KALMIA'S POVI said, "No, Arrow, I am not going to help you," my voice was sure and concrete.Arrow’s eyes begged of me, his face screwed in desperation as he pleaded, his voice cracking, "Please."My face did not yield, and I said, "Arrow, this evening you will be discharged. Get ready."I stood up and then gathered my bag, slipping it onto her shoulder."I have to leave now; I will be back this evening," said Arrow with a disinterested tone.Anxiety was overshot in Arrow’s mind. Alone and dependent, he couldn't bear it."Kalmia, please do not leave me," implored Arrow with desperation in his voice.But I was cold: "I will be back," I said only while walking toward the door.He tried to argue, but the words fell on deaf ears like water poured onto a rock. I didn't flinch, didn't bat an eyelid.His eyes turned towards the clock, that was now counting hours until I was back. At the sound of his words, I sounded firm, "Arrow, I'm going to take permission at work for two weeks.""No
ARROW'S POVI stood in a paralysis of confusion and horror, wracking my brain. The house that seemed to be radiating the warmth of laughter lay in ruin.My family-my mother, father, and sister were trapped inside. Panic overcame me, and I called frantically for my mother."Mom! Dad! Sarah!" I yelled at the top of my hoarse throat. But no answer came out, I continued.The silence was deafening.And hours passed as my cries weakened.I had given in to exhaustion and despair.He sat on the ground, waiting for the fire extinguisher team to be done.Their faces looked solemn, engraved with sympathies.At last, they came out with body bags. My heart sank.The first corpse they brought out was my dad.The only feature I could recognize was the ring he always wore. It was blackened by soot now.Tears streamed down my face as I confirmed his identity.My mom and sister, they were unrecognizable.Their bodies had been reduced to ashes.The reality hit me like a tidal wave.I was alone now.
ARROW'S POVThe masked man didn't budge an inch.The armed men circled them, pointing guns."Let's go," one growled.Kalmia and I are dragged away, filled with fear.To where?Would they find the answer?Or a trap set up to kill them?The voice of the taxi driver still echoed in Kalmia's mind:"Be careful, miss. That warehouse has a very bad reputation."Well, a little too late now.They were left to the mercy of unknown people.As deeper into the unknown they were pulled, Mia's brain raced like any other racing mind.Who did it?What did they want?Arrow's resolute words bolstered her resolution.Arrow's eyes did not leave Kalmia, as his face bleached white with fear.He felt a tide of guilt rush through him. Had he hurt her?Was this all his fault? Those words still rang in his ears from the masked man."You will know the truth soon enough."But at what cost?Rough handling from the gunmen cut the trance."Move!" one yelled, pulling on Mia's arm.Arrow felt his heart wrench. "Mia!"
"Go on, spill everything," Arrow said with his eyes fixed on Shedrack."Do you know the gunmen?" Mia asked, frowning."It's not possible that immediately you wanted to spill the information, they came into the warehouse," she continued.Shedrack nodded reflectively."Yes, I'm confused," he replied, Arrow said.Shedrack took a deep breath."Yes, Arrow, I know them," he said."It's the Zaden boys."Arrow's eyes widened."The Zaden boys?" Mia repeated.Shedrack nodded."They are notorious for their ruthless activities," Shedrack explained."But a lot of kidnappings, extortions, and others."Arrow clamped his jaws."And do they have any connection with Mr. Zaden?"Shedrack nodded."They are his hired guns."Kalmia's eyes shone bright with anger."We need to bring them down."Shedrack handed Arrow a folder."This contains evidence of their involvement."Arrow scanned the documents, his face darkened."Proof of their crimes, transactions, and connections," Shedrack said."This will bring th
"Please, Arrow, you can use the door," Kalmia replied as she approached the room entrance and gestured with her hands that Arrow had to leave. He did not take his eyes from Mia's; those eyes were dripping in sadness yet yearning. Arrow rose from the bed slowly, deliberately, as if every movement he made was to be savored through an intake of every second spent with Kalmia.She stepped aside as he neared the door, her eyes not meeting his. The tension between them was so great; the air was thick with unspoken feelings.Arrow reached the door, opened it, and stepped out into the hallway, almost in tears. He looked back at Kalmia for one last time to catch a glimpse of some change in her expression, but her face was still resolute.He reached the landing, his heavy heart with him, closed the door behind him, and began descending down the stairs. That heavy feeling only magnified with every step, as if it was tucking deep down in his chest.Arrow slowly walked downstairs, his eyes almost
ARROW'S POVThe sudden exit had left a bad taste in her mouth since all that she had attempted to do was show some concern for me.As she walked her way back to her department, the thudding of my words echoed in her brain: "It's none of your business, focus on your work."She wandered away, probably to her working station lost in thoughts if I would ever learn to appreciate the people around me.The moment I reached home, my mind still grappled with the discussion I had with Gloria.The very moment I entered that vacant house, the memories of Kalmia enveloped me. I remembered how Kalmia would always be in the kitchen, cooking for me.I still remember when I was sick and Kalmia kept feeding me soup to get me well.I felt a tug in my heart at the thought of not being able to have Kalmia's warmth and care anymore.I reached for my phone, hoping against hope that Kalmia might have responded to my message.But the screen stayed blank and she didn't call.My face screwed up in frustratio
*******************It was a shock, sudden and electric, as if one suddenly realized the truth had to be unmasked, a magician's curtain pulled back to reveal the trick behind the magic, the audience gasping in amazement with wonder."I am not hungry, neither thirsty," she replied in the voice of a child making its first tentative, stumbling steps into the unknown, where the ground was so unsure and the path not clear."Oh, okay," I said, my tone as neutral as a blank canvas, justly waiting for the flakes of colors that a creative mind would want to give it, where an artist's imagination ran wild and free."Arrrrrrr", I cleared my throat, and the voice cut through the night silent moment like a lonely bird singing its morning song where the melody was sweet and pure. And then, finally, the words fell out of my lips like a broken dam that burst open the high banks to let out a sea of emotions as the water ran out in cascades, sweeping with it everything that lay in the way.Everything w
KALMIA'S POVI stood there, my eyes fixed upon Arrow's smug face; a wave of anger raged through my being, beating upon the shore. My hands knotted into fists, clasping tighter like a vice, while I wrestled with a rage that could hardly be contained.I wanted to slap him; the sudden gush of the wind slaps against the glass, breaking this calm and peaceful atmosphere. That urge was just so strong I had to lock myself up just like one wild animal encaged, jumping and struggling.It was a fire that burned brighter and hotter with every passing moment, and staring at him only made me angrier. His smile, once so charming and endearing, now seemed like a mockery, a cruel joke played on me."All this while you have been binding me with lying words?"-I asked as if I stood in a legal court, voice rude and prosecutor-like, facing a defendant whom I had brought to the crime scene. As if a dam had broken its barrier, gushing out turbulent water, torrential emotions emerged from my face.Arrow's ey
KALMIA’S POV A figure came towards me and I remained frozen in surprise. The individual moved toward me and in a quiet mysterious voice said "I have something to say Visha." I saw them and adjusted my gaze while narrowing my eyes to figure out their identity. I replied carefully saying "Alright then proceed." "Are you really Visha?" I asked, my tone laced with skepticism. They chuckled softly while their eyes glowed with amusement. With confidence etched in their voice they said "I'm not." The phrase 'I'm here to help you' contained profound meaning despite its simple structure. They spun around and departed leaving me frozen in complete silence. I felt a wave of curiosity and wonder crash over me as they disappeared into the distance. I questioned what help this mysterious person wanted to offer me. My mind spun with questions about the stranger yet they vanished after I could think nothing through leaving behind just an arrow. I stood completely still as my eyes fixated on the a
KALMIA’S POV Cold air spouted out of the rooming house. As Arrow and I stepped out of the building, I looked up upon him with a smile. "I'm glad we're in this together," I said in a mask of whispered tones. Arrow smiled back, his eyes crinkling into the corners of his face. "Me too," he replied. "We'll get through this, Kalmia. Together.” Later in the day, or rather a few hours after that, we were escorted to a safe house on the outskirts, a small building without any distinguishable traits that would catch a passer-by's attention. The official introduced the security detail assigned to us, a crack team of agents working to protect us twenty-four-seven. As we made our way and began settling inside the safe house, the unease kept hovering upstairs. There was, indeed, an inscrutable potentiality of freedom in confining oneself to a little room with complete strangers. But I had to accept it for now. Arrow seemed to have sensed my unease and wrapped his arm about me, pulling me clos
KALMIA’S POV Another big breath was drawn, as if in an attempt to calm this furious storm of emotions stirring in me. The pain of betrayal was still fresh in my mind; yet I needed to think beyond it and outside for those few hesitant souls and a few things that meant anything to me. My gaze rested on the little baby and an overwhelming love and gratitude-for-the-pain-filled-the-heart.-Having-everything, she was the only reason for me, and I had to keep her safe by all means. My mind began questioning the motive of my sister-The thought of what could have driven her into such desperation kept gnawing at me: did she have her own battles to fight and her own miseries, or was it just jealousy and spite? I would never know now, and maybe it does not matter anymore, for what matters is that I have been wronged and I need to find some way to make it right. I knew it was going to be a hard thing to do; it would require all the courage I had within me to rise above it, but I knew I wanted t
KALMIA’S POV "Aha, indeed, I will say it because I was the one who put your so-called planned career into action after it brought you down," she spat, maliciously. Visha's eyes flashed with defiance and she sneered at me. The fury surged, and my hands clenched into tight fists. But Visha wasn't done yet. "I framed everything up," she continued in a rising level of triumph tracing her voice. "I turned Jemima against you and shouted toward me, throwing her eyes like the evil beacon on top. It was like getting hit in the gut; breath taken out. "No, oooo," I screamed, throat raw and voice trembling with emotion. "Nothing could separate the things about it. Then out into the air came the loudest cry I made. Tears were rolling down in continuance because each stroke of the event hit down hard at that instant. I couldn't bear the sharpness of pain and betrayal. I couldn't take the sound of another angry word flown in my direction again, as Visha had cut me too deep. I felt as if I was losi
KALMIA’S POV Her words seemed to slice through the air like a knife, and her voice dripped with venom voicing all her discontent. "I never liked you, Kalmia," she said, looking at me with flashing eyes of fury and disdain. There was this sensation of hurt, surprise mixed with confusion as I furrowed my brows to understand the depth of her emotions. "What do you mean?" I queried in a whipser, scanning her countenance for signs of weakness. The bitterness on that face twisted into a smile that shone malignant hues in her eyes. "So you said I hurt you, and I'm apologizing now, this?" My voice had incredulity and frustration laced into it. How could she even think that I would accept that as compensation for all the damage she had done? Memories of past confrontations and betrayals rushed into my consciousness, replete with a sudden surge of fury and spite against her. Visha was a semblance of what one could have guessed-trapped deeply in her emotions, longing and thirsting for an uni
KALMIA’S POV I wait outside the cell, anxiously glancing at Mr. Isah with a pleading face while panting in anticipation, tinged with a bit of nervousness. "I'm looking forward to seeing my lost sister, Visha," I say, voice almost inaudible, spilling from my mouth like a confession. Mr. Isah inclined his head in deep understanding; his very look was sympathetic, and turned to lead me through the station, his long strides chewing up the distance into nothingness. Strong cold fluorescent light above the hub flickered and hummed, casting a glaring light on those forms. A heavy, cloying scent of disinfectant hovered in the stagnant air, mixed with a cursed faint tang of despair. My footsteps echoed down the walls as I walked with Mr. Isah into the depths of the station. When we arrived at the cell, Mr. Isah grasped the handle and pushed it open in a slow creak before stepping inside, leaving a dim light casting long shadows across the little room. "Visha", I called, my voice so sweet, l
MR ISAH’S POV I sat at the station in the dark. The soft fluorescent light above cast an eerie glow on the empty chairs and faded floor. Anticipation held my heart in its place, echoing like the drumbeat in my chest throughout my entire being. "Just wai for me, sir," I mumbled to myself with eyes turned toward the phone, where a text from Kalmia said: "I'm on my way", flashing on the screen like a light at the end of a tunnel. "Okay then," I said to myself, slumping back in the chair, a wave of relief washing through my being with the straightening of my spine on the worn-out issue. Time moved forward, and in this losing dusky space, each second was a drag for eternity. I checked my watch what would seem like a million times but felt like the hundredth. My eyes scanned the entire empty station that was growing more impatient with each passing second. The silence clamped down hard, occasionally punctuated with the creaks in the old building and traffic buzzing outside. I shifted in
MR ISAH’S POV Between walls of thickest warm air, bound by oppressive scents of sweat mingled with fear, I could hardly draw breath, and every breath that I drew seemed to carry some foreign weight crushing into my chest. Visha sat all hunched over in the wooden bench; shoulders barely perceptibly shook; her eyes looked down, refusing to meet mine, locked in mute insubordination to the unasked questions between us. A stubborn silence, thick and impenetrable, stretched between us and with every passing moment added that still very coiled tension within me. "Visha, I'm not answering any of your questions," she finally whispered, so softly it was hard to hear, like a thin thread in an oppressive hush. Although soft, the words smote me with the force of a corporeal blow, burning up the sparks of fury that had been at hand ever so low. "Then okay," I replied in said low, almost dangerous tone, "you are going to do that pen now." It was just a matter-of-fact statement, in the air of an
MR ISAH’S POV The officer was swift in his movements as he quickly went to handcuff himself and brought out the cold, cruel metal that condemned even the eye of authority under fluorescent light. He moved with practiced ease as he snapped the iron restraints for the inevitable fate into place around Visha's wrists, the cliched sound like that of a prison door shutting. A clang like that of metal sounded ominously echoed around the cell. "No, ooooo," she screamed, her voice raising up in a desperate crescendo, trying to free herself from the steel cage. With her contorted body, she twisted and thrashed to no avail, digging deep the cruel bite of the cuffs into her skin. That metal sparkled like it was catching the light with a sinister radiance, almost seeming to taunt her with the cold, unyielding grip of reality. Her wrists seemed to have strained against the bindings, tendons standing out clearly as she struggled. As she fought against the handcuffs and began gasping more and mor