"The brutal war you began, shall come to an end by one person. That's ME."
Misty night conquered by thick layer of heavy clouds with water in them. The blowing breeze which can ease every pain from any soul, provides inner peace and assists to forget each hardship of life. Every normal person can feel it but not her.
Peace don't belong to her.
Nor in the past.
Neither in the present.
But the future?
Maybe.
Or..
Never.
Under the pitch-black night sky, gleaming with the stars which formed the beautiful constellations, she sat at the bus station, the lights flickering softly above, casting a pale glow on the empty seats around her.
She wore a long white skirt that fell gracefully to her feet, its fabric slightly swaying in the cool breeze. Her loose black shirt that hung comfortably down to her thighs, blending into the shadows at the edge of the light.
Her hair, neatly tucked away under a plain white chiffon georgette hijab, its soft folds framing her face beautifully.
Despite the late hour, the station was quiet, except for the distant hum of passing vehicle.
Her gaze was fixed on the locket she wore- a long black chain with a small greenish black slab hanging from it, engraved with a symbol of two clashing swords that held secrets no one knew.
Secrets of past.
Secrets that led the circumstances to this point.
Secrets that were long forgotten.
Secrets that stretch too far that one could never imagine.
She didn't know why she was here or what she was waiting for, but the stillness of night seemed to increase confusion in her heart.
Although she seemed calm and collected, her inner turmoil was perfectly hidden. It was her unique strength-remaining physically composed no matter how mentally disturbed she was.
The locket she wore felt like a trap, caging her to a small room, painted entirely green-- dark, dark green, without any window or door.
She wanted to escape but couldn't. Sometimes, it felt as if the green of that room was slowly consuming her.
She felt dead.
Just felt.
Never showed.
The locket, for her, was a symbol of misery and torment, a punishment for something she had never done. It was caging her in a prison of her own mind.
Every time she touched it, she felt the walls of her imaginary room close in a little more, the green intensifying, suffocating her with its vividness.
She wanted to rip it off, to throw it away and be free, but something always held her back. A fear, a sense of responsibility, or perhaps the unknown consequences of such an act.
But then she took a step.
A purely wrong step.
She ripped the locket off her neck.
She did it.
The instant she tore it away, she felt a strange sense of both freedom and dread. She had successfully casted away the object which had trapped her for so long.
But as the locket fell from her hand, hitting the ground with a soft, almost insignificant thud, a threatening silence enveloped her. The imaginary green walls that had trapped her mind...
didn't disappear;
instead, they seemed to pulse and flicker as if reacting to the absence of the locket.
Consequences.
In that split second, the relief she sought was overshadowed by a creeping realization.
The locket's power was not just in its presence but also in its absence. She had unknowingly set something in motion, something that had been waiting for this very moment.
Not a monster.
Not a demon.
Not a devil.
But something that's more evil. Much more evil.
The green room in her mind began to shift, the color deepening and swirling around her.
She had escaped one prison only to find herself in another, far more terrifying one.
The locket, lying discarded on the ground, was not just a symbol of her misery-it was a key to a door she should have never opened. She was not ready for it. Not at all.
And now, she was trapped in a nightmare from which there might be no escape.
When the reality of what she had done settled in, she stilled, her face devoid of emotion. Staring blankly at the discarded locket, she muttered, "There's no turning back now."
But something inside her urged her to pick the locket back up. As she bent down to regain it, a voice broke through the silence. "You do not belong here."
Startled, she looked up to see a shadowy figure standing before her, someone who had joined her unnoticed. The figure's features were unclear, but their cold and neutral voice cut through the night air. "The end is the same for you as it was for her."
She froze, her hand hovering above the locket but wasn't in contact with it. Before she could react, a sharp, agonizing pain shot through her neck, as if a needle-an extra sharp needle, had been driven into her flesh.
Her breath hitched, and she felt a warm, wet sensation trickling down from her nose. Reaching up with trembling fingers, she touched her upper lip and pulled her hand away to find it coated with blood.
A wave of dizziness washed over her, and she swayed on her feet, her vision blurring.
The figure remained motionless, watching her with calm. The panic was swiftly overtaken by a strange, unreal neutrality.
She laughed.
It was a hollow, sinister sound, lacking true euphoria. The laugh echoed through the empty bus station, a haunting melody that blended with the oppressive stillness of the night.
The figure tilted its head slightly, as if puzzled by her reaction, but said nothing more.
She tried to maintain consciousness, her vision wobbled as she took a few unsteady steps forward.
The road which had been completely silent moments before, was now bustling with activities, as if it had been waiting for this specific moment.
Was it?
Was it really waiting?
Vehicles zoomed past, their headlights blinding her as she moved forward, unaware of her surroundings. Out of blue, she felt an immense force.
Like a hard hit.
A really harder one.
In an instant, the fog clouding her vision cleared, replaced by a sudden, blinding sharpness. She realized, with a heavy jolt, that she had been hit by a truck.
Seriously?
A truck?
Not even a some car but a f-ing truck!
Wait..
Was it..
..planned?!
The impact sent her slumping onto the cold, unforgiving pavement. Lying there, nearly unconscious, she felt an unexpected warmth spreading beneath her.
Her own blood.
The warmth.
So soothing.
Blood which was now pooling around her head and trickling down her face. The metallic scent of blood filled her nostrils, mixing up with the cold night air. Her vision blurred, darkening at the edges. There was a strange, bitter comfort in the warmth of her own blood.
She smiled.
A soft one.
Despite the pain, she could still make out the shadowy figure standing nearby, watching her with those cold, detached eyes. Her vision dimming, she heard the figure's voice one last time, cutting through the chans like a knife, "Both of you were burdens."