.
"What happened last night at the bridge, Jennie?" Sharon asked with concern.
"That's where I lost them. The exact place they..." With heavy tears staining her eyes, Jennie held her hair tightly in frustration.
Standing up from her chair, Sharon knelt beside Jennie with hands patting her back. "You have to breathe Jennie, inhale, and exhale calmly. Can you do that for me?"
Closing her eyes tightly, Jennie nodded before taking a long breath and releasing the air in her lungs.
"Now, can we start over again?" Sharon asked, walking back to her chair. "Come on, let's start from where it all began." She added.
With her right hand on her face, Jennie wiped her tears off as she shuddered from the fear of remembering what occurred 3 months, 3 weeks, and 5 days ago.
"I..." biting her lower lip, Jennie swallowed a big lump that formed in her throat as she continued. "I... I told them I wish they were gone." She said before holding tightly on her chest.
"Jennie... please, look at me. I am right here with you." Sharon said with assurance.
"I don't deserve to be here... alive and breathing. I deserve to be locked away somewhere dark and empty for what I have done. I don't deserve mercy... I..." breaking down in new fresh tears, Jennie hugged herself like a mother would to her crying baby.
"You can't blame yourself forever, Jennie. It wasn't your fault the accident..."
"Yes, it was!" Jennie screamed, standing up from her seat as she walked back and forth in a circle like a lost maniac.
"I told them I was an adult and could take care of myself. I was a spoiled little brat who didn't see the beauty in my life. I wanted to have fun, go out partying, return home drunk, date countless people, and just enjoy my adult life. I craved freedom and... and on my sixteenth birthday ... I..." hitting her forehead with her left palm, Jennie turned toward Sharon with tears rolling down her face.
"They told me they would like it if I could spend my sixteenth birthday with them, but I said, "No!" I called them names, and my dad grounded me, but I ran away. I ran out of the house and went out partying with my friends and... and when they called me, I picked and told them that I wish they were dead and out of my life... I...I... that was the last word I said to them before hanging up the phone. And do you know what happened the next day?" Shaking her head, Jennie stopped pacing around and stood upright with her hands on her head as she spoke.
"The next day, I woke up to the news stating that my parents had an accident in the room of a guy I didn't even know. It was reported that their car was hit by a drunk driver and thrown off to the bridge and straight into the lagoon at 10:55 am. That was 2 minutes after I told them what my wish was, and now, they are gone." Jennie said before falling down on her knees.
"Jennie, you didn't kill them. You were angry and said lots of words to them, but you didn't kill them." Sharon stated clearly.
Shaking her head in denial, Jennie looked at Sharon with a painful smile like she always did. A month after her parents' death, Sharon had visited her home. Jennie had stayed locked in her room after the news and prayed endlessly that her parents would come back alive since they didn't find their bodies. She had starved herself for days and went off from the internet world. But Sharon had found her after Mrs. Edwin, her school principal, had sent Sharon, who is a therapist, to her to help her get out of her shell.
Since then, Sharon had been doing good work as her therapist, telling her positive things until last night when she was in her parents' room and saw a gift that was meant for her.
...and as she unwrapped the gift, tons of tears filled her eyes as she saw the content in it. It was... it was the perfect gift. They got her a new car and her favorite pet, a cat. And just seeing that... just seeing all that, Jennie hated herself more and had gone to the bridge to die in it as well, but the Cctv camera had seen her and a policewoman had stopped her.
"I saw something on my laptop last night before going into my parents' room. I was researching wishes, and there's an article that said if I wish upon a star, with a strong faith, a miracle will occur. I'd like to try that, please." Jennie said, staring at Sharon with a painful smile.
"I know about that ancient belief. There'll be a shooting star tonight. Let's go out." Sharon responded with a smile.
The moment they got out, Jennie took a deep breath and calmed her racing heart. She blocked her endless thoughts and relaxed her mind and just as she opened her eyes, a shooting star appeared and Jennie moved her lips slowly in a hopeful smile and 2 minutes after the wish, the front gate alarm sounded indicating someone was at the gate.
"I'll get it." Jennie said as she walked toward the gate, opening the gate's lock. She came face to face with her... Mom? Dad? Jennie called before her body hit the cold floor.
A few minutes, or was it an hour, Jennie couldn't tell. She felt a familiar presence in the room she laid as she opened her eyes gently.
"My baby..." Jennie's Mom said when she saw her daughter's eyes flutter open.
"She's awake, George. Jennie is awake!" Jennie's Mom called her husband, who came running to check on his daughter.
"Please, please, Lord, let this be real." Jennie whispered with a single tear, finding its way to her cheek.
"We are here, baby. We are right here with you." Jennie's dad said, holding on to his daughter.
Opening her eyes fully, Jennie held on to her parents. "I thought.... the news... I..."
"Shhh...baby, calm down and look at Mommy. We are fine." Her mother said in assurance.
"But... what happened?" Jennie asked.
"When the truck driver hit our car and threw us straight into the lagoon, I thought we were going to die, but we had help. I don't know how it happened, but we were saved. The next minute, we were awake at the hospital we were, we saw the news about you trying to commit suicide due to your parents' death. We had to rush down here to make sure you were alright. I want you to know that we love you so much, okay?" Her mother said with a lot of smile and Jennie couldn't help but wear a bigger smile as she saw her parents.
"It happened." Jennie whispered to herself sweetly. "I wished upon a shooting star, and my wish was granted." She grinned ear to ear as she planted a kiss on both her parents' cheeks.