Escaping Fate

What For?

       Kaz watched as Zephyr, his best friend, neared his final breath. Short, shallow breaths became long, deep gasps of air.

      "Zephyr I swear! I promised you that I wouldn't let anything happen to you, you'll be fine," He cried. Tears falling down, he was not ready to part ways with someone he had known longer than himself.

"I know. I know." Zephyr sighed. Kaz knew Zephyr was already dead the moment he saw him. "Look, Kaz, it's not your fault what happened. I want you to know that, alright?"

"Please, don't say stuff like that! You can still make it, please." he started to cry even harder. He was crying so hard that he could not even see Zephyr clearly.

"Whatever you do, please live for me," Zephyr hushed him, wiping the tears off Kaz's cheek.

"Why would someone do this to you?" He stuttered. I needed answers. Why did he suddenly disappear for six months? What happened to him while he was gone and why, why was this happening to him?

"Yeah? I'd like to know that too, Kaz," He said before closing his eyes.

"Zephyr? Zephyr open your eyes. Don't do that! Please," he yelled. There was no response.
He looked over at the heart monitor slowly. It was still moving, he was still breathing! He watched the heart monitor for a good twelve minutes, occasionally back at Zephyr, hoping he would wake back up. He did not. Instead, he flatlined. The last thing Kaz remembered was the loud beep of nothingness. The room fell silent until nurses started flooding the room, shoving me out in the process.

      He never got to see him laugh again, smile, or even look at me in the eyes one last time. He slowly walked back to his car, devastated. What now? We were only eighteen. He didn't deserve to die like that. Kaz sat in the car in silence for a long time.

He was really gone, and I was still here. We promised to keep each other safe from dangers. What was I going to tell his parents? Oh god, his poor parents. They didn't even get to see him before he died.

Kaz immediately started the car and drove to Zephyr's family. His eight year old sister, she'll never see her brother again. The person she looked up to. His parents. They raised him, cared for him, they did everything they could for him. Kaz started crying again. He started crying so hard that he had to pull over to pull himself together.

***

      As Kaz got out of the car, he took a deep breath. He walked over to the door slowly. Right before he knocked on the door, it felt as if he could not breathe at all. Kaz was shaking. Slowly, he raised his arm to the door. Mrs. Spades opened the door, her daughter was also there.

      "Hello ma'am. I need to talk to you all," Kaz said. His voice cracked, palms were sweaty, knees weak, arms heavy, mom's spaghetti.

      "Of course dear, come in, honey. You look sick," Mrs. Spades said, ushering Kaz inside. He thanked her as he walked in. "Would you like some water?" She asked.

      "No thank you," He declined, "where is Mr. Spades?"

      "Papa is in his office," Their daughter, Quinn, said. "He said he was going to look for Zephyr again this afternoon." Kaz stopped. He tried to prevent himself from crying but failed.

       "Why are you crying? We'll find him! Big brother has to be somewhere!" He got up to get a tissue when he saw Mr. Spades.

      "Oh, hello Kaz, what's wrong?" He asked. He was not able to do it. He couldn't. Especially when they had so much hope in them. Hope that Zephyr will be found. Hope that Zephyr was okay. Hope Zephyr was alive.

      "I need to talk to you all..please..uh..you may want to sit down for this," Kaz instructed weakly. After he blew his nose and washed his hands, he went over to the living room, where everyone else was.

      "As you all may have known, Zephyr has been missing for six months now." He started. "Well, uh.. I," he started to say. Kaz took a long, deep breath and eventually mustered up the courage to tell them the truth. "I met him today."

      "You did?" Quinn shouted.

      "What? Where and when?" Mrs. Spades asked.

      "Did he say anything about us? Why isn't he with you?" Mr. Spades asked.

      "Well, that's the problem. Zephyr, he isn't...he's gone." He said, starting to cry again.

      "Gone? Where? Why?" Quinn asked, tilting her head like a little puppy.

      "I - I'm sorry. He's gone..dead. He died an hour ago." He said. Kaz then cleared his throat awkwardly, feeling his throat starting to tighten up on him.

      "Dead?! Wha - why weren't we informed?" Mrs. Spades shouted, trying her best to prevent herself from crying. Mr. Spades was hugging her, trying to calm his wife down while trying to process what was happening as well.

      "..He didn't have his phone on him..actually..he didn't have anything, just a small piece of paper and my number. I - I should have called you while I still had the chance, I'm so sorry I didn't. Please forgive me." He pleaded, trying not to cry himself.

      The mother shook her head, not wanting to accept the fact that her eldest child had passed. Someone she raised and grew old with. A part of her that will forever be lost in time.