1 Chapter 1: The Disaster
On a beautiful morning in July 2000, in a small house in Queens, New York, a woman was putting clothes inside a black suitcase.
"Are you ready Isaiah?" she asked.
Her name is Sandra Sharpe and she was thirty-two years old woman. She had a height of about five foot seven with above-average features. She had blonde hair and blue eyes. She also had a light skin tone that would easily be found among Americans. Right now, she was packing her luggage for a trip outside of the States. She was wearing a business suit that she always wore for her jobs that went outside of the country. It is composed of a white undershirt with a black jacket. She also wore a black knee-length skirt and high heels.
"Almost ready, mum!" the voice of a little boy was heard from another room of the house. Thumping sounds were heard and a child about five years old came out of the room with a black suitcase too big for his size. This boy was Isaiah Sharpe and he was five years old. He had an above-average height for a boy of his age reaching four feet. He also had dark hair and blue eyes. He also had a front tooth missing as it recently detached itself. He wore a red t-shirt with blue shorts and some running shoes. Underneath his shirt was a pendant which was a gift from his mother.
"Here you go, mum!" the boy proudly huffed as he hefted the suitcase to his mother who smiled at her boy.
"That was a big suitcase you brought. Did you pack everything I said?" she asked.
The boy vigorously nodded his head with a bright smile.
"Then let's check shall we?" Sandra said before opening the bag.
The mother hefted the bag onto the bed and opened it. At the sight of its content, she sighed.
"Isaiah," she called her son.
"Yes?" the boy replied.
"You can't just bring toys in your bag."
The boy tilted his head in confusion,
"What do you mean? Those are the stuff I need right?"
His mother sighed once more,
"Where are your clothes or your toothbrush? You can't just go to another country with only toys."
"Oh."
Sandra giggled and told her son,
"Come, let's pack your stuff properly, 'kay?"
"Okay, mom. I'm sorry."
"That's okay, sweety. We all make mistakes. It's only a matter of learning from them," the mother reassured.
After fifteen minutes, Sandra and Isaiah finally locked the suitcase with the necessary stuff to bring.
"There. All done. Now, we just have to call a taxi and we will be on our way to the airport."
"Where exactly are we going and for what?"
"You know how mommy's job is to save people?"
"Yeah?"
"Well mommy works in a special group where they send doctors like me all around the world to help those who need our help."
"Really?" the boy asked in excitement.
"Yes, we call doctors like us the Doctors without borders. And, today is my first job outside of the country." the mother proudly said.
"Wow! And where are we going?"
"We are going to Nepal because there was a recent outbreak of an unknown virus. That's why they called mommy to help."
"So you are going to make the people over there feel better?"
"That's right?"
"That's so cool. It's like you are a superhero!" the boy exclaimed.
"Hm? Maybe you're right."
"Then, when I grow up, I want to become like you!" the boy stated.
"Aw. that's my baby boy." the mother smiled as she hugged her son and the latter giggled in her embrace.
"Now let's go call that taxi hm?"
"Alright!" the boy separated himself from his mother and went to put on his shoes.
Sandra smiled as her little boy ran to the entrance before picking up the home phone and calling the taxi agency.
Half an hour later, an iconic yellow taxi of the state of New York appeared in front of the Sharpe household. A man got out of the car and Sandra went outside of the house to meet him.
"Is this the Sharpe household?" the man asked.
"Yes, that's us," she replied.
The man nodded and asked,
"Would you like help with the luggage?"
The woman nodded,
"Thank you, that would be really appreciated."
Luckily, there was not a lot of baggage since they were provided by the organization.
*Thump!*
The driver closed the trunk.
"Is that all?"
Sandra nodded before calling her son.
"Isaiah, it's time to go!" the mother said.
"Okay, mom!" Isaiah walked out of the house and his mother locked the house before they both went into the car.
Soon the driver started his car up and they made their way toward Newark Liberty International Airport.
"Are you excited?" Sandra asked Isaiah.
"Yeah, it's the first time I'm going on a plane!" the boy replied as he looked at their home getting smaller and smaller as they got further from it.
Three hours later, after walking and waiting for a long time, they finally entered the plane. Isaiah was admiring the plane as it was his first time.
"It's so big! Can this thing really fly in the sky?" he asked.
"Yeah, it's honestly amazing how a big chunk of metal can take us into the skies." his mother replied.
Soon it was time for take-off when the clock hit 12h45. Since there are no direct flights from the USA to Nepal, the mother-son duo has to land in Paris and take another plane for Kathmandu, Nepal. After six hours they have finally arrived in Paris. Sandra had to wake her child up since the latter had fallen asleep. They soon made their way to their next flight and, before long, they took off towards Kathmandu in Nepal.
Finally, after almost twelve hours of flight, they arrived in Kathmandu. Isaiah was vibrating in place out of excitement. So many different kinds of people, different kinds of smells, and different kinds of languages were there in this country. As the mother and son exited the terminal, they saw a dark skin man holding a sign that was written, Sharpe.
"That's for us, Isaiah," Sandra said as she pointed at the man.
The boy looked at the man in question and they approached him.
"Hi. We are the Sharpe." Sandra said as she shook hands with the man.
"Hello, Mrs. Sharpe and Mr. Sharpe. My name is Rama and I will be the one who will escort you to the location." the man said with a thick Nepali accent.
"Thank you, Rama," Sandra said before turning towards the boy, "Let's go, sweety."
The boy followed his mother and they reached a black taxi. Once inside, they went to check in a hotel and went to sleep due to her lag.
The next day, the family woke up and got dressed before going outside to meet with Rama once more. This time Sandra had worn her doctor's uniform and brought her kits with her while her son brought some toys. As soon as they entered the car, they headed towards the site where Sandra would perform her job. Isaiah looked out the window of the car and could see the tents the people of Doctors without Borders had set up. Even, in the capital of Nepal, there were a lot of areas where the people couldn't afford health care for themselves or their relatives. Now with this new disease, it has become worse for them.
Once they arrived at the location, they put on their masks and met up with a man and woman who seemed to be waiting for her.
"Hello, Dr. Sharpe. My name is Dr. Jacques Dubois and I am the leader of this operation. This is my assistant Dr. Meena Singh." the man introduced himself and his assistant with a thick French accent.
"Hello. It's a pleasure to meet you." Meena greeted.
"Hello, Dr. Dubois and Dr. Singh. This is my son, Isaiah," Sandra introduced her son.
"Hello, little guy./ Hi."
Jacques kneeled to the boy's eye level and waved his hand,
"Hello there, little guy. I'm going to be helping your maman to help these people."
the boy tilted his head,
"Maamwan?" the boy tried to copy his pronunciation but failed
The man chuckled a little,
"Maman. It means your mum."
"Oh."
"Why don't you go with Dr. Singh? She will show you the resting area if that's all right with you," he said before asking the mother.
"That's all right. Thank you, Dr. Singh."
The woman in question nodded,
"Come Isaiah," she said and the boy followed her. As he walked, he saw something from the corner of his eyes. He looked at it and saw a duo of men in monk clothes walking amongst the people. It seems like he had been caught starting since the men turned towards him and simply smiled.
"What's wrong?" Meena asked.
The boy looked at her before turning back to where he saw the men, but they were not there anymore. It was like they had disappeared.
"Nothing," he said and they continued to make their way.
And so days have passed. Sandra would help the sick and cooperate with the other doctors to help find a cure for the unknown disease. Most of the time, Isaiah would remain in the resting area of the doctors where it was safe, but occasionally, he would accompany his mother to see how she worked. This took a lot of convincing on his part because his mother didn't want him near the patients. After finally relenting, she finally agreed. Therefore she took every precaution needed for him to be protected and made him follow her. Isaiah saw how the victims suffered, but he also saw how his mother tried her best to help them and she looked really happy. He would also help her by carrying her stuff and bringing it to her even when she told him that it was okay. But seeing the sad face he would make when she denied his help cracked Sandra's resolve and simply let him help her.
But helping patients was not the only thing they would do, they would sometimes go out to eat the local delicacies or visit famous places in the city. Right now, Isaiah was sitting on a chair with a book that his mother had bought him and was reading it. He quickly got bored of it and looked up to find his mom. She was not in the resting area.
"Mom?" he called out, but it seems like she didn't hear her because she didn't answer.
Looking around, he found Meena doing some paperwork. He got off his chair and walked up to her.
"Hello Ms. Meena," he called.
The lady lifted her eyes and smiled when she saw the little boy trying to look over the table. Over the week, every employee around had become fond of him.
"Hello Isaiah, what can I do for you?"
"Have you seen my mom?"
"Yeah, she's just outside talking with some other doctors," she replied while pointing in a direction.
"Thank you, Ms. Meena," the boy replied before taking off.
"No problem Isaiah," she replied as she watched the boy go before turning her eyes back to the paperwork.
Looking at the number of papers still left to fill up, she sighed and muttered about paperwork spawning from hell.
As he went outside, he saw his mother discussing with some people.
"Mom!" he called out.
Sandra looked at the source of the voice and saw
her son walking up to her.
"Oh, Isaiah. What's wrong, honey?" she asked.
"I'm a little bored." the boy said.
Sandra turned towards the others who nodded and left to discuss elsewhere.
"Sorry, Isaiah. Mommy was very busy right now and couldn't spend time with you."
"Oh." the boy looked down.
Seeing his expression, Sandra smiled a little,
"Tell you what. When I finish today's work, let's go out to eat."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
"Okay!"
She looked at the time on her watch.
"Mommy's shift will be done in thirty minutes. Can you wait until then?" she asked.
The boy nodded.
"That's my boy. Now..." she was about to say something when, suddenly, a loud explosion was heard.
*BOOOOMMMM!*
A huge fireball appeared right in the resting area. Shouts and cries were heard as the people closest to the explosion were either burned alive or disintegrated due to the explosion. People began to run away from the explosion. Those who did not die were blown away and died on impact or were seriously injured. Isaiah and his mother were also blown away and the boy blacked out for a moment. He opened his eyes and saw his mother on top of him.
"Mom?" he called weakly.
He tried to look up but couldn't as his mother's body was pressed against him.
"Mom?" he called again.
No answer.
"Mommy?"
He tried to push his mother's body off him and on her back. After much struggle, he finally succeeded. He looked up at his mother's face. She had her eyes closed and her mouth slightly parted.
"Mom?" he called again.
No answer.
"Mom, it's me, Isaiah." he tried again.
No answer.
He shook her.
No answer.
"M-Mom-my?"
His voice started cracking as fear started to settle into him. His mommy wasn't moving.
"M-Mom. It's-It's not nap time. Don't sleep."
He tried to shake her again as tears began to roll from his eyes.
No answer.
"Please wake up mom."
He tried to look around and it felt like hell. Everything was either burning or crumbling down.
"Mom. Mom. MOM! PLEASE WAKE UP" the five-year-old called out this to his mother again and again.
No answer.
Suddenly, another explosion was heard, the boy was once more blown away and, for the last time, blacked out. His last sight was the dead body of his mother and Hell brought to life that would forever burn itself into his memories.
