1 The fatal accident

Darkness descended the tranquil Oxfordshire countryside and the moon dangled in the sky like a sharp sickle. The loud noise of a car engine erupted in the air, causing nearby burrowing animals to scutter away in terror. Soon a silver Porsche convertible roared into view and inside was a young couple around eighteen years of age.

"Slow down, Kai!" The girl in the passenger seat complained as she tried to hold her long hair down with both hands. The wind was that strong it was blowing her hair all over the place, it kept whipping her face and was starting to hurt.

The boy tilted his head in her direction and flashed her a cocky smile, the diamond stud earring on his left earlobe glinted under the moonlight. "Persephone, chill. Would you rather I drove at five miles per hour? What would be the fun in that? It's hardly the 'Fast and Furious' is it?"

Sefi made a face at him.

Kai laughed at her reaction. His dark eyes gave her body a quick appreciative once over, sweeping past her pretty heart-shaped face to her slim bared arms, down to her flowery sundress before resting on her exposed legs.

This did not go unnoticed. Sefi rolled her eyes at him. "Never mind the 'Fast and Furious', just you keep your eyes on the road, mister!" She demanded as she turned her face in the opposite direction and pretended to be in a huff, which only amused him more and made him laugh louder as he gently lifted his foot off the accelerator.

Damn, he was good looking! And didn't he know it?! She thought as she looked out the window and felt herself blush. Everything about that boy screamed 'suave' in big capital letters, from his perfectly styled hair to his handsome features and his impeccable dress sense. Never has she seen anyone who wasn't a movie star that could pull off a black leather jacket with a simple T-shirt as he did. It probably helped the T-shirt was Gucci, but that wasn't the point.

She usually hated it when people called her by her full name. Persephone. The Queen of the Underworld. She often wondered if her parents were on drugs or something when they decided to name her that. But when it came out of his mouth it had a nice ring to it, almost like the name "Lo-lee-ta" that just rolls off the tip of the tongue, except that it was "Per-si-fin-nee".

And he wasn't intimated by the fact that she went to Oxford, nor was he unnerved by who her family were. He didn't seem to care about any of those things and only seemed to be lusting after her looks. That already made him stood out heads and shoulders above the rest of the guys trying to win her over, who in her opinion were not only boring but lacked backbone. The way they tried to bend over backwards to please her was quite repulsive.

"Sefi," he turned to face her, only to see the back of her head because she was still busy looking outside with both hands on her head, pressing her hair down.

Without turning around, she asked, "what?"

Kai sighed silently. She was a feisty one. Easy on the eye, not to mention incredibly smart. What's more, she was from a super-wealthy family. He had a feeling that Cupid has finally got him in a chokehold this time round.

Putting the car on the cruise control, he reached for her hand.

She felt his hand on hers as he pulled her hand into his lap. She glanced over to see what he was doing, then with his eyes gazing deeply into hers, he asked, "Sefi, will you be my girlfriend?"

Before Sefi had the chance to react to his words, a little rabbit suddenly jumped out from nowhere. "Watch out!" She screamed, pointing to the middle of the road.

He wasn't expecting any animals to appear in the dead of night. Instinctively, he stepped on the brakes and swerved the wheel in rapid movements. The car screeched loudly and the smell of burning tyres filled the air as the car sprung round a few times before slamming straight into a tree.

His body shot through the windscreen like a rocket and landed heavily in a loud 'thud' on the grass a few meters in front.

Sefi felt everything in front of her eyes had gone black as if someone had turned off all the lights.

***

She woke up with a thumping headache. Every part of her body was aching in excruciating pain. She slowly opened her eyes, squinting them against the dazzling sunlight. She was lying in a large plush bed and surrounding her was an unfamiliar room decorated with exquisite Italian furniture.

"Miss Sefi, you are finally awake, are you okay? I'll go tell the young master." A girl's voice chirped and before Sefi had the chance to say anything, the girl was already rushing towards the door.　　

"Who are you? Where am I?" Sefi called out, but to her surprise, no sound came out.

Her heart tightened and she suddenly sat up from the big bed. The sudden dizziness was like a raging hurricane forcing her to lie back down again, closing her eyes tightly.

Fragments of memory continue to emerge in her mind like a silent movie being projected. From the dilapidated sports car to her heartbroken parents, then came her grief-stricken big brother who blamed himself unreservedly followed by the tear-stained faces of her classmates. Everyone dressed in black somber clothing. She realised she was witnessing her own funeral as she watched the casket being lowered to the ground.

Just like a phoenix emerging from the ashes, she was reborn again, but the price she paid was steep. It was with her voice. She could no longer speak.

Thinking of this, the unspeakable sadness and grievances poured over her and she couldn't help covering her face, sitting on the bed, she started crying.