It was pouring hard on a Friday evening. So much so that the leaves on the trees sway roughly against the harsh winds. Inside a tiny, cold apartment lies Zarielle Montclair, crying her heart out. She took advantage of the rain to muffle her sobs to prevent her neighbors from filing a complaint once again about her constant bawling.
It has been a week since her long-time boyfriend, Evander Astrum, broke up with her. No explanation, no nothing. What she thought was their date after a very long time of not going out due to Evan's excuses of being busy because of work turned out to be the day she feared the most.
Zari and Evan have been dating ever since their university days. They were together until their graduation, and even the very day they applied for the same company, QuantumSphere Corporations. She has planned her whole future together with Evan by her side. What she never expected was for all those dreams of hers to be shattered in an instant.
Time and time again, she makes sure to check her phone on her bedside table, hoping that it will finally light up. But no matter how long she waited, only pitch-black darkness greeted her.
"Evan, why won't you come back to me?" she whispered softly, her voice raspy from all her constant crying.
"Zari! Look, I got you these pretty daisies. They remind me of you after all."
Evan, with his tall and athletic build, runs toward Zari. He playfully grinned at her as he tousled his hair. He then reaches out his hand.
"For the most beautiful girl in the world, I love you, Zari."
Zari clutches her chest in pain as she once again remembers her ex-boyfriend. Everywhere she looks only reminds her of him. She, who was once a cheerful woman with a fair complexion and expressive almond-shaped hazel eyes, is now so thin and frail. One would even think she just got out of the hospital. But no, this is how she consoles herself, denying the reality that she is now all alone.
Minutes passed, and so did the rain. Zari grabbed her hand out towards her sheets, only to realize she had no more stash of chips.
"I'm hungry," she groaned, forcing herself up. She grabbed the nearest jacket she could find and decided to head outside with the lower half of her face covered with a mask. She didn't even bother to fix herself up or change from her pajamas, as she knew the moment she comes back to her tiny apartment, all would be in vain.
Luckily for her, a convenience store was stationed just across her apartment complex. She entered and grabbed anything she could eat in an instant. She was on her way to where the ice cream stand was but then stopped.
"I can't even eat my favorite ice cream without thinking of him," she whispered to herself as her voice cracked. She then turned back to stop herself from remembering Evan so much.
While Zari was paying for her cup of noodles and chips, she noticed how the cashier staff was giving her side glances. Probably thinking how she looks such a mess. Zari felt her cheeks blush a little, feeling embarrassed as to how she looked, but then decided to shrug it off and fix her mask on.
She rushes out of the store, hoping to hide away in her apartment, when she hears a soft meow on the side of the store. Knowing her, she can never resist a stray cat. Zari took a peek and saw an orange tabby cat hiding under a grimy carton box.
"Oh, well..." she sighed before going back inside the convenience store to buy a can of cat food. When she came out, she saw the cat was still there.
"Hey, kitty, come here. I promise I won't hurt you."
As if the cat understood her gentle voice, the cat slowly walked towards Zari. But it was still cautious around her. Zari chuckled a bit, seeing how the cat was hesitating to completely go near the food.
"It's okay. I'm here," she whispered, her voice still raspy but gentle. Alas, the cat started sniffing the food and slowly started to lick it.
Zarielle, not wanting to scare the cat, who just started eating, approached the cat with caution and slowly rubbed her hands across the cat's orange fur.
"What happened to you, kitty? Were you... abandoned, too?" she said with a hint of sadness in her voice. Her eyes reflected on the poor, abandoned cat, couldn't help but feel sympathy for it. "Lucky for you, I saw you."
"I wish at least someone looked out for me, too."
It has been days since Zari confined herself to her room, and yet not a single person has even tried to call or text her. Her cousin, Lilith, whom she depends on, didn't even answer a text from her asking if they could meet up. Her aunt and uncle—well, what can she expect from them, who only treated her and her cousin badly?
"I miss you, Dad." Zari slowly looked up at the deep blue sky. She hoped she could at least glimpse at her father, who had left this world and was now in heaven. "I hope you and Mom are happy over there. I just hope... you guys are here right now." Her voice cracked as tears slowly started to build up in her eyes again.
Zari's mom died giving birth to her, but still, her father raised her with love and care. But unfortunately, her dad passed away due to a chronic illness. Her Aunt Layla, her mother's sister, adopted her. But they never treated her as a part of the family. The only people she can depend on in this world are Evan and her cousin, Lilith.
But now her cousin is the only one left.
Her thoughts were cut short, and she was brought back to reality when she heard another meow. The cat, as if saying she was done, grabbed Zari's attention. Zari forced herself to smile.
"I'm sorry, kitty. I'm sure your owner will come find you soon." She took hold of the cat's collar and saw the cat's name.
Kaeri.
Seeing as how the cat, although seemingly abandoned, was very healthy and clean, She knew that perhaps this cat only got lost momentarily.
She shrugged her head, feeling silly for being slightly envious of a cat. The cat had someone waiting for her to come back home. But here she was, all alone.
Zari stood up and walked away, one hand inside the jacket's pocket and the other holding her goods. She closed her eyes as she crossed the street. Feeling tired from only eating junk food and no other nutritious diet. She felt her knees getting weak, which only made her want to rush home.
In the quiet solitude of her despair, Zarielle Montclair felt the weight of life's unfairness pressing down on her fragile heart.
"Please, Evan, I need you so much."
Evan was the anchor of her world, the one she believed could fill the void left by others. A solitary figure in the vast expanse of her desolation. As her vision dimmed with the tears of self-loathing, she embraced the haunting refrain of regret.
"I hate myself. Evan probably hates me, too."
A symphony of self-blame played in the recesses of her mind, each notes a painful reminder of choices unmade.
"This is all my fault. My mom and dad left me. My boyfriend left me. Why?"
The ghosts of abandonment, silent witnesses to her pain, remained in her consciousness.
"Why?"
The unanswered question echoed, bouncing off the walls of despair.
"Why?!"
The cry shattered the fragile silence, and an anguished plea hurled into the abyss.
"WHY?!"
And then, with the thunderous roar of inevitability, fate interjected. The screeching tires, the blinding lights—a cacophony of chaos erupted in the final punctuation of her despair. At that moment, as her world collided with an unyielding force, time stood still. The crescendo of her anguish met the sudden silence of a life abruptly halted.
The crash came, ending in an eerie silence. Zarielle Montclair, in the final chapter of her despair, found an unexpected finale on the canvas of fate. In her final moments, she once again heard a soft sound that seemingly came from a furry friend she made before her final breath.
This was only the beginning of her unforeseen fate. A fate she can rewrite—no, a fate she must rewrite.