The Past

"Ladies and gentlemen. I welcome you to our flight. Our destination is Egypt, Hurghada. We are now dealing with a delay of twenty minutes but I am confident to win the lost time back. The time now is 5.30 pm and we will arrive at 11 pm local time. Please stay seated while the start manoeuvre proceeds.", the pilots voice was distorted by the bad speaker transmission.

While the plane was starting to move slowly, three stewardesses postured in the small corridor between the rows. One stood in the front, one in the middle and one at the end of the plane. A forth stewardess stood next to a phone which transmissions her voice over the speakers. "Ladies and gentlemen, the board crew welcomes you to our flight. Please listen carefully to our flight safety advices. Please stay seated and buckled up during the start and the landing procedures..."

Rebecca zoned out while she was staring out of the tiny window next to her. It wasn't like she didn't want to listen, she just couldn't keep her mind distracted from the past events. The rush to the airport was so stressful that she could forget about her problems at least for a short period of time. But now that she was seated and could rest, her mind drifted off to the past.

One month earlier. Rebecca sat on the sofa of her small apartment, twisting her fingers in all directions. She felt out of breath although she didn't move a centimetre since several hours. Her eyes were red and watery. Her skin pale. The reason for her unsteady behaviour was a call which crushed her. The caller was an older woman around fifty-eight years old. It was Kim's mother, Mrs. Sophie Schreindecker.

Rebecca remembered every single word of Mrs. Schreindecker's trembling voice. "R... Rebecca, this is Sophie, Kim's mother. I have to inform you that...", Mrs. Schreindecker sobbed, her voice got quiet. "Mrs. Schreindecker, what is it? Did something happen so Kim?", Rebecca questioned while her eyes got dry an itchy. Her throat closed up so that she had problems to breath. "Yes, Rebecca. Something happened to Kim. She had to work last night. She didn't come home after her shift in the bar. I was worried, so I called my husband, you know he works for the police. He told me that he hadn't the time to chat because his team was called to an accident. So I waited. Half an hour later there was no sign of Kim, but instead my husband called me. He said I have to come to the hospital. He said that Kim was a part of the accident and that she wasn't doing well. I rushed to the hospital, only to see that she was in the ER unconscious..."

Mrs. Schreindecker started to cry out aloud: "Rebecca! Someone tried to kill Kim by riding her over with a car. Her father examined the place where the so-called accident happened and he is confident that the offender tried to kill here by driving over the sidewalk."

Rebecca couldn't speak. She couldn't even blink with an eye. Her heart pounded in her chest heavily. Her throat was dry as if she ate a whole pack of toast. She coughed and squeezed her eyes together. A tear rolled down her face. Kim was her best friend since kindergarten. They were inseparable their whole life. And now, there was a chance that they will be separated forever.

"Mrs. Schreindecker, is Kim awake now? I am so sorry! I will come to the hospital any minute!", Rebecca said as she found her voice. "No, Rebecca, Kim isn't awake yet. And you can't come. Not even I or my husband are allowed to go to her. She is in an separate room. Being held alive only by machines. Please be strong for Kim and us. I will.calm you when I have new informations!" "But I need to see her." Rebecca's voice trembled. Mrs. Schreindecker sighed, surprisingly speaking with a harsh voice: "Rebecca. Do not come. You can't change Kim's health only by crying in the hospital hallways. I am sorry but you need to calm down.

Mrs. Schreindecker was always really rational and thought things through before acting. Rebecca never heard her cry before or losing her attitude. "Okay, I will stay at home and wait for your call. Tell me directly if something changes with Kim's condition." "I will, Rebecca. Please stay calm." Mrs. Schreindecker ended the call.

From that moment on thousand of thoughts ran through Rebecca's head, leaving no horror scenario to the imagination. 'Who would do such a cruel thing? Especially to such a kind soul like Kim?' A thought appeared in her head like a lightning, leaving equal pain. 'Had it something to do with the weird guy that tried to hook up with Kim at her workplace?'

Rebecca tried to remember his face. It wasn't a co-worker or anything similar. It was a visitor who had a lot to drink. He tried to flirt with Kim all night but as she showed him the cold shoulder after several nice rejections, his words got abusive. He called her a slut and said that she was a waist of a girl, that she was a waist for humanity. After these cruel words the security dragged him outside and declined him the entrance. He shouted that Kim would regret rejecting him.

Kim didn't think about this incident for too long because it wasn't something unusual. She only told her because Rebecca asked how work was the other day. Rebecca wanted to grab her phone to call Kim's father so she could tell him what she knew, but as she dialed Mr. Schreindecker's number someone knocked on her apartment door.