The Missed Lane
The camera’s flash went off at a Canadian Guelph Convenience store. All the lottery crowd had finished their rounds and took their Saturday winning and losses. The last person inside was me, a 17 year old Lebanese boy named Ahmed. Surrounded by unopened university preparation books, I had a few hours left in the night before I had to close the shop and make the hour drive back home. It was a few weeks since I joined online. I just found a new app to try and just finished setting up my profile. It used common interests to connect you with others. The twist was you did not know what the other person looked like and you had to talk with the person for 15 mins before you could disconnect to the next person. Ahmed fixed his dark brown hair back down as soon as the photo finished being taken and adjusted his position on to something more comfortable, he was connecting with the first person. The first person was a cool dude named Carl, they shared an interests in computers, and explained that the app used a simple but effective code to disable the screen until the timer was done, he also showed me how to set up a vpn. A vpn was like a digital teleporter that protected your digital data and allows you to access content from different countries, like how he was using an app limited to Canada but lived in Sweden. We said goodbye and swapped info. Next was a group of kids who wanted to know what was my favorite type of cats, of course I had to go with the orancicle, my name of a orange and white tabby cat. They told me all about the three cats they have before signing off for bed. I was ready to disconnect when I connected with her. She was funny and laidback. We shared an interests in cats, the quiet rain in the dark, and mozzarella sticks. She stood out by what she opened with, “how does it feel to feed a cat from your hands” I thought for a moment and told her “It was like a sharp tickle like a dulled wooden rake, and you feel a sense of pride and accomplishment” I felt she was satisfied with the answer and she told me a bit about herself. She had a love of cats but she was never allowed to be near one because her mother had a fear of them. She would find the quiet of the rain calming like a friend who would cry with you in your sorrow. And she had a love of mozzarella sticks even though she was lactose intolerant and had to sneak them in. The more we talked the more I grew interested in her, as the 15 mins passed by quickly, I found myself holding my breathe to see her. The photo started to unravel, starting from the bottom black screen. She asked me what was happening and I was explaining it was showing the photo of each other that was taken when the profile was setting up. She had a sadness in her voice that just wanted to end the world. She asked if we could keep our eyes closed and let the photo expire, so I closed my eyes and the happiness returned to her voice as she disconnected from the app. Two weeks passed by since that night and I kept thinking about mozzarella girl. I kept the app open everyday till it was my next shift in Guelph. At the end of the night, I received an email. “It was me, if you remember the quiet rain and the sharp feel of a cat’s tongue then login”. I knew it was her and logged in immediately. She was there waiting with a green dot above her name. “How have you been?” “We can’t make small talk, I have to tell you the truth”. “I held my breath “I am listening”. “The truth is that 2 weeks ago you did not find me by mistake.” I was surprised by what I learned. Her name was Aminah, she has been living in Italy for the past 2 years because she was sick. She had a life ending disease with her heart and has been searching for a transplant from a suitable doner. She was excited and nervous because she finally found a suitable match in Canada, she was nervous because she did not know who the people in Canada are like. She made an account and started talking to people. She was surprised to find them kind hearted, intelligent, and funny. Then she found me and felt like she had purpose in her heart again, but she felt guilty. The surgery only had a 30% chance of success and she did not want to lead someone on to something that won’t happen. She tried to stay strong and stay offline but her heart ached too much not to tell the truth. She had the operation in a few hours, “Can you keep me company until then” I smiled from the phone “I had a few hours left in the shift so why not, but can I see you?” The door ranged open and in came a customer: “Is it too late for the draw?” “No, you still have a few minutes before the lottery numbers are drawn up” The man heaves in relief and picks his numbers, and checked last Wednesday results. “Ah, no winners today, maybe you are giving the bad luck” The old man laughs as he left the store waving goodbye as he does every week with the same joke. I sit down and pull up the phone. Her picture shows a black image. “If you want to see me come yourself. She sent an address 20 mins away. The clock hits midnight, signalising the end of my shift. I closed the store after then I have before and headed out. I drive to the location, avoiding the backroads as they are notoriously dangerous at night. When I arrived, I found an abandoned warehouse. At the front was an ambulance with a cracked window. I hesitated to get out of my car. I edged closer to the vehicle when the siren went off. I covered my ears when I felt a knife to my neck. “I finally found you Amir, after all this time” Her voice had a ragged weighed down sound to it. It was Aminah but slightly different. “You thought you escaped me, hiding in Canada.” I tried to raise my head but she inched the knife closer. “Do you remember me?”. I was not sure what was happening but I tried to reason. “Aminah…why are you doing this” A sharp laugh cut in. “I lied about Aminah, she was a roommate of mine, do you still not remember me, it wont work if you don’t remember”. Then I thought back to the last few months and sighed “Amila?” She turned off the voice changed and said“Finally, you are back”
