Chapter 1: The End
A/N - Hi! It's my very first time writing fanfiction, so please bear with me,, I am trying my very best to write my ideas that only came to me very recently. I have a whole lot of chapters planned for this and I'm very excited, however, I still need a bit more time before I start to upload continuously, (probably next week). I re-uploaded the first chapter because mainly, it was rushed, (I published it immediately after I made an account on fanfiction . net) and although I proofread about 5 or 6 times before uploading, I still found so many errors after publication. I'm sorry for the inconvenience, and I hope you enjoy the story. – Diwata
"Speaking"
"Thoughts"
Disclaimer: I do not own one piece, Eichiro Oda does.
A young girl walked past the streets just a few minutes after dark, exhausted from school and wanted nothing more than to go home and sleep.
The night breeze was cooling to the girl's skin and relaxed her forming headache, managing to stop it somehow.
Her house was a few blocks away, but it was no hassle as this was a normal routine for her.
Swinging her arms as she goes, gripping her backpack slightly, she walked the rest of the way home.
The girl wasn't exactly what you call attractive, ugly? Probably not to an extent.
Overall, she did not have the type of face that people would stop to look at.
The girl had black hair, brown eyes, a tan complexion and clad in her school uniform.
Her biggest insecurity yet, was her round body, her clothes from time to time seem to be smaller, but in reality, it was actually her that's getting bigger.
For as long as she could remember, she was always fat, overweight, and over all unsatisfied with her body.
She tried it all, diets, exercise, and even slimming medications, but nothing seem to work, this in turn made her very sensitive of her weight and introverted.
She was fairly smart though, as she was in the top of her class. She was also very studious and serious about her education.
She has a variety of talents, the girl was a good singer, a decent ukulele player and quite the artist too.
As caring and helpful that girl was, she was lonely, despite her positive qualities.
It was hard for her to make friends, and even if she did, they were always prone to leave her.
Thoughts ran through her mind at times like this, and she wondered,
"Am I not good enough?"
"Am I just a bother? A disappointment?"
"Am I that unlikeable?"
"Too clingy?"
"Too demanding?"
"Or is it because I seek a little attention?"
The negative thoughts went on and on.
It was like nobody wanted her.
People passed by and never acknowledged her presence.
She was all alone, in a world full of people that didn't need her.
She stopped abruptly, the girl shakes her head.
She dismisses such a thought, she didn't need to pull herself down any further than she already was.
She walked, face down, rejecting any kind of human interaction even as little as eye contact.
She instead thought of her day. She had a research study to finish, typical.
It was hard to do, because her so called "group mates" refused to cooperate.
With that scenario in mind, it usually ended up being an "individual project" rather than a "group project".
She hated it, the fact that she was unable to speak about her dilemma to the teacher.
The reason was simple, really, she didn't want to cause an issue, nor become on bad terms with anyone, so she just sucked it up, and dealt with it.
Every day began to feel repetitive, it was the same old process of waking up, going to school, doing school work, making projects, getting at least five hours of sleep aaaaand repeat.
It was a never ending cycle, and to be honest, she was getting real tired, but who was she to complain?
The days were becoming harder and harder for her to pass by, not to mention the stress that has been building up for the last couple of weeks.
She was in her senior year studying the STEM strand, and graduating in a few months' time.
She would be entering college soon, and with an imaginary affirmative nod, reassured herself, whatever stress she's feeling right now, is nothing compared to what lies ahead.
Her entrance exams were hopeful, but the results won't be released until the following year, so all she could do was pray and hope for the best, to at least get into a decent school, or if lucky enough, a university.
"Ahhhhhh, I wanna go home already". The girl mumbled to herself, she grew impatient as the time went by.
As if she wasn't going home already.
Transportation became difficult during the later hours, as jeepneys in her area (her main source of transportation) tend to stop carrying passengers after 6 p.m., which lead her to opt for a tricycle instead, but it was far more expensive, mind you, it was twice the fare of the latter.
This time though, she was lucky enough to catch the last one and arrived a 10 minute walk away from her house.
She looked at the night sky, it started to get really dark, light was limited and the girl had poor eyesight so it became harder for her to see which was problematic.
She quickened her pace, her footsteps tapped alongside her movement. She felt her skin crawl, and for some unknown reason, anxiety welled up inside her.
"Huh, why am I so nervous…?" She asked herself, she looked around and stared at nothing in particular.
Her worry built up at an alarming rate, she scurried off, almost running.
Then without warning, her breathing hitched, her heartbeat quickened and suddenly everything started to look like it was spinning.
The headache was back and it came back at full force.
"Urgh..….!" The girl stumbled forward, she clutched her head in pain, and silently cried for help. There was a loud ringing in her ears, and the feeling of nausea blocked her senses.
She walked mindlessly, completely unaware that she was half way across the street before she halted suddenly, her body noticeably trembled.
This made the people around her look her way, some furrowed their eyebrows.
"What was she doing in the middle of the street? Maybe she was crazy, or just seeking petty attention". They thought, before they continued to mind their own business.
She painfully tried to brush it off, as if nothing happened. She felt like she was about to faint right then and there, had she not caught herself quickly.
Then speedy a figure approached.
"Move girl!"
"You're gonna get hit!"
"MOVE IT! HURRY!"
The loud shrieks of the people around her was heard across the street.
Loud honks of a vehicle that ran at full speed, fell deaf on her ears.
Everything that happened next was a blur.
BOOM!
The body of the unsuspecting girl was thrown several feet away from the street.
The sudden force caused the poor girl to hit her head that resulted several life-threatening injuries.
There was a nasty open wound that bled dark crimson blood down the side of her head.
Her skull cracked upon impact on the cold, hard cement she landed on.
Black and blue bruises formed in patches all over her body, it truly was a gruesome sight.
The glasses that once sat on her round face was shattered, some shards of the lenses stuck dangerously close to her eyes.
"E-everything hurts!" she thought, somehow not passed out, just barely alive and conscious.
She felt her bones cracked, some dislocated. All the pain receptors in her body decided to make themselves known in unison.
"A-am I going to die?" The girl panicked, going in and out of consciousness. She attempted to speak, but no voice came out.
"I-I can't die yet!" She screamed in her head.
She was disoriented, she thought of her future, all the things she didn't do, all her regrets, her unachieved dreams, and most importantly, her family.
She and her mom live alone together in a large house, her father was away overseas and worked far away to provide for his family. He only went home once a year, and those were the times when she was truly happy.
The girl was still very young, not even at the ripe age of eighteen.
Gone was the chance of independence and the once in a lifetime debut party her parents were planning for her the next year.
Meanwhile, the vehicle driver responsible for the accident quickly drove away from the scene.
It was another case of a hit and run.
A crowd formed around the scene of the crime, their loud shouts and murmurs were doing nothing to ease the pain the girl felt.
"Hey! Follow that car!" screamed one of the concerned bystanders.
The townspeople chased the vehicle up until the next corner. They were unable to catch the culprit, however, they did manage to catch the plate number of the reckless driver.
"Help! Somebody! Call the ambulance!" Some people shouted at the others who made a spectacle of the accident. The more helpful of the bunch pulled out their phones and called the ambulance.
They did not move nor assist the girl just yet as they were well aware that there was a chance to cause more harm than good if they decided to move her immediately.
Help finally arrived after what felt like eternity. The medics ran past the large crowd, and carefully placed the injured girl on the stretcher.
During those moments, the girl was not entirely aware of her surroundings, but she felt her bruised and battered body carried into the ambulance.
The medical personnel said incoherent words that her brain couldn't process.
They immediately started to find any kind of identification card on her.
Thankfully, they found one, in the pocket of her bloodied skirt.
They made a call on the number written on the card and contacted the said guardian of the girl.
"Hello? Who is this?" A woman answered from the other side of the line.
"It's the medical crew of St. Luke Hospital, there was a car accident, involving a girl wearing a St. John's Private Academy uniform named Bethany Mabuti, I assume you're her guardian?" the personnel asked calmly.
"Oh my Lord! Yes! I'm her mother, what happened?!" the voice was laced with worry.
"It was a case of a hit and run, according to the eye witnesses, we will be heading towards the nearest hospital, St. Luke's Hospital."
"I'll be there right away! Please, take care of my daughter." the mother replied, as loud shuffling was heard over the line.
"We'll do the best we can ma'am."
"Thank you."
The call ended when the medics were just about done performing first-aid on the victim.
The girl's injuries were horrific, they only managed to stop the bleeding, but it was clear that she needed to go under operation as soon as possible.
The said girl was at the brink of death, she felt it. Her life force was being sucked right out of her.
Her hearing was a mess, and the loud ringing in her ears hasn't subsided.
They attached an oxygen mask on her to stabilize her breathing, and a lot of restricting apparatuses to maintain whatever will power she had left to live.
"Lord! Please! Help me! I-I can't die yet! My family! My dreams! Please!"
She prayed, and entrusted God to whatever happened to her next. It was that moment that she hated the most in her short life, being completely helpless and utterly paralyzed.
It reminded her of her sleep paralysis episodes whenever she took a short nap while she was studying at 1 a.m. for exams. Except this time, it was not because of waking up during REM sleep, it was real, and she was almost left for dead.
She was moved once again towards what she assumed to be a hospital.
By the time the ambulance arrived, the mother was already there.
Bethany was moved to another stretcher carefully, her mother watched quietly as she let the scene in front of her sink in, and within a few seconds, she burst into tears.
"Bethany! What happened to you?!" the mother's voiced cracked, as she followed her daughter being transported to the E.R
The girl could only look at her mother's sorrowful face.
The doctors and nurses were well informed and already anticipated their patient, prepared to perform the emergency operations.
A doctor approached the girl's mother.
"Ma'am, your daughter needs to undergo many immediate operations, she has received many injuries, but we'll do our best to stabilize her condition." The doctor said, and went inside the ER with the rest of the medical team.
"Thank you, please do" the mother's voice was unsteady and could only whimper in between her sobs.
She waited patiently outside, unable to watch her daughter undergo medical operations.
Inside the ER, everyone was busy and focused on the task at hand.
The girl was conscious, as there was no time left to apply anesthesia.
Black spots invaded her vision, and she started to feel very sleepy.
It went on for a few minutes, the doctors professionally doing their work.
It was tense, their patient wasn't doing very well.
Slowly and against her will, Bethany's consciousness started to drift away, her breathing shallowed. This was it. She was going to die.
The pain was too much to bear and she felt her very soul leave her organic body.
"So this is what death feels like huh, it's the first time I've experienced it" She thought to herself jokingly, finding it rather funny to die with such a thought.
With the last of her consciousness, she apologized to everyone she ever cared for.
"Mom, Dad, I'm sorry I left too early, I love you all dearly, please forgive me, to those that supported me, my family, my grandma, goodbye, thank you all..… for loving me."
Her life flashed before her eyes, memories old and new rushed in, before her body gave up and went into cardiac arrest.
Then her body went limp, the doctors were frantic, they called to the nurses and assistants to bring in the defibrillator. The sound of loud footsteps echoed in the room.
Her mother that was waiting outside, worried at all the fuss that was heard inside the facility, she didn't like her intuition, she didn't want to believe it.
The nurses quickly passed onto the doctor the charged defibrillator, right next to the dying patient before them.
"CLEAR!" The doctor shouted as he proceeded to try to shock the patient's heart in an attempt to save the young girl that was worryingly non-respondent.
For a few antagonizing minutes, no one spoke a word, before a loud continuous beep silenced every breathing creature in the room.
A hauntingly straight line was evident on the cardiac monitor equivalent to the patient's heartbeat.
All attempts were futile, and the girl gave her last breath before giving out completely.
6:42 p.m. in a cold hospital facility, a girl was declared dead.
There was a heavy atmosphere, it was just another loss in the hospital, yet it was always a depressing thought to be unable to save a person's life, even if it did seem like a hopeless cause.
The doctors sighed, they failed their patient, and her mother. Slowly, they started cleaning the medical equipment and leaving the room, shoulders down.
The doctor earlier approached the woman again, as she looked at him hopefully.
"Is my daughter alright? When can I see her?" the mother's heart began pounding loudly against her chest.
"She fought well, and she did her best. We did what we can, but she died of heart failure only a few minutes afterwards. I'm sorry for your loss." The doctor said, he looked into her eyes with a hint of regret.
The woman collapsed. She felt as if the world was crashing before her, she did not know what to think, what to feel, and what to do.
Then she cried, cried loudly, however it did not ease the overbearing pain that felt like a thousand knives stabbed against her chest.
The doctor could only lean down and support the mother the heartbroken mother.
A few moments later, Bethany's relatives arrived, they heard the bad news and cried with her, they tried to stay strong and comforted her with what sanity she had left.
Days passed, and black was the only visible color seen, aside from a pure white coffin that held the lifeless body of a girl dressed in white, holding a rosary in between her hands and looked as if she were only sleeping.
Bethany's mother only wept in despair as she tried to keep herself together, friends and family of the said girl paid their respects and remembered their times with the girl.
A mass held for her departure from the land of the living and her travel to everlasting life in heaven together with the Lord.
She was buried, on a cloudy afternoon, as white balloons were released into the sky, finding their way into the heavens.
The burial ended, as the people slowly went on and left. Her family was the last to leave, said their last goodbyes, and placed a single pale rose on her tombstone that read:
"In loving memory of Bethany Elle D. Mabuti, who was her family's dearest daughter. Loving and hardworking, may her soul rest in peace."
Word Count: 2,752
Date of Publication: December 8, 2019
Date of Updated Publication: December 11, 2019