Weird sounds were coming from all over and darkness was everywhere. Ziya was running as fast as she could. She was panting but she knew if she stops she would die. But running away from what? What will kill her? Even she couldn’t answer that. She just had to get away anyhow. It was silent road she could tell because there weren’t any noises of vehicles coming or going. She heard the leaves of trees making noises due to furious wind and guessed trees were on both sides of the road. The wind touched her face giving her a shiver and making it her even hard to breathe. She was running where her legs took her as the darkness made the further road invisible. “Running isn’t going to help. You will die” she heard a voice saying to her in her mind but didn’t have any idea who was that. She only knew she had to get away somewhere far. Suddenly something hit Ziya’s toe and she felt down. It must be a stone she thought but as soon as she rose to get up she was shocked at the sight she saw. “It is a dead body” she shouted in horror and found it unable to move. Suddenly the dead body got up and started walking towards her with its face white as ghost. I know her she thought.
Ziya opened her eyes quickly and screamed as loudly as she could. It was the same nightmare which had disturbed her mind for so many nights but it wasn’t exactly the same as this time she saw a dead body walking towards her. Ziya was so terrified that it took her long to realize that her mother was standing next to her asking “What happened?” “Nothing just…” started Ziya but was quickly interrupted by her mother “Same nightmare I guess” said her mother without any expression on her face and turned to go. Ziya wanted to tell her mother about the dead girl but stayed quiet instead. The entire night she couldn’t sleep thinking about the girl she saw. I know her a voice inside her said.
How much the world has changed! Ziya thought as she was brushing her teeth in the morning. She didn’t like going to school though it was her last year partly because her nightmares didn’t let her sleep in the night and yet she had to wake up early and secondly because she didn’t recognize a single face at school accept her teachers. She remembered her friends Joe, Larry and Madeline but no one was there. When she tried to find anything her mother would come as an obstruction saying “They changed their school and don’t ask anything else” and Ziya had to behave like she truly believed her. Ziya hated the whole world she remembered how excited she was for last year but things just weren’t the same. And mostly she hated her mother as she thought her mother wasn’t any more caring or loving about her and she wasn’t wrong. Mrs. Standsford had some kind of anger within her which never came on her ace but her silence and reluctant attitude towards her daughter said it all.
Ziya reached her school late as always. It was Miss. Mathews teaching as always but her teacher didn’t yell at her like always. Miss. Mathews has changed so much Ziya thought but had she really? She was same strict annoyed teacher to other students but when it came to Ziya Standsford something had changed in her for sure. “Fill the form it is required by the school committee” said Jess to Ziya during the lunch break. As she started filling the column which confused Ziya appeared that’s her birth date. Its 19th September, 1993 said her mind but what was she still doing in school than? 1993 meant that she had to be in college now. Suddenly she remembered her mother slapping her hard for arguing with her over her birth year “Its 1995!” the voice of her mother as well as the hurt was strong in her mind. “You have to submit in the office by Monday” said Jess as soon as Ziya went to her with the form.
Ziya knew she needed help. Her mind had become weak as she was no more self confident about anything but the problem was no one was there for her. It’s an alien world she thought. She missed everything she had before her senior year but it won’t come back she knew. It was Monday morning and last day to submit the form in the office. There was a big queue of students and Ziya was irritated as the clerk took lot of time to check every form and the worst Ziya wished not to happen did happen. It was lunch break and the clerk left leaving all students angry. Everybody left accept Ziya as she was staring at the computer kept on the desk in the office. “They keep records of all students in this pc Zee… even the hot guys…” she heard someone say it but no one was there. It was a girl’s voice but who was she? Was she the same dead girl of her nightmare? Ziya tried to think hard but all it gave her was stress and blurred visions of the girl and she giggling about something
I will find out now said Ziya to herself. I will find out my identity she thought. She carefully tip-toed in the office making sure that no one was there. She found the student record file very easily like this wasn’t the first time she was doing it. ‘ZIYA STANDSFORD’ she typed at the search column.
Ziya couldn’t stop her tears as she ran towards her house. She felt her chest pain so hard that it was about to explode. How could she lie to me? Ziya thought. She remembered the result she had seen that her birth year had always been 1993 and her fellow students weren’t with her because they were in college now. They had passed out before two years. The thing which shocked her was her mother’s silence. She had lost her father long before. All she had with her was her mother but even she lied to her. Why? That was all she wanted to know now.
Ziya ran to her mother’s room as soon as she reached her house. Her mother was sitting on the bed and looking outside engrossed in her own thoughts Ziya’s voice disturbed her meditation. “Why?” Ziya asked loudly as she could “Lower down your voice Zee and what why?” replied her mother with the same calmness. “I won’t lower my voice and my birth year is 1993 I have the proof in my pendrive. Now just answer why you lied damn it!” Ziya said now mostly crying rather than shouting. Her knees went numb and she fell on the floor.
Mrs. Standsford watched her daughter and there was little pain in her eyes as she started speaking “Last year you were in coma Zee. Everyone thought you will die including me but you survived. You just woke up to say ‘Mom this is my senior year. I want to be prom queen but what am I doing hospital?’ and doctor said it’s better to lie you…” stopped Ziya‘s mother to see her daughter’s reaction but Ziya was unconscious. Her mother wanted to cry hard but had promised herself ‘NO more tears’ long back.
She injected her daughter after taking advice of their doctor on the phone. “She may sleep for few hours and than wake up” he had said. She watched her daughter sleeping so peacefully as well as started preparing herself for the next round of questions which she was soon about to face.