When Doors Close
1001 Words
Waking up to the sun shining on her face.
“Ughhh,” Ava grumbled, forcing herself out of bed.
“Oh no!” Her eyes flew open when she saw the time. She was late for her shift.
She rushed out of bed and got dressed in record speed. As she ran past the kitchen, she saw her mum drinking tea.
“Hey mama,” she said breathlessly.
“Hey baby. I made pancakes, you want some?” her mother asked with concern.
“No, thank you. I’m late for work. Please take your drugs, mama. Bye!” Ava said before sprinting out of the house.
Hours later – 5:30 pm (22 hours left)
Ava wasn’t focused the entire shift. Her mind kept spinning, jumping from one fear to another. She counted hours like they were drops of water in a leaking bucket, running out too fast. Every time she stacked a shelf or greeted a customer, Dante’s voice echoed in her head.
“48 hours.”
When her shift finally ended, she stood behind the counter, her hands trembling slightly. She was thinking, no, begging herself, to be brave enough to ask her boss for a loan.
Her boss was her last hope.
She’d already called every friend she had.
And every response was the same:
“I’m sorry, I’m really broke right now.”
She swallowed the disappointment each time, pretending it didn’t crush her.
Her heart felt like it was sinking deeper with every call.
Now as she stood in front of her boss’s office, her palms were sweaty, and her heart was beating so loudly she was sure he would hear it through the door.
She knocked.
“Yes, come in,” her boss replied.
“Hello sir,” Ava said as she stepped inside.
“Oh, Ava,” he said, looking up from his laptop. “How are you doing today?”
“I’m very fine sir,” she lied immediately. Then she swallowed. “Well… I’m not really fine.” She admitted, her voice small.
His eyebrows pulled together slightly and his face shifted with concern. “What might be the matter?”
Ava hesitated. Her voice almost failed her.
“Well… um… I need a loan of four thousand dollars,” she said quickly.
“Four thou—”
“I’ll pay everything back, I promise. Please, this is really important,” she rushed out before he could finish.
Her boss sighed. “Ava… four thousand dollars is a lot of money. And the store hasn’t been moving well lately. I’m really
sorry, it’s not possible.”
Ava felt her heart shatter into smaller pieces than she thought possible.
“But..please, you can try, you have friends in high places. I need this to save my mum..Please.” Ava begged.
“I’m sorry, but we all know how the economy is. We are all struggling Ava. I’m pretty sure my friends are too. I can’t ask them for such amount.”Her boss replied
“But you can try please.”
“Why not try loan banks?”
“They all rejected me.” Ava said feeling defeated.
“Well I’m sorry, there’s nothing i can do.” Her boss said
“Oh. Okay. Thank you sir.” she managed before leaving the office.
Her vision blurred as she hurried down the hallway. She pushed open the restroom door, locked it, and immediately her knees gave out.
She covered her mouth to muffle the sobs.
Tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.
This was it.
Her last option.
Gone.
“No, Ava. Don’t cry,” she whispered shakily. “You’re a strong girl. You can’t cry.”
But she was crying.
She couldn’t stop.
Her vision blurred. Her throat ached. Her chest felt tight with helplessness.
She pressed her forehead to the cold wall.
What am I going to do?
What is left?
Who is left?
Minutes passed. Maybe ten. Maybe fifteen. Time didn’t feel real anymore.
Why is this happening?
Why is my life miserable?
Why did it have to be my family?
Are we cursed?
What did we do wrong?
Ava asked herself these questions. But she knew that she won’t get answers.
Eventually, she wiped her face with trembling hands, forcing herself to stand. Trying to make herself look less like her world was falling apart.
She looked in the mirror, swollen eyes, red nose, broken expression.
She hated that girl.
She hated that she had tried so hard today and still failed.
Ava sniffed and smoothed her hair back, trying to look normal.
She stepped out of the restroom and walked through the store like a ghost. Her coworkers greeted her, but their voices were muffled, distant. She couldn’t bring herself to respond.
When she stepped outside, the evening breeze hit her face, sharp and cool. Instead of calming her, it just reminded her of time moving faster… and her running out of it.
She checked her phone.
21 hours left.
Her stomach turned violently.
She didn’t notice the black SUV parked across the street.
She didn’t notice the man inside lifting his phone.
She didn’t notice when he said,
“We’ve found her.”
She began walking home slowly, not because she wasn’t in a hurry… but because she didn’t know what she was walking home to. She didn’t want her mother to see the panic in her eyes. She didn’t want to pretend everything was fine.
She passed a boutique window and caught her reflection again.
Broken.
Tired.
Desperate.
She didn’t recognize herself.
She whispered under her breath, “Please… please God… help me.”
But the sky stayed silent.
Her footsteps echoed in the quiet street as she neared her house.
Her chest tightened again.
She didn’t know that the night ahead would change everything.
She didn’t know someone was already thinking about her.
Already searching for her name.
Already stepping into her story.
All Ava knew… was that she was out of options.
And out of time.
- Writer
