The sudden whistle from the pressure cooker snapped Beth out of her daze, bringing in an awareness about her surroundings. As soon as her sanity was back in the place where she stood, she got alarmed and recklessly turned off the stove.
Placing the cooker inside the sink, she turned on the tap. Waiting for it to cool down, as she darted outside the window, her eyes widened, catching a glimpse of the drizzle.
'Shit!' cursing, she rushed out of the kitchen and ran upstairs.
Slamming the door, she slapdashes across the terrace and reached out to pick up the clothes hung to dry. Even after trying hard, half of the clothes were drenched, eventually.
Wrapping her hands around the clothes, she lugged them downstairs. However, she tripped on the cloth that hung low and brushed the ground lazily.
With a thudding sound, she tumbled on the wall, smacking her forehead hard. Grunting in agony, she plopped the clothes on the floor and caressed her forehead. As she felt her forehead moist, she glanced at her palm before encountering blood.
Her heart pounding in panic, she sensed chills wriggling on her skin. She was so in terror that she found it impossible to move her heels and reach out for the first-aid box.
In the meantime, the front door flung wide open, revealing a brawny figure of Kevin who had bags hanging in his hands. Before entering, he rubbed his shoes on the doormat, and as he stepped in, Helena, who looked sylphlike, as always, followed him.
Withdrawing her hooked hand from around Kevin's arms, Helena took off her jacket and tossed it on the floor, as if she wouldn't need it for another day.
"God, what is with this rain all of a sudden?" she grumbled, making her way to the couch and dropping her butt on it, sipping a breath of relief.
Placing the bags on the tea table, Kevin was about to take off his jacket when he saw Beth standing on the landing, staring at her palm. Seeing the clothes scattered all around, he lost the grip of his temper.
"What the hell do you think you are doing, Beth?"
Flinching at his shout, Beth took a glance at him. Catching sight of him. It didn't take long for a sapling of hope to grow inside her heart.
'At least, today he might care for me,' presuming to herself, she hiked down the stairs.
"BETH!" his other yell flinched her heart, making her conscious of the reality.
The reality which should be ashamed of itself for being so brutal to Beth. The reality in which she had a husband, and his second wife, whose place she couldn't even dream of taking.
The second wife, who was sitting on the couch at the moment, resting her legs on the table and leaning her back on the backrest, closing her eyes, probably feeling the most relaxed person ever.
Without bothering to open her eyes, Helena grumbled, "Kevin, you are hurting my ear." Pinching the bridge of his nose, he said, "I am sorry!" and plunged beside her.
He then continued, "But look at her. The house is a total mess. If she cannot do this simple task, then what is she even doing here?"
"I… I will do it!" Beth stammered, struggling through her tears and hiking the stairs.
Wiping the blood with her sleeves, she reached out to pick up the clothes that her husband and co-wife had scattered around the floor.
As she was hanging them on the stand beside the door, Helena suddenly asked, "Kevin, are you smelling something?"
"What?" he asked, sniffing.
"Something is burning," she mumbled, opening her eyes and pulling herself up.
Beth's eyes enlarged, and soon after, the burning smell hit her nostrils hard. Anxiously, she hustled to the kitchen.
Towing her back to him, Kevin kissed Helena's cheeks before saying, "I know you are hungry and trying to find another reason to order food. But let me clarify that no food is going to be ordered. It's been a long time since we had food at home. I have almost forgotten the taste."
Rolling her eyes, she rested her head on his shoulder and then said, "I agree, but honestly speaking, I don't like the taste of the food she cooks."
Chuckling, he replied, "You have got no choice to make today."
While they were having their little moment, Beth got to the kitchen door only to find water running in the tap and smoke soaring from the casserole on the stove.
Rashly turning off the stove and tap, she leaned on the counter, breathing heavily. Like any other time, her heart was racing and fear was wafting around her.
'What is wrong with you, Beth?' she mumbled to herself. 'It is another regular day in your life. Why do you not have it as one?'
Her little talk didn't have time to expand for long as Kevin retorted from outside, "Are you going to serve us the food or not?"
The terror rose to the highest point, and she could do nothing.
Opening the lid of the casserole, she moved her hand in front of her nose as the nasty burning smell hit her senses badly. The potato pieces were stuck on the bottom of the dish and they looked more like coal.
"Shit! What am I going to do now?" She gulped hard, gripping the lid tight. "If this food is served, then…" she paused.
Shaking her head right to left, she mumbled, "No, no, it is better for me to think of a solution rather than ponder nonsense."
Filtering the potato pieces, which were less ruined, she carried them out to the dining room. And once the food was served, she stood beside the door, praying for mercy.
Taking a spoonful of food, Kevin fed his first bite to Helena. At the moment, Beth was too occupied with terror, rather than jealousy, which she felt often seeing him pampering his second wife.
Her heart was pounding so loudly as if her chest explode any second. And she was preparing to face the consequences of serving them nasty food.
When Helena gnawed the food between her teeth, she glared at Beth before spitting it out.
"What… What happened?" inquired Kevin in astonishment.
Without answering, she lifted the plate and aimed toward Beth.
"HELENA!" With his shout, Beth saw a plate flying towards her and, in haste, she dodged to the side.
The plate smacked on the wall and dropped to the floor, scattering all the food and pieces on the ground.
"What do you think we are?" yelling in a rage, Helena got on her feet. "Do you think we are home to eat this nasty food?"
Hearing her, Kevin survey the food carefully to only find hem coated with burning marks and as he smelled it, his nose scrunched.
Seeing him getting up in a rage, Beth stepped forward, lowering her head and apologized in haste, "I… I am sorry. I didn't mean to…"
"I work this hard just to get this treatment? Huh?" he rumbled at her, but she didn't dare to meet his eyes. "Who do you think you are?"
Clenching her apron tight, Beth stood still, listening to all the vicious words that he was shooting at her.
"If you cannot feed us well and keep my house clean, then what are you even here for? I know you have nowhere to go, but you know what? You can still sit in the street and beg for money."
Yet another round of hurtful words Beth had to come across which tore her heart apart a thousand times. It was just two years of their marriage, but each day Kevin came up with a new sentence to stab her soul.
While he was there consoling his second wife, she silently walked out of the house, even after knowing that she had nowhere to go.
Wrapped in a grey trench coat, Beth trudged across the pavement holding a transparent umbrella. There was no idea in her head of where she was going. The only thing she was aware of was she wanted to go far from the place where she had to die each day to live.
Like any other time, the thought of giving up on her life hovered around, for which she had to discover a reason to live with each step she took.
"I must live because I have a husband and he…" she paused when a car passed her at high speed, splashing the mucky water from the puddle.
Standing blankly, she stared at her husband's car, which was going further without caring about her. It was about to disappear into the traffic when Helena popped her head out and smirked at her.
As the car disappeared completely from her sight, she shook her head right to left, trying to jerk off the thoughts about them.
"I must live because the earth is a beautiful place to live."
She took another step before saying, "I must live because I might not be competent to hear birds singing in the afterlife."
"I must live because I was a topper in school."
"I must live because I made a promise…" her words discontinued along with her steps.
Turning her head, she glanced at her reflection in the bakery's display.
Fully spinning towards the reflection, she murmured, "I promised my dad that I would never give up."
Then, pulling away the umbrella, she raised her head, feeling the rain kissing every part of her face which had never been kissed with affection.
The rain kissed her rosy cheeks, bow-shaped pink lips, emerald eyes with long lashes, a straight nose, a wounded forehead, and black curly hair.
"Excuse me!" Suddenly, she heard someone calling out for her.
"Hmmm!" she replied, not bothering to take a glance at the person.
"If you don't need that umbrella, then can I borrow it?" asked the person.
With no hesitation, she extended the umbrella toward the person. She was so lost at the moment that she totally forgot that it was the last souvenir from her father.
The umbrella was taken away, yet Beth felt nothing about it. Probably, her attempt at being emotionless was coming into effect.
But being emotionless didn't defeat the terror which came across with the sudden lightning. The terror made her squat on the ground, covering her ear.
She was in a state of absolute fright, as she was too scared of thunderbolts shaking the ground beneath her. Trembling in dread, she was trying to overcome it when suddenly warm hands wrapped around her, showering all the warmth that she had been craving for a long time.
Grabbing her collar and burying her face on his chest, she then became ready for the thunderbolt to hit the ground. And once it did, she startled with the sound and his grip grew more tight.
"It's alright! I am here for you," the stranger whispered close to her ear.
As she turned her head towards the reflection and her eyes locked onto his piercing blue gaze, a shiver of excitement coursed through her. Time seemed to stand still, and her heart quickened its pace. The world around her faded into obscurity as she was drawn into the enigmatic depths of his eyes.
Her thoughts whirled, and a million questions raced through her mind, each one more tantalising than the last. Who was he? What secrets did he hold? And why did their paths cross in such a serendipitous way?
Little did she know that this encounter would mark the beginning of an extraordinary journey, one that would forever alter the course of her life.