Clara.

All was silent.

It seems as though everything was happening in slow motion.

Without sparing anyone a single glance, I ran outside and into a car, speeding of to the police station.
******************

Aiden.

By the time I got outside, Clarisse was speeding away in a car.

"If James surrenders himself, it's immediate execution." said Sam.

As much as I disliked James, nobody deserved to die like that.

"We have to go now, like right now." I said, running outside.
********************
Paul, Shyla and Aaron decided to stay behind, so it was only me, Mike and Sam in the car.

"Is James stupid?" asked Mike, to no one in particular.

"I don't know." I said.

"He must be, he didn't even think about his sister. How will she survive without him?" asked Sam, swerving past a car.

I felt a pang of guilt as I realized that if we were too late, Aliya would lose the only family she had left.

Not to mention the slurs that people would throw her way.

We drove to James house.
**********************

When we got inside, Aliya was on the floor crying.

When she saw us, she ran and hugged me.

"They took him away." she said, sobbing.

I stood there, not knowing what to say.

"We need to go and get him." said Sam.

She pulled away.

"I can't leave this house." she said.

Mike walked towards her.

"And why not?" he asked.

She blushed.

"I've never left this house before. If James-"

Her sentence was cut short by Mike picking her up bridal style and walking outside.

I shot a look at Sam, who grinned.

"Are you two faggots gonna tell each other how much you love each other or are we gonna get James back alive?" asked Mike
***********************************

Mike sat in the back seat, restraining a very angry Aliya.

"Let go of me you you-"

"Asshole? Fucktard? Dickhead? Pick a card any card my sweet." he says, smiling.

I tried hard not to laugh.

"You ignorant little coward!" she yells.

"Ooohhhhhhh, first time a girl saw you for who you really are Mike." says Sam, smirking.

I laughed.

She pushed him and pulled out a knife. Then she stabbed him.

You just had to give her a knife ay James?

He groaned and pulled her closer to him.

"I never thought that I'd be turned on from being stabbed with a knife. Oh the sweet sweet torture!" he said, kissing her on the cheek.

The car came to a halt, killing the entire romance.

"Hey lovers, we're here." said Sam, pointing to the police station.

We unlocked the doors and rushed inside.
****************************

We saw Clarisse kneeling on the floor crying.

"Clarisse?"

She ran towards us and hugged Aliya.

"Where's James?" asked Aliya.

She said nothing, only kept on hugging her.

Then.

"They shot him Aliya, they shot him."

Shit.

Aliya stopped hugging her.

"No." she said, pulling away from the hug.

"Aliya-" i started but she cut me off.

"NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!" she screamed, causing several officers to look at her.

"The fuck you looking at?" asked Mike.

They walked away.

We all looked at Aliya.

She paced around.

"It's a joke right? This is all a prank right? James pulled this prank on me before, who's to say he won't do it again?"

Clarisse looked away, crying,

"Somebody tell me it's a joke!" yelled Aliya, kicking at the chair.

One of the officers came to her.

"Ma'am, lower your voice." he says, putting his hand on her shoulder.

Without a second thought, she turned around and punched him on the nose.

He yelled, covering his nose.

"Crazy bitch." he muttered, walking away.

Mike walked towards her, pulling her into a hug.

She fought him, struggled against him, hitting him where she stabbed him.

He winced and when he had enough he shook her.

"Listen to me! Crying and punching officers ain't gonna do shit but put you in jail or even have you killed like your brother! You need to calm the fuck down!" he says.

She sobbed and Mike groaned.

He cupped her face with his hands, wiping away her tears.

"Aw shit, I can't deal with a crying woman. Please stop crying, I'm sorry. Let's go and collect his body, it's the least they can allow us to do."

She nodded and they walked away together.

"What the hell was that?" asked Sam.

I was at loss for words too.

My best friend was nice to a woman and he apologized.

"Mike has been smitten." said Clarisse, in disbelief of her words.
******************************

The next day we had a funeral and a cremation ceremony to attend.

Dad's funeral was to take place this morning and in the afternoon we would have James' cremation.

Aliya said that it was his wish to be cremated and have his ashes kept in a black urn.

I am surprised that he even thought of his memorial.

Every time I think of death, I think of this greedy and unsatisfied dog that just takes what it wants.

After all it has taken so many people I had come to love.

My mother.

Clarisse's father.

And I know that dog will continue taking.

We were now seated in the funeral home, where the funeral was taking place.

Aaron said the eulogy and Clara sang one of her father's favorite songs.

I mustered up the courage to write a poem to put on his gravestone.

Mr. Joe, the guy I barely got to know
he made some decisions that hurt him to the core
but he was human and he erred after all
he had more years left but Death took him, let him fall.

He was a good grandfather, that I could say
his children loved him despite his ways
He was a welcoming fellow with a heart of gold
oh how much I miss him so

Mr. Joe, the guy I barely got to know
the guy who Death took too early from his earthly home

When the gravestone was put down, Clarisse hugged me.

"If Dad had just a little more time he'd love you all the more." she whispered.

I smiled sadly, hugging her back.
*************************

It was already afternoon.

We were all clad in white.

James' men were there, their heads bowed lowly.

A priest was there.

Mike was right next to a weeping Aliya, comforting her.

Sam, Paul, Shyla, Aaron and Mel were there.

"Who is the relative of James Davinson?"

Aliya walked forward.

"I am." she said, loud and clear.

The priest handed her a large clay vessel.

She placed it on her shoulder and the priest struck it with a stone so that it leaked.

She walked around the body a couple of times and then dropped the pot.

A torch was lit and he handed it to her.

With trembling hands, she lit a few of the sticks and stepped back, fresh tears leaving her face.

I felt bad for her.

Aliya Davinson went through a pain far worse than the loss of a mother or a father.

She lost a brother.
***********************

Let me be completely honest when I say the loss of a sibling is very painful.

It's like you lost your best friend, the one that is painfully honest and understands you without you saying shit.

The one that keeps you out of trouble with your parents.

It's like you lost a team mate.

The person you imagined your future with.

*wipes eyes*

Shit, now I'm getting all sad again.

Ta ta!

-Safiello