by the doctors, nothing felt more painful ever. Born alone and dying alone. The sight blurred and blanked out and the while light crept inside her eyes. She felt her body going numb and the pain in her chest lowering. She felt nothing in the end. Tears kept flowing down her side to the side of her ears. Then the machine gave a long beep with zero heart rate graph on its dispaly. The end. That was an end to the earthly life. An unbelievable end to the life she so much wanted to live.
Allen informed everyone in their neighbourhood and everybody prayed for Lily's return. But it was not helpful.
Rivera and Milan was shocked to know about the news. Aenon was motionless when he saw the lights going out in the operation theater in the middle of the surgeries. He knew her life had ended. Rivera cried her heart out.
"Aenon bring her back, bring her back please," she kept telling her husband, afraid that they will never get to see Aqua in their life again.
"Mom mom, please," Milan did not know how to console her family and started breaking down. She felt like a loser thinking about her friends Aizen and Fariya who were the people who gave this life. Aenon saw the crystals lifting up form his mortal daughter's body and disappeared. "Give me my daughter back, please find a way," Rivera kept saying crying harder than ever. But Aenon was in deep thoughts.
The body was brought out of the operation theatre by the doctors and handed over to the cops. Aenon begged the authorities to not perform autopsy since it is evident that it is murder with CCTV proofs and so many witnesses. The police promised to buy the highest penalty for the criminal. Aenon took a look at the child and stood shocked at ward. The 3 year old child. The reincarnation of his unborn grandchild who died along with Aqua and Huo during the battle. Aenon had tears in her eyes. He informed Milan and Rivera about and why the crystals in Lily's body would have would have made her save the child. The unconscious maternal instinct. Rivera spent sometime with the child and left the ward. They decided to bury Lily next to her parents. They held the funeral at home and did the burial alone on their own without taking anybody with them. Aiden had come to join then getting the heartbreaking news from Aenon. Aiden helped them unseal their powers to take them back to Water Realm since there no meaning anymore to stay more on earth.
And they returned back almost immediately taking care of their identities as well as the criminal. Aiden took his limbs away and put him right in front of a police station for him to get arrested and spend the rest of the life in prison.
Aenon took the throne back soon after the reached home but Rivera stayed inside room and refused to spend time with anyone except with who was Milan taking care of her mother. And suddenly Aenon felt something inside his body. When he controlled the weather and drove the clouds away, he noticed something shining bright at the sky that has been dead for long. The constellation of Aquarius. Aenon's heart grew excited and he let his wife and daughter know about. "She is returning, Aqua is coming back," he told them.