Serendipity - A Chance Encounter 44 Marble Road Incident 3

"Daniel... I... I killed someone."

When Daniel heard Samantha's words, his heart skipped a beat. 'What do you mean you killed someone?'.

Questions sprang in his mind and his thoughts ran wild while he tried to understand what her words meant. He looked around briefly at first before he stared into her eyes, "Baby, what do you mean?"

Samantha had some blood on her face and her hand, she continued to sob, her voice getting weaker, "I killed someone...", she spoke with a little difficulty as her breathing became heavier. "Over there.", her finger pointed at a spot in the middle of the street a couple of meters away from them.

Daniel followed the direction where her gaze landed, he felt a cool wind that sent chills down his spine. The street was empty with no cars or even people pa.s.sing by. He turned to face Samantha again and saw her heart-rending state, a face stained with tears and blood, slightly disheveled hair, she even lost a shoe. Her feet were full of small cuts and dirt and her hand was wounded from the broken gla.s.s that pierced her skin when she dropped on the floor in the hospital. She had just left the hospital less than 30 minutes ago, how did she become like this?

With a very gentle voice, Daniel spoke to her. "Samantha, it's very cold out here, and it's dangerous. Will you come with me?"

Samantha lifted her head up and looked at Daniel. He had the clearest eyes without a hint of danger. Her sobbing turned to silent tears and she nodded her head.

Daniel took off his coat and placed it over her shoulders. Taking a handkerchief from his pocket, he wiped her face gently. After which, he picked her up from the curb and walked towards his car. When they both got settled in, he drove back to the hospital.

She was already asleep when they arrived. Samantha's parents and Hannah were very concerned when they saw her but they breathed out a sigh of relief that Daniel found her; at least, in this way, they can all watch over her.

Mrs. Kim started wiping Samantha's hands, Daniel came over and offered to do it instead so that she can rest. He diligently cleansed her hands and feet while avoiding the wounds. Mr. and Mrs. Kim watched as Daniel took care of Samantha, they were really glad that Samantha has him. They stayed in the VIP room for a while before they went back to the ICU where Seo Joon was staying.

When he was done, he sat on a chair next to her. He watched her as she slept soundly, her eyes swollen from all the crying earlier.

Daniel watched Samantha, she looked very fragile at the moment. Like she was going to break if you touch her.

The door opened and Hannah came in, "How is she?"

"She's stable.", he stood up from his seat and walked over to the sofa where Hannah was sitting. "Hannah, tell me what happened. Tell me everything."

Hannah turned to face Daniel, she sighed before she nodded.

"12 years ago, when we were in middle school..."

----

Oakwood Middle School

"Mia! Happy birthday! Here, I bought this for you.", Nancy handed a gift box to Mia Chang.

"Nancy! You're very sweet! You shouldn't have... Thank you!", Mia smiled as she accepted the gift and opened it.

Inside was a red bracelet made of leather and beads, with a note below it that said. "Happy 13th birthday, Mia!"

"Thank you, Nancy! I love it!", she exclaimed as she hugged her.

The bracelet was no more than $10 but it was from Nancy's savings. Since their family is average, she didn't really have a lot to of money to buy expensive gifts. Mia has been her only close friend for a long time that's why she wanted to give her something.

Hannah arrived in the cla.s.sroom with Samantha. As soon as she saw Mia, she hopped towards her happily and gave her a box. "Happy birthday, Mia!", she said with a huge smile on her face.

"Thanks, Hannah!", When Mia opened the box, her eyes widened in surprise, "Woah... so many nail polis.h.!.+ So sparkly!"

"I'm glad you like it!"

Hannah nudged Samantha over to Mia, "Sam, you give Mia your gift too... go on."

Mia's face brightened and was full of expectations. Samantha looked a bit hesitant but she extended her closed hand in front of Mia. "Sorry, Mia... I didn't have time to buy you a gift. I hope it's okay for you... I'll just give you this.", she said before she opened her hand.

When Mia saw the small item in Samantha's hand, her mouth opened in an O shape. She was so stunned to see the small teddy bear keychain with a small diamond on its neck as it's necklace. It was Samantha's precious keychain.

"Why are you giving me this? This is yours. Didn't your aunt make this for you?"

Samantha nodded, "Yes, but you have always liked it. And I don't have anything else to give you for now so I'm giving you this instead."

Mia Chang indeed loved this keychain. The first time she saw it was several months ago hanging on Samantha's bag. Every time her attention falls to it, she'd always admire and even talk to the bear. 'You are so cute, Mr. Bear!'.

The keychain was a given by Samantha's aunt who's a jeweler, and the diamond on the bear is a real one. The keychain costs around $200. So when Samantha said that she'd give it to Mia, she was both happy and shy.

Mia didn't talk for a minute and so Samantha grabbed her hand and placed the bear on it. "There, it's yours now. No returns."

"But...", Mia tried to reject it but Samantha shook her head. "Okay, thank you, Samantha! It's the best gift ever!", she said as she beamed at her friend.

Nancy who was quiet at the side just watched them, her heart felt heavy especially when Mia said that Samantha's gift was the best gift ever. She felt so small because her gift didn't cost that much. She was even more jealous now and wished that she'd one day surpa.s.s Samantha.

"Oh, right.. my mom said you can have a sleepover at my house tonight since it's my birthday. You're coming right?", Mia said to her three friends.

"I'll be there! I'll tell my mom." , said Nancy.

Samantha nodded and said, "Me too. I think my parents will be okay with it."

"I'm not sure... I'll ask if they'll allow me to have a sleepover.", Hannah said with a weak smile

In the end, all four of them went to Mia Chang's home but Hannah's parents will fetch her in the evening.

The four of them had so much fun. They ate delicious food and painted their nails with the nail polish that Hannah gave Mia. When 9 pm came, Hannah bid goodbye to the three and left with her parents.

"I'm not sleepy yet. What about you?", Samantha asked Nancy.

"Me too, do you want to play another game?", Nancy smiled brightly to Samantha.

Mia who just entered her bedroom got excited, "Oh!! What are we gonna play?"

"Mmmm... what about truth or dare?"

"How do we play that Sam?"

"Oh, I know! We'll spin a bottle and then if it points to you, you'll have to do truth or dare!", Nancy said excitedly.

The three of them started to play. Giggles and laughter filled Mia's room. It was already 11 in the evening and Mia's parents are already asleep but the girls were still having fun.

With soft music in the background, the three girls were just relaxing in Mia's bedroom.

"I wish we could grow up faster.", Mia said while she played with her bear keychain.

Samantha who was lying on her tummy tilted her head towards Mia, "Why do you want to grow up faster?"

"So that we can do what big girls do!"

"But you're already a teen...", Samantha wondered what she was thinking about.

"Yeah, but I mean... like 18 years old."

Nancy closed the magazine that she was reading and crawled beside Mia, "Okay, if you're 18 right now. What do you want to do?"

Mia thought about it for a second, "Mmmmm... I want to do a lot of things. I wanna go... sky diving or bungee jumping!"

Samantha laughed, "You sure are very adventurous!"

Mia chuckled, "I want to experience flying like a bird! And oh! I want to get a license so that I can drive my own car!"

"Didn't you start learning how to drive your father's car?"

"Yes but I still can't drive it because I don't have a license.", she replied nonchalantly.

The corners of Nancy's mouth lifted upwards, "You don't need one! I dare you to drive your father's car."

"Psssh", Mia snorted. "You're crazy!"

"I'm serious! You can't do bungee jumping or sky diving now but you can drive. So, I dare you to steal your dad's keys and drive the car down the street."

Samantha looked at her two friends, Mia sat up and stared at Nancy.

Nancy was smiling and waiting for Mia's response. The three of them were quiet until Mia spoke, "Fine, I accept your dare!"