The crying stopped.
Blood was splattered all over the white walls, a stark contrast that marked the tragic end of innocence. The small, frail body of the two-year-old lay still, her cherubic features untouched by the harsh realities of life, blissfully unaware of the cruelty that had unfolded. Nearby, the other skinny figure, plagued by illness and unable to stand, stared in disbelief at the silence that engulfed the room.
Her heart, heavy with the weight of sorrow, struggled to comprehend the loss of her niece. Her disabled sister,Rose, was once vibrant, but now trapped in a body that betrayed her.
Rose felt a profound emptiness settle within her. She had always depended on her young niece, who brought light into their dim existence, an innocent spirit that brightened even the darkest days.
In that moment of silence, time seemed to stretch, each heartbeat echoing a deep sense of guilt and despair. The world outside continued its relentless pace, but inside, everything was frozen in tragedy. The sister's thoughts spiralled—how had it come to this? The desperation that had consumed Lily, who was trying to survive, had led to this irrevocable act. And in that fleeting moment, she understood the cruel reality of depression.
Tear glands had already been drained out. Nothing can come out even if the heart explodes. Rose sheds her drying tears seeing her niece laying there lifeless.
Days after days surviving just on hard bread and with dirty water is one the curse followed by many.
What an orphan can earn without any education,what a weak girl can do while getting raped?
Nothing.
The world around her was so tainted that a lost pistol lying on the ground felt like a gift from above. Lily didn't hesitate for a moment.
Rose mumbled in an astonished voice,'Lily!'
With trembling hands, the pistol's aim was now pointing on Rose while Lily apologised repeatedly,'I'm sorry.. I'm so.. sorry..'
Rose smiled faintly with her closed lips. She knows the hardship has compelled her sister to the brink, to the unthinkable act of killing her beloved child and now to pointing a gun at her beloved twin, the only family she has,her sister.
She tried to believe this is not the reality. Lily was broken from the inside and her will to live has left her when she was raped. This was not the real one. Depression has wrapped her life so much that she couldn't cope. Because of Rose she could live through but now Rose too was on the verge of death because Lily couldn't offer any food to them. And the way they are living is getting bitter.
It's not her fault to think like that and Rose was tired as well.
She knows she won't be able to change Lily's mind anymore. So doesn't regret or feel hurt by Lily's action.
'I know! Don't be…'
Rose and Daisy were the obstacles of her life. Because of them Lily was bound to stay and care. Rose knows that Lily wouldn't live even if they were dead. Because she won't be able to live without them as well. Even though they were obstacles, Lily didn't
Rose tried to make Lily understand,
'but you..don't need to die with us… Please live.'
'I...I want to live with you guys...in the afterlife..if there is any for me.'
Lily's answer was not different from what she expected.
Rose couldn't stop her pain. Not because she would be dying. Of course she wants to live. Who wishes to die!? No one perhaps. Not willingly at least. Rose was feeling pain because Lily knows what she was doing is a sin and won't be able to have an afterlife.
Rose raised her hand to pray for the last time. In her mind she prayed for forgiveness.
'Oh my Lord! Please forgive me and accept me as I am... I forgive my sister.. Please be kind enough to forgive my sister too..she has offered her whole life for me.. Forgive her sins.'
She opened her eyes and with a nod she permitted Lily to kill her.
'-Let's go..'
Lily's hand was shaking so badly. To pull the trigger she felt like she was shooting in her chest.
With just a single pull on the trigger a life had ended. The thought inside Lily's mind was filled with hatred for herself.
'Don't Forgive me,my Lord...I have gravely sinned.' Lily fall on her knees.
In front of her, two bodies were lifeless. For the last time Lily hugged them like a fragile thing. Four slots are still intact in the gun. One on the leg, one in the lower stomach, another was in the heart, each bullet went through the flesh and blood poured out.
She told herself over and over..
'i mustn't feel the pain. If I feel pain then that means I'm still alive. I cannot stop until I make sure I'm dead.'
Blood was getting out from the body through the bullet holes. The last shot was on the head. The excruciating pain was getting better bit by bit. The blurred vision could only see her dead baby.
'Ah! Daisy! My.. Pretty baby..why you had to be born as my daughter.' She thought to herself she had Nothing to give her. She also hoped that Daisy would not Forgive her.
'I wish you, be born again as a lovely child..in a family who can give you everything… Every…'
Tears fell down for the last time.
'The pain?! Why didn't it go away!! Why am I alive!? I need to die. I don't have any bullets left. What should I do?'
The excruciating pain begins,as if her wounds were being poked with a hot iron rod,as if she is inside the lava. She started to feel dizzy. Suddenly a breeze lightly touched her cheek. A beautiful smell and clean air.
'I cannot be in heaven! Why am I feeling so peaceful?'
"Lily! Lily!"
She heard a voice—one she knew all too well. Her mind wavered between confusion and hallucination, "Is this real?"