CHAPTER 1

"Just a few more days sir, I'm begging you!" Elena cried. She was out of options, she did not know where to go and what to do now.

"I have given you enough time, Elena! Pack your things in two days or else!" Her landlord yelled.

"Please sir, a week at least, my sister is sick and I'm trying to raise some money for her surgery." She pleaded, tears in her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Elena you're three months behind, I'm sorry about your sister but I'm also worried about my business, I'm not running a charity here, and if you didn't have the money three months ago, there's no way you'll have it in a week," he said, "two days," he repeated and left.

Elena sunk to the floor, her eyes watery with tears. She was exhausted, she had spent the night at the hospital after her 12-hour shift and she had come home to her quick notice. She did not blame her landlord, Mr. Jackson, he had been very kind to her. He had given her extended dates but her bills were piling up and he was losing money; he had no choice.

Elena had tried her best to meet up with the deadline, she had worked too many extra shifts her boss had told her there were no extra shifts left for her to fill. But no matter how many times she worked it was never enough to pay her bills.

Her phone rang, spinning her out of her thoughts of self pity, it was the nurse that was in charge of taking care of Emily, her heart skipped a bit.

"Is my sister alright?" Was the first thing she asked when she picked up the phone.

"Your sister is fine, Elena. But we're going to need you to come down to the hospital," the nurse said, not exactly sounding too positive.

"Please just tell me everything I need to know now, is she alright? Do I need to pay for any other thing?" She asked, cutting straight to the point.

"Miss Kingston, you have to understand that I—"

"Please, please just tell me straight."

"She needs the surgery, now more than ever," the nurse told her, her voice heavy. With a deep sigh she continued, "we're trying to do as much damage control as we can but there's just so little we can manage with her case,"

"I...I understand,"

"Please try your best miss, I know its a bit tough on you."

"Thank you for your concern," she said and sighed, "I'll try my best to make the amount by the end of the week,"

That was if she wasn't homeless by that time. Now more than ever she needed a miracle, but first she needed something to eat, her stomach had been growling since she got back, she couldn't keep ignoring it.

As she made her way to the cafe down the street, her mind was working a mile a minute. If she worked some extra shifts and sold her car she would be able to pay her rent by the next day and raise a bit more for the hospital bill. She was still calculating her losses when she entered the cafe.

It was a bit cold, the air conditioning was on full blast even if the weather outside was cool. Elena was a regular customer there, she picked up a cup of coffee every day before she went to work but she had never bothered to socialise with anyone.

"Hey, what can I get you?" The man behind the counter could have been two or three years older than her, she was familiar with his face but she did not know his name.

"Um," Elena looked up at the menu on display, even if she knew exactly what she wanted to get she knew she could not afford it.

"Oh uh, your usual? A cappuccino and a puff pastry, right?" The man asked, a familiar smile on his face.

"Uh, yes… that's what I usually get but I'm a bit short today." Elena shyly pulled out her last ten-dollar bill. "Do you have anything under ten?"

"Don't worry about it, it's on the house. You're a regular." Elena could not have been more grateful, she was slowly spiralling into more debt and saving her last ten dollars meant a lot. "Thank you so much," the man smiled at her and then started making her espresso.

Elena took her order when it was ready and left the coffee shop, heading for her house to do more calculations and decide whether or not her car was going to the market. As she started on her path, her mind was elsewhere, a different place entirely, she was not paying attention to anything or anyone around her. The honking of cars, the murmuring of pedestrians, the screaming children, the barking dogs and everything else that contributed to the loud city all faded into the background.

She was so deep in her world that she did not notice the car heading in her direction, and she did not hear the honking and screaming of cars and passengers, she only snapped back to reality when the headlights were so close and blinking directly her but it was too late, and she was too in shock to move.

Elena felt her life flash before her eyes as the car came closer, from her happy memories to her sad ones, she thought about her late parents, and then her sister…was this how she was going to go?