Their laughter echoed against the walls of the room as music still played softly with the crackle of fire in the warm fireplace and delicate snow falling outside. The candles on the table were almost at its ends and so was this awfully unbearable dinner as they chatted on an empty table after dinner while I sat there, hands still tied up and completely ignored. With my head held down, I could do nothing but endure this painful moment. My only solace, this obnoxious dinner, like every other thing, will pass away in time. The only cost being patience.
“I mean, how could you be so stupid? Chasing the very thing that you should be running away from! Hah!” Ivan, with his self sprawled against the chair a lot less elegantly, commented at a previous remark which I wasn't quite following at all.
The plates and dishes were all cleared off the table now. What remained now were crystal tumblers for two and a bottle of a whisky which looked nothing
A lone tear dripped down my cheek while the unwavering smirk still remained, coronated on my face. The jab that I received was hurtful indeed, but I was not going to let it kick me down. I could do this all day and night. Scream profanities at them, break them inside with jabs of my own and oh even if they didn’t show it outside, I knew that they were getting hurt all the same. Them being better at suppressing their emotions is the only field in which I would accept defeat. These men made up of dead and unemphatic matter are hard to come by, but just my luck that I was forced to live and be around two of them.“Oh, but poor Ivan, aren’t you the same? Aren’t you lonely as well? You think these two people sitting here, talking with you, like you? You think that they are spending time with you because you are his brother and I don’t even know what is happening between you two, but nonetheless, do you think that they prefer being around you
“You are seriously asking that?’ Perhaps Dimitri’s question was not meant to be heard by me. It was addressed more to himself than to me, but I was still on an adrenaline rush, and I was not going to drop any chance to express my opinions. This kind of fuelled energy came to me after a long time in the form of fiery rage and needless to say, it was a lot easier to carry than the awful heaviness.This adrenaline rush, excitement at the sheerest spark of hope was shocking to me. It explained how puny us humans are, who get swayed so easily if a prospect of something favourable comes up. And I was no different.Dimitri shut the door behind him as quietly as he could and walked away with squeaking floorboards in his wake. A clear indication that the path was clear but too risky to tread on at the moment. All the liars were still awake and aware. I needed them to be asleep so that I could stealthily walk away from here without being caught. At least he was
My heart pounded in my chest so loudly that I could almost hear it thump louder than the old floorboards underneath my feet. Cold and merciless as I stepped on them. It was funny or rather surprising how I was sweating so profusely even in this biting chill of the night. It’s definitely going to be much more cold outside, but that is far more bearable than being trapped in this house even for a second. I reached the stairs and stopped, trying to listen for the slightest bit of noise in the still air that would give me an indication of my failure at being stealthy. What if they are still awake? What if their sleep is too light that breaks at the slightest bit of commotion? What if all of this is somehow their plan to punish me for my earlier indiscipline? Nothing. Absolutely nothing was heard as the seconds ticked by into minutes and moments of anxious d
How did I manage to forget?I turned around slowly and looked into a set of haunting eyes that clenched around my heart in the tightest grip that I have ever felt. One that ran a cold shiver down by whole body as I stood there frozen, staring at a Liza with tears brimming in her eyes.“L-Liza. I-I…” I took a step forward, with my hand reaching for her, but she turned a little sideways, showing her disapproval, which instantly stopped me in my tracks. Guilt heaved on my shoulders like a heavy boulder that didn’t want to budge at all as I slouched and looked down in shame. How could I forget?“You are leaving.” The words came out so sad and slow out of her lips like a broken feather. I didn’t know what to tell her or rather do to make this wrong a right.All this time, I waited around to find Liza and escape with her. All the trouble I went through, the opportunities that I missed. All for her. An
“Who told you so?”I stared at her with a completely frozen mind. Not a single, alternate possibility occurred to me that could replace the assumption that I had. What she was saying or rather suggesting through unsaid words was too ridiculous to even be acceptable as a reality. In what state of position could she ever agree to that? The Liza I know would never do something this preposterous.“W-what do you mean?” Would she even answer my question? Or dismiss it like the million others I had?“Rose. I can not let you kill me and my baby. This baby is all that I have got, and I am not going to let you take away this bit of happiness from me. The only one that I left.” The determination in her voice was solemn and shatterproof. It was clear to me that she won’t come with me. But shouldn’t she try? Her fear of something else was imminent, but I didn’t have any clue as to what it was.“You are
I don’t remember what happened next. No possible recollection at all, except for the vague and blurry visions I have of me blacking in and out and a lot of commotion around me. Strong bright lights blinded me at times and strange mumble of voices. Perhaps I was underwater. Maybe that’s why everything seemed to out of focus and the noises and everything around me looked so close and yet felt so far. And this strange heaviness on my head that heaved on my whole body, made it impossible for me to move at all or even keep my eyes open for that matter. I was immensely weak.“I think she is awake.” An unknown voice spoke somewhere near me. I couldn’t ponder much on the specifics, but the fact that it came from a stranger, a voice that I hadn’t heard before, a voice that wasn’t the one I feared it was, jumpstarted my heart into a frenzy. The rush of adrenaline I felt, coursed through my veins unrestrictedly and helped me gain a better consciousness. “Hey, hey, hey, you are okay. Calm down.
“Rose. I am really sorry, but we had to get rid of your left leg.” What did she mean by that? I stared at her face blankly, unable to understand how to respond to the sick joke that she just played on me. There was no way that what she said was in any way plausible. I waited for her to break into a fit of laughter. I would have loved to smile as well, but such pleasure was obviously not written in my fate. I averted my gaze from her pity filled face to the thick blanket that covered me from the waist down. There was not a single fibre in my body that wanted me to confirm what I just heard. The lack of such confirmation felt like a strange blessing, moments that I wanted to cherish because I knew now that what I will get to see next would hardly make me feel anything but relief. “It’s okay. You don’t have to see it right now.” The nurse's voice broke me from my reverie. It put me to action as well, as I pulled the blanket off me in one swift motion to reveal the horror that awaited
Her eyes so kind, so soft, so naive. Innocent. Untouched by the cruelty of the world outside. A flicker in the darkness, I hope never extinguishes. The world needed people like her to stay alive. Such conscience, that hasn’t even flickered once in her years of life. I didn’t need to be told. Her brown eyes were an open book, baring her soul as she walked towards me with hopeful and helpful eyes. If she could, she would have tried to absorb the pain out of me, but I felt thankful that she couldn’t.“Yes, Rose? What can I do for you?” She knew what I meant when I asked for her help, but I couldn’t do this to her and I won’t share my pain with her because I know it would eat away a piece out of her. God knows that there’s enough hungry wolves outside, and I wasn’t going to be one of them who did that. “I think it’s time that I talk to the cops or anyone with authority. There’s… things that need to be sorted.” Liza. I needed to get her out of there as soon as possible. It was scary to th