chapter one

Clara’s POV

I should have known that some moments are just too perfect to last.

If anyone were to ask me to describe happiness, I would have pointed to that evening the warm orange glow of the sun setting as it drips across the plane window, my mother’s beautiful smile glowing beside me, and my brother Liam’s laughter shaking the seat between us. Dad was across the aisle, already dozing off, his newspaper slipping from his fingers. We had just wrapped up a long, sun-soaked summer vacation in Ukulhas in Maldives, and my skin still tasted like salt from the snorkeling we did .

Everything felt light… almost too light, as if life itself had softened just to cradle us a little longer.

Liam nudged me, his fourteen-year-old grin wide and mischievous.

“Clara, if we crash, I’m eating your snacks first.” all giggling .

I rolled my eyes, elbowed him lightly, and stole the bag of gummy bears he’d hidden in his hoodie.

“You’ll never find them now ,” I whispered

He glared dramatically. “Traitor.”

Mom laughed, a sweet sound. You two never change.

Her hand brushed my hair the way she always did when she wanted to freeze a moment, and for one brief second, I thought God, we are so lucky. My perfect family .

If only I had held onto that thought just a little longer.

Because moments later, the world began to shake.

At first, it was only a tremor. A slight shiver in the metal body of the plane, like turbulence trying to be subtle. I didn’t think anything of it. None of us did. People stayed relaxed, chatting, flipping magazine pages. Taking selfie.

But then the shiver grew teeth.

The plane lurched violently, jolting us from our seats. A few passengers gasped; someone’s drink spilled, splattering across the aisle. My heartbeat began to beat faster ..

The captain’s voice crackled overhead, tense,just too tense.

“Ladies and gentlemen, please remain calm and fasten your seatbelts. We are experiencing unexpected ...

His voice cut off, and suddenly, the plane dropped.

Screams erupted instantly. Liam grabbed my hand tight, desperate. It was nothing like the playful grip from moments ago. Mom clutched the armrest, her eyes wide, searching for Dad. He was awake now, fear stripping the sleep from his face.

The lights flickered once. Twice.

Then darkness swallowed everything.

For a breathless moment, the plane felt weightless, suspended in a nightmare where even gravity seemed confused. My head began to spin , and I couldn’t breathe. Someone behind us prayed loudly. Someone else cried for their child.

An explosion of light burst outside the window like lightning, except hotter like so hot ..

Then came the heat.

Flames. Real flames, licking along the wing.The metal groaned, screaming a metallic death cry that would haunt me forever.

“Mom!” I yelled over the chaos. “Dad! ”Gosh where is Liam!

Dad was trying to unbuckle, reaching across the aisle toward us, toward Mom. His face was a mixture of terror and determination , and it burned itself into my memory.

Liam’s hand was trembling in mine. “Clara… Clara, I’m scared.” I’m sorry, I have been a naughty little brother

It’s ok Liam, we will be fine . My voice cracked as i held unto his hand tightly.

The oxygen mask dropped in front of me, dangling uselessly as the plane spun. My fingers reached for it instinctively, but the motion felt slow, dreamlike, my mind trapped between adrenaline and disbelief.

This couldn’t be real.

Not us.

Not this way.

But life doesn’t negotiate with innocence.

The plane jerked again hard, throwing Dad violently across the aisle. I screamed his name, my voice swallowed by the thunderous chaos. Mom reached for him, her hand stretching across the gap, fingertips almost brushing.

A deafening roar exploded through the cabin.

Fire tore across the ceiling. Luggage rained from the overhead compartments. People were crying, praying, choking, calling out to loved ones as the world turned into a burning, falling coffin.

My hands shook as I unbuckled my seatbelt. I didn’t know what I was doing. I wasn’t thinking, just reacting. Liam screamed for me to sit down, but instinct pushed me toward Mom, toward Dad, toward the family that had always felt invincible, powerful.

But I never reached them.

A violent force ripped through the cabin an impact so massive it knocked the breath from my lungs. The windows shattered. The world twisted, went weightless, and then slammed downward in a blur of fire and metal.

Then.....

Silence.....

A deep, suffocating silence.

I don’t know how long I floated in that dark, endless void. Seconds? Hours? Time dissolved, running like water between my fingers.

I woke to cold a very bitter cold.

The air smelled of smoke, chemicals, and wet earth. My ears rang with high-pitched static, and my head throbbed painfully. When I opened my eyes, the world was dim and distorted, shadows dancing at the edges of my vision.

I was lying on my side in mud. Something heavy pinned my leg twisted metal, I realized slowly. My arms felt numb. A gash ran across my forehead, warm blood dripping into my eye.

Panic surged through me.

Where am I? Where is everyone?

I tried to push myself up, but a sharp agony shot through my ribs, forcing a scream out of my raw throat.

“Help…” My voice broke. “Somebody please help me .

The night forest around me crackled with small fires, orange embers glowing like dying stars. Pieces of the plane lay scattered everywhere ,shredded metal, seats, broken luggage. Smoke went upward, disappearing into the dark sky, And bodies,God ,Bodies they were all around .

Some still strapped into seats. Some unmoving silhouettes in the mud. Some too damaged for my mind to process.

My stomach just twisted violently as I tried not to look. Tears blurred my vision. I felt so sick to my stomach that I puked so hard .

Mom… Dad… Liam

My voice trembled each time I said their names, each one tearing at the slightest hope clinging to my chest.

A shadow moved to my right. I turned sharply, wincing at the pain only to realize it wasn’t a person. It was part of the broken fuselage collapsing in on itself.

The crash site felt like the aftermath of hell.

My breath hitched as I forced myself to listen, really listen for voices, for footsteps, for anything human.

But heard Nothing,Only crackling flames and the distant chirping of night insects untouched by tragedy.

I swallowed hard and tried again. Louder.

“MOM! DAD!”

My voice echoed through the trees. No answer.

“LIAM !!!!!! I screamed, sobbing. “LIAM" PLEASE!”

The forest swallowed my cries.

A pressure squeezed my chest so tightly that I thought my ribs would snap.

No… no, no… they can’t be gone. They were right next to me. They were right just here.

A slight movement caught my eye,something small and fluttering near my feet. I glanced down.

It was the gummy bear bag Liam had hidden earlier, torn open, its colorful candies scattered like broken glass.

That was when my last shred of denial died.

A sound came out of me, not a scream, not a sob, but something raw and animalistic, the kind of sound someone makes when their soul is being ripped apart from the inside.

The night swallowed it whole.

I lay there for what felt like forever, trapped beneath metal and grief, until exhaustion dragged me back into unconsciousness.

But even as I faded, one thought followed me into the darkness:

Why am I the only one still breathing?