Deadly trip

The trip to the cemetery was noisy; girls and a few boys chatting about almost everything, Maya found herself just looking at the sprinting trees. the old of all was Ash, He was driving the minibus. 

Not many students offered to come to the cemetery and Azora was one of them; Taking the last step off the bus, Maya felt her head heavy again. She rolled her eyes before she popped out two painkillers from the strip of tablets she always kept in her pocket. 

She did not bring anything with her other than her phone; she walked back inside the bus once again and saw a bottle near the driver's seat. 

one sip can not make him mad right? 

With that thought she quickly opened the bottle cap and gulped it with the liquid; coughing at the bitter taste of filtered water; She quickly kept the bottle back in its place. 

" Maya, " She turned around only to see Ash looking right at her. He looked at her but did not say anything; his eyes caught something but he chose to walk out. 

Maya made a face at his rude behavior but followed him silently to the entrance of the cemetery. 

Maya saw the flower stall and walked towards it; She brought around 20 flower bouquets; Max smiled when he looked at Maya; Strong girl 

he thought. 

None of the guys and girls offered to help Maya; She picked 5 of the bouquet and gave them to the girls; she turned around but the bouquet was not in their place anymore; Maya looked around in confusion when she saw Ash giving the bouquet to the rest of the guys. 

Maya kept a flower bouquet for herself as all of them entered the cemetery. Maya's head was aching; She tried to ignore it she already took the tablets, it will take at least 5 minutes for them to kick in. 

She blinked a few times and stood with the rest of the group; Max stood in front of the cemetery; they all kept quiet for a few moments before Max placed flowers on the tomb. 

Maya tried to read the name but her vision was blocked by the girl who was standing near Max. Maya could not help but think, what would have happened to the guy? Ash looked at Maya; her phone was in the back pocket of her jeans; it was about to slip out when Maya shifted her weight on her left leg. 

the phone slipped out but before it could touch the ground, Ash caught it. 

" It was the mysterious guy, nobody knew, what happened to him or what he did to himself, Principal Max, never let it out, " He whispered in Maya's ears; the hair on her neck stood up; Maya looked at him with widened eyes. 

" how do you know it? " Maya whispered back; this was the first time they were having a conversation.

" Maybe because I am the one who witnessed it, " He whisper replied as her eyes widened; she looked at him in shock; " what? " he chuckled. Not knowing what to say; she kept quiet as all of them walked back towards the bus; Maya did not turn around nor she bothered to look at Ash after the weird talk they just had. 

Ash looked at the phone in his hands; his mind asked him to drop it but his tiny good side suggested he give it back to Maya. he kept the phone in his pocket before he followed the rest of the group; Maya tapped on her pocket but suddenly realized her phone was not in her pocket anymore. She bite her lip as she looked at the students; no harm in one second She thought before she ran back to where the tomb of that student was; she looking around but could not find her phone anywhere; unlike other days; the sun was on their head. 

Her head felt heavier than before; she had to grasp something to hold herself but there was nothing; Maya fell on the ground as everything turned black. 

. 

" Is every student on the bus? " Principal asked Ash as he checked the name list once again. he knew he could not see Maya anywhere but he knew showing it immediately will make things look suspicious. 

" Sir, that new girl, Maya is not the bus, " Ash said as Max's face paled all of a sudden. 

" What? but she was with the group, " he said, " MAYA! " Max looked around hoping to hear her sweet voice but when he did not see Maya's eyes in the crowd of students; he panicked. 

" I think she must be in the cemetery, let's go and check, " Ash said as they both got off the bus. Ash's eyes could not find Maya in the silence of the cemetery. This time, his heart started beating a little faster as he ran around the cemetery looking for Maya. 

" The cemetery is big enough sir, calling other students for help will be good, " ash suggested as Max called the teachers who came with them. within a few minutes, every student gathered in the cemetery once again. 

Max explained the situation to students before they started looking for her; they could not even follow footsteps because they had walked out of there a few moments ago. 

Ash felt the phone in his pocket vibrating; he pulled it out only to see principal Max's number flashing on the screen, it was saved contact name as ' Uncle Maxy ' realization came on him that Maya is blood-related to principal max made Ash even more nervous; of course, he did not show it but from inside he was freaking out. before the phone could vibrate again, its battery died. 

After an hour when Max and others could not find Maya; Max called the police and give her photos to them to search around the area. All the students refused to go back and kept trying to find her. 

" She is my niece, " Ash heard Max saying to the police officers as they came there. He bite his inner cheeks as he walked towards Max. 

It started getting dark; Max could not put the lives of other students in danger; When they were on their way back to school; A few students saw someone laying near the woods. Holding the torches and flashlights of their phones; five of them walked towards whoever was laying on the ground. 

" Sir! it's Maya! " Max was shocked to see Maya, her dress was clean but she was unconscious. 

" We need to take her to the hospital, fast! " the students were sent back to the dorm room; none of them could understand what happened but at least they were in peace now. 

' sometimes others have to pay for what someone else did ' 

. 

" She is awake now, " the doctor said as Max nodded and went inside the room; he made sure nothing wrong happened with Maya; even a full body checkup was done; he gave them her medical history but got to know she is not taking the prescribed medicines. 

" how it happened? " Max asked once he was alone with Maya. 

" I do not even remember, how can I tell you, " Maya said as she drank a sip of water. Her head felt like it will blast any second now. 

Max was silent for a second; what can he even ask when she does not remember anything; " you are not taking your medicines, " Max wanted to say it as a question but it came out like a statement. 

Maya bite her lip not looking at Max; he was not supposed to know what she was trying to do; he was not supposed to know she did not want to prolong her painful days anymore. 

" why? " Max said taking the glass of water from Maya's hands. 

" Didn't feel like taking the bitter medicines anymore, " Maya said; her voice almost inaudible. Max sighed; 

" Maya, I understand, " He said but Maya only chuckled. 

" you understand? Really? Do you understand how it is to feel that your end is near? do you understand how is it to feel pity for every person surrounding you? everyone keeps asking you if you are having a headache or backache? Do you understand what I felt when I saw my bother crying at night when he thought I was sleeping? or your parents sobbing in the middle of the night? do you know how it is to know that 1 and a half months is already over from the 4 months I am left with? " Maya's outburst made Max silent. 

He stared at the girl not knowing what to say, " I have accepted that I do not have time, I do not want to take medicines knowing that these will only prolong my days here, I left them alone just because I could not take it anymore, I practically ran away from them, please uncle Max don't make me run away from here too, I had enough, I just want some peace, " her voice broke at the end as he looked at her. 

" Please, let me live my last days in peace... " tears escaped her eyes as Max nodded. He does not have anything else to say and anything he will say would not be enough, not at all for the pain she is going through. 

" discharge papers are ready, clean up, " Max did not meet her eyes when he said those words to her; Maya knew she hurt him but she can not help it. 

The ride to the school was silent; Maya opened the car door and walked towards her room; she was not hungry anymore; the dam of her tears broke as soon as she closed the door of her room. 

Sliding down on the ground; she let the tears fall. 

. 

2 am 

Maya could not sleep like always; She did pass out after the long crying session but it had been 4 hours she could not sleep. 

She decided to go out for a walk; Maya was in the hallway when her eyes fell on the shady old room once again. She looked around; there was no one. 

She walked towards the open field; Harsh rain making her flinch every time it touched her skin; She stood in front of the door of the room; she looked around to see if anyone was looking; half of her sweater was already wet. 

When she did not see anyone around; she touched the old doorknob with shaky hands; it was cold and wet metal; Pushing the door to make the least sound possible Maya entered the room. 

There was all dust and boxes around her; there was not even a light bulb; the only source of light was some that were coming from outside. she saw a hallway, a very narrow one; she bite her lip; not knowing if she should walk inside or not. 

Shaking her head she walked out of the room and closed the door behind her; She wanted to go to the library to spend her time there; well it was the only thing she was doing for the last few days; spending her time in the library. 

She knew the library must be locked; She sighed knowing she would just need to spend her night in the room again; doing nothing but the textbooks because she did not bring anything else, she looked around. 

Her gaze fall on a window that was making noise because of harsh rain and wind; She walked towards the window to close it but then she saw where it led. 

She saw notebooks and papers on the other side; her sweater was already drenched; she knew if she will go to the room like this someone will surely see the muddy footsteps and water on the floor. 

Without thinking, she climbed the window and stepped out of her shoes. it was dark all around but she could make out it was the back of the library; She smiled, at least one good thing happened. 

The dusty cold floor under her wet feet made her shiver; she took off her sweater, her sports bra was a little wet too but she did not have anything else to wear. 

Moving away from the window she rubbed her hands on her arms as white fog escaped her lips every time she breathed. She kept her sweat on the window to let the water rinse off it as she walked around; the smell of old books mixed with the divine smell of rain made her intoxicated. 

A small smile made its way to her lips as she rubbed her hands together to get some heat in cold night; Rains... there was a time when she did not like rain at all but now, it is her only friend. 

She took a book from the English liturate section; it was a Drama book; She sat on one of the seats; minimal light was making it difficult for her to read it but she somehow managed to read it. 

Maya was halfway through the book when she heard something; some sounds coming from the same corner she walked in from. 

Maybe its the wind 

She thought and got engrossed in reading the book once again; the sound of a chair moving made her still; she looked up only to see a guy with fair skin tone, masculine but lean body, soft facial features, and brown eyes looking at her before she sat down on the chair right in front of hers. A few water droplets dripping down his brown hair; Maya realized he was one handsome young man.

He kept a book on the table as the silence returned; Maya looked around to see if there was someone else with him; she stilled for a few seconds when he shifted on his chair to sit in a comfortable position. 

After a few minutes of silently observing him; Maya took a deep breath and started reading her book once again; she did not pay attention to the guy who looked around 19 or 20 years old. 

She could feel his eyes; she looked up but his eyes were fixed on the book in front of her; I am being paranoid here, she thought as she looked out of the window not realizing a pair of eyes were fixed on her. 

The rain had subsided now; she got up and placed the book in the same place where she picked it; taking a last glance at the guy; she walked back towards the window and wore her sweater and shoes before she climbed down. 

As soon as she reached the dorm building; she took off her shoes and held them in her hands; walking slowly and looking around if anyone was looking at her; she walked back to her room safely. 

It was still the wee hours of the morning; the sun was not out yet; she laid on the bed after taking off her wet clothes. the thought of the guy with brown eyes did not leave her mind. 

She sat up on the bed; the restless feeling did not leave her body; drinking some water, she kept the bottle back on the nightstand. Shaking her head she picked her book to prepare for the test she has the next morning.