The Last Meja

Anna Rouland walked leisurely across the busy market square. Her shoulder-length hair swaying freely at the cool morning breeze. She looked at her watch, she still has twenty minutes before her bank appointment.   It was a rare moment for her to have a morning to herself, let alone enjoy the sunshine in such a beautiful day. As the marketing manager of Cecillia Beach, a well-visited resort in the town of Bayouville, Anna’s daily schedule gets swamped easily.   It was the middle of spring. Many locals and tourists flocked the Plaza this morning to bask in the sunshine. Some were enjoying the sidewalk cafés while others thronged the mobile stalls of souvenir trinkets.   Excitement abuzz around her. Children were left unrestrained to gleefully splash in the water fountain while their parents watch while having a cup of espressos and cakes.   Looking around, a smile touched her lips and she let out a contented sigh.   This is how everyday should be, she thought as she tucked a stray hair back behind her ear. Not soon after that thought, a foreboding feeling suddenly enveloped her.   The hair at the back of her neck stood-up and a chill went down her spine all the way to her feet. A familiar feeling she had hoped has long gone was here again.    It came without warning and left her suddenly afraid.   Her heart begun beating fast and as blood rushed into her head, her temple started to ache. The ringing in her ears made her put both hands over them.   She closed her eyes for a moment to shake the feeling off. When she opened them again, chaos was around her.   The abysmal scenario was replaced by panicked faces and people running without direction, ducking and scurrying for cover as bits and pieces of objects were flying around them.   As her eardrums started to clear, she slowly heard the distant sound of gun shots tearing at everything and everyone down.   There were blood everywhere, and the wounded cry for help but no one dared come to their aid. Shocked. She looked across her and there she saw the lone gunman, his back turned, emptying an automatic rifle to no one in particular.   As if sensing her eyes on him, he turned around and they made eye contact. A smirk appeared on his lips. He reloaded his rifle then aimed to shoot in her direction.   She was too stunned to move, watching everything in slow motion.   Just as the man pulled the trigger, she was pushed to the ground from behind.   She heard a hissing sound as something whizzed over her head followed by the sickening thump of a bullet hitting  flesh.    A man slumped down to the ground next to her. His left hand was on his neck trying to stop the blood gushing out from his severed carotid artery. His bulging eyes looked at her.   His mouth formed words but she couldn’t make out what he was saying.   She crawled closer and put her ears over his mouth. To her surprise he suddenly grabbed her arm. She tried to free herself but the man kept a tight grip.   “Help …. her….. help… my ….little Lila ... please ….” His voice had that gurgling sound. He coughed and blood splattered over Anna’s neck, leaving a warm sticky trail down her stomach.   He let her arm go to take a smaller hand and placed it on Anna’s.   Anna looked-up and found herself staring into the clear blue eyes of a pretty little girl, no more than six, kneeling and bawling next to the wounded man.   “Daddy…. daddy….. get-up…. get-up…..” Little Lila was choking on her sob. She was pulling the man’s arm willing him to stand-up.   She looked at the girl then to the father. His eyes on Anna were desperate and pleading. Anna nodded and pulled the girl over to her lap. The girl resisted, holding on desperately to her father’s hand.   Anna held her tightly, burying her head over her chest as the man started gasping for air. After a few gulps, his ragged breathing stopped.   The shooting has also stopped.   The eerie sound of silence followed.                               She looked across and saw the shooter lying face down on the ground, body riddled with bullets.   Police and emergency personnel have started to sweep the area, providing aid to the wounded. Over the sound of sirens, people called out from their hiding places. Others gingerly crawled out.   But just as sudden as the shooting, the atmosphere changed quickly. An ominous gloom enveloped the sky and a dark mist hovered above them.   She sensed them first before she saw them.   The angels of death.   Many of them.   They slowly descended then moved out to take their charge back with them to the underworld.   She felt a movement next to her. A man, clad in black, kneeled down and touched the child’s father on the shoulder. A wisp of breeze flipped her hair, then a shadowy form stood-up from the man’s dead body.   That shadowy form looked at her, smiled sadly and mouthed his thanks. She watched as he walked away with the Grim Reaper then disappeared. Other souls were also slowly disappearing with their reapers.   “Miss, are you hurt? You’re covered in blood.” A man in an orange blazer appeared in front of her, obscuring her view. He helped her up as she held the child close.   “No, I’m not. It’s not mine… but I need help with this girl. She’s in shock. That’s her father,” she pointed to the man on the ground.   “I think she’s bleeding,” the paramedic observed. He took the motionless girl from her and ran into an empty ambulance.   Anna followed. She was so mad at herself for not realizing that the girl was wounded.   The paramedic laid her down the ambulance bed, checked her pulse and noted her sallow breathing. He immediately connected her to an IV line and put oxygen mask over her nose.   Blood was oozing from her right thigh where a bullet penetrated. He bandaged the damaged leg and asked the driver to go.   Please God, don’t let your little angel go. Not yet. Let her stay a bit longer, Anna fervently prayed.   “Lila, please be okay. You need to stay strong and fight. I’m sure your daddy will like that,” Anna spoke to the unconscious child, clasping her tiny hand.