I held the electronic device between my fingers and listened to each and every suspenseful ring. I could feel my heart pounding loudly inside of my chest, caterpillars crawling inside my stomach. Anxiety spread throughout my entire body. If someone answered, I wasn't sure I'd be able to speak.

"Hello?" said a woman, and my heart melted. Her familiar French accent was one I could never forget.

"H-Hi," I mumbled, barely able to get the words out. I had mixed emotions, unsure of what was going to happen next.

My grandmother gasped. "Ava? Oh my goodness, dear. I heard there was a tsunami. It's all over the news, are you okay?"

"I'm fine." I couldn't help but fight back tears.

"What happened? The number of deaths keep on rising, and I was so, so afraid that you were-"

"It washed away everything, grand-maman, everything. We were at the beach, and then I saw this huge wave and out of nowhere I was in water. The tide pulled me away from everyone and everything and I'm just so confused right now and I don't know what to do and I don't know where the rest of the family is-"

"Shhh, calm down honey... Are you hurt?"

"No," I responded, taking a deep breath in an attempt to calm myself down. I couldn't. My heart beat faster than the wings on a bird's first flight. "I mean, I have some injuries, but they aren't severe."

"Have you found your mother yet?" she asked. The question caught me off guard. Why my mother? The others were missing too.

"No."

There was a long pause. My anxiety got worse.

"I heard from her," my grandmother murmured, breaking the silence. I nearly dropped the phone.

"Pardon?"

I was hearing things, now. I was sure of it.

"Your mother called yesterday," she said, her voice trembling, "She was wondering where you were, sweetie." 

A wave of relief washed over me, a weight lifting off of my shoulders. I closed my eyes and breathed out, realizing I'd been holding my breath. This was real. 

"Where is she?"

"She didn't tell me, honey. She could be anywhere. I'm sure she's been moving around trying to look for you guys." 

"Is she okay?"

"Yes, she's okay, sweetheart." She said, and I smiled, tears slipping onto my cheeks. My mother was okay. "T'es tu correct, ma belle?" She spoke softly and soothingly, and it offered me relief.

"Oui, grand-maman. I'm doing fine," I said. I let out a deep, shaky breath. "And don't worry, I'm not lonely. I made a friend." 

I looked over at Isaac, capturing his grin at the mention of himself.

"Okay, that's good. And by the way, I didn't forget; happy birthday." She said, and I could tell she was smiling by the subtle sound of happiness in her voice.

"Thanks, but I have to go now, grand-maman. Lots of people need to use this phone. Just know that I'm okay, alright? Je t'aime." 

"Je t'aime aussi, ma belle. Stay strong, okay? Goodbye," she said, and then the line was cut.

I turned to Isaac, who had a smile spread across his lips.

"She's alive," I breathed. "Mom's alive!"

Isaac wiped away a tear from my cheek with his thumb, pulling me closer to him. "You see? Everything's gonna be okay."

I wrapped my arms around him and took another deep breath, wiping my eyes with the back of my hand. When I pulled away, I smiled through my tears and handed him the phone.

"Your turn."

He took the device, offered me a smile, then punched in some numbers and brought the phone to his ear. He took short, quivered breaths as he waited for someone to answer.

"Hello? It's me, Isaac." He said in a tremulous tone. The phone was loud enough for me to briefly hear the person on the other end of the line, and I was able to make out most of the words that were said.

"Isaac? What's going on?" the voice asked.

He swallowed and turned away from me. "There was a tsunami. I found Harper, but not Dad." 

"What do you mean?" the woman said, concern merging with her voice.

"Harper's in the hospital, she's being treated right now. The doctors say she'll be getting surgery any day now."

"What about your father?"

"I don't know where he is."

"And your mother?"

There was a break of silence so long, I thought Isaac would never answer. I watched him carefully, waiting for him to say something. 

"We won't find her." He said, his voice strained and quiet. 

"What do you mean?"

"She's gone."

"Oh my god, Isaac." The person was crying now. I could hear the sniffles and the change in her tone of voice. My heart sunk. "Do you want to come home?"

"No, no. I have to look after Harper, and I have to find Dad. But after I do, I promise you, I will come home. I have to go now, okay?" 

"Alright Isaac, call me if you need anything."

"Goodbye," he said, and then he ended the phone call. 

He handed the device back to the lady who gave it to us, and although he wasn't crying, I could tell that something inside of him had broken. She gave him a look of genuine concern, and then a warm hug. I kept watching him, kind of wishing he would cry. He was bottling it up. I could tell by the way he swallowed hard or blinked a lot, holding in his breath. 

I thought of the conversation after that, analyzing it and asking myself questions. He'd had to break the news of losing his mother over the phone, and I couldn't even bear to imagine how difficult it must have been. I thought of what he had said, and the lady on the other end of the line. I thought of how she wanted him to go home and be safe. I thought of him leaving this chaotic place, and flying far, far away from here.

And then it hit me.

When we would go home, we would be on two different parts of the planet, in two different countries. We wouldn't be able to see each other anymore, or even talk in person. 

Although we hadn't known each other for very long, I felt a strong connection - a bond. We'd gone through the same thing. We helped each other pull through. Suddenly I realized how much he really meant to me, and how much I really cared. He was an important person in my life now, and I didn't want to lose him. 

--

Back at the tent, I sat at the table with a red ballpoint pen. I stared at the paper, wondering what to draw. Isaac watched, waiting to see what I would do.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just -- I'm just thinking."

"About what?"

"Stuff."

"That doesn't tell me anything."

"Well, what do you want me to say?"

"What you're thinking of," he said, "ever since the phone call you haven't been speaking to me."

I hesitated a little, putting down the pen and looking at him before saying, "I'm sorry, it's just -- after your conversation with your aunt, I realized that when we go home, we're never going to see each other again." I told him, instantly regretting what I had said. 

"That's what was bothering you? I'm quite flattered, didn't know I meant that much to you." He chuckled. There was a long pause.  "You know, I'll miss you too."

Pause. Silence. He glanced at my paper and grabbed it.

"What are you doing?"

He tore it in two and stole my red pen, scribbling down numbers. "Giving you my address and number. Like that we could write and call each other. We'll keep in contact, don't worry." He said, flashing me a grin. 

Reluctantly, I took the other half of the paper and scribbled down mine, then handed it to him. 

We'll keep in contact, don't worry.

A/N: And that was Chapter 10! Hope you enjoyed it:)

QOTD: Favourite fictional character?