A Graduation Gift

Cassandra stood at the side of the road, holding the phone in her hand and dumbfounded. She didn't know what had just happened.

She heard something loud. Where could it have come from?

Suddenly, she had a good guess on what had happened so she turned around and ran back to the Garden Villa immediately.

The wind blew across her face as she breathed heavily and quickened her pace.

Her heart was beating rapidly and she could only see darkness but she held on to the one person who was keeping her going.

It was Rufus! Rufus!

Rufus could feel his body aching all over when the terrible car accident happened. But nothing could compare to the ache his heart was nursing.

"Cassandra..."

Rufus murmured the little woman's name. A glimpse of a familiar figure was suddenly running towards him.

Was it Cassandra? Or an illusion?

Rufus couldn't tell who the figure was because he couldn't even open his eyes. Before he knew it, he had already fainted.

Cassandra saw Rufus's Range Rover crash into a wall from a distance—the front of the car looked quite damaged.

Her chest tightened at what she'd seen; her heart began to beat so fast that she felt it would jump out of her chest anytime soon.

She ran and ran until she'd closed the distance between them.

When she arrived at the car, she saw Rufus slumping over the wheel. His legs were stuck inside the car and he looked terrible. It was hard to digest the entire scene.

Cassandra felt as if someone had grabbed her heart and crushed it—she couldn't breathe.

She tried to ram the door open but it was locked and she couldn't break it from the outside.

She then tried to smack the window hoping that Rufus would wake up to the noise but he didn't even flinch. He wasn't moving at all. Did he just faint or was he...dead already?

Cassandra was crying and shrieking, "Rufus, wake up! Don't leave me! Rufus!"

What Rufus had said before came true.

the only way he'd let Cassandra leave

Rufus! Don't do this, Rufus! Wake up!'

for a way to break inside the car. However, they were in a deserted area and no one was even passing by. She

to her. She dialed Rufus's number and hoped that the ringing would wake him up.

Rufus just lay

up! Please!

open the car. She was starting to get worried as Rufus had already stayed in an oxygen-deprived space for too long and his legs had been stuck for a while now too.

came up with another idea—she used her keys to try to break the window open from the corners.

started to show some cracks,

teeth. When enough cracks had shown, she took a deep breath and landed a clenched fist through the window. The window shattered

the door open from the inside—all the while, her hand was shivering. She reached inside the car and grabbed Rufus's body in an attempt to drag him out of the car.

and big while she was short and

from trying anyway—this was an emergency after all. She gathered all her energy and soon, she was able

tried pumping his chest hard and fast with her hands,

Rufus would open his

tears that rolled down her cheeks and into her mouth; she fought through the bitter

lose hope. She was crying, scared and desperate.

should've said all those things to you, I'm so sorry! Open

that was

happen, she would never have attempted to break up with him. She thought she was doing the right thing. She'd been thinking over this break up for quite awhile—now she just wished she'd thought

Stay with me,

bawled as she continued to breathe life back into

chest heaved. Cassandra

continued to pump his chest and blow air

in a cold, dark place. Everything about him felt stuck and frozen

he could hear a familiar voice. Cassandra! It was Cassandra's voice! She was here and she was calling

he could open his eyes and hold her in his arms. He wanted to tell her, 'Cassandra, I'm yours and yours only. Don't you

to do so as he

air into his mouth. Rufus could tell that it was Cassandra's lips that had touched his cold ones; as

Cassandra? Are you saving me?' Rufus

taste the bitterness of the tears that ran in Cassandra's mouth. He couldn't help but feel his heart ache at the thought of Cassandra crying

tell her that everything was going to be okay. Hard as he tried, he just couldn't make himself move. He felt disconnected from his body as if everything was too heavy for him.

heart beat quickened when he sensed how

I'll protect you, I'm here, '

wanted to speak to