Punishment

On the other side, Rose was waiting for Ash. It was getting late. Rose was anxious. She wanted to tell him about all the things. She knew this won't make their relationship any better but still, she will be able to get her mother out from there. She knew Ash would help her mother.

Rose looked at the door. It was right shut. For some reason, the back of her hair was standing and she felt numbness in her fingers. She prayed that Ash was fine. She could not finish her prayer when her door opened. She looked up and saw ash. She was about to smile but suddenly Ash fell to the ground. She ran to him.

"Ash! Are you alright?" She almost screamed.

"Huu… Who?" Ash asked.

A strong smell of alcohol hit Rose's nose. She frowned and asked, "Did you drink?"

"Yes. I did. So what? So care if I drink or die?" Ash said incoherently.

"Ash, please come to your senses. I need to tell you something."

Ash looked at her. Then slowly he touched her cheek. He ran his thumb on her cheek. Rose shivered but not out of fear but out of longing.

Ash said, "You are so beautiful. Your black eyes are like a lake on new moon night. It's black but changes its color with your emotions. I want to drown in this lake. I planned a future where our children will look like you. But why? Why everything changed. Why did Levi have to die?"

He dropped his hand and put his head on Rose's shoulder. He said, "I tried. I really tried. However, I failed. I failed to hate you. I failed to take revenge on you. You know people used to say in a relationship one-person love more than the other did. I thought I will never be the one who will love someone more than the other. But I failed."

Rose got a lump in her throat. She knew he failed to hate her. And she knew she failed to love him more. Salty water found its way to fall down her eyes.

Ash held both of her forearms and said, "Tell me what I should do to hate you. I cannot. The moment I saw your eyes I forgot about hatred, revenge."

Rose kept on crying. She felt so helpless. Her one mistake cost so much that she could not fathom it. She pleaded.

"Ash, hate me as much as you can. But please don't hate yourself. I can bear with your hatred but cannot bear to see you broken like this. Is not that why I choose to kill you, not to surrender you to the police. When I learned the lie, I thought that killing you would be best. The pain will be less and the revenge will be done. And I wanted to follow you through it. But who knows our path will never be smooth."

Ash laughed. He said, "My lovely Rose, they play with us. It was like this from the beginning. You know I used to have a friend in class one. He was poor but a bright student. He used to come to me and asked me to play with him. Therefore, I did. After a month, we became good friends. One day he invited me to play in his area. I went without telling my parents. Then there, he brought his dad. I was happy to meet him. He offered to go home with them but I didn't accept. As my parents warned me not follow any stranger. You know what happened?"

Ash raised his head and looked at Rose. Rose saw sadness in his eyes. Sadness that will suffocate you to the point that you will forget to breathe.

"My friend's dad smiled and said that it's okay. He offered his son and me some mango juices. We both drank it. And after that, I passed out. When I opened my eyes, I was in a dark room. The darkness still makes me fear the dark. I understood belatedly that I was kidnapped. But my stupid heart thought that my friend was also in danger. I shouted his name. But no response came."

Rose saw that Ash was trembling. She touched his hand. Ash smiled.

"After an hour or two, he returned. I asked him where I was. He said that we are in an isolated place. I asked where my friend was. He laughed and looked behind him. I was in horror that my friend was doing just fine standing next to the man. My friend came near me and said that I am stupid. So it was easy for him to fool me. All he had to do was to talk nicely and I became his friend. Now thanks to me he will be rich. I cried."

Ash was crying. His hand shook. He said, "I was wrong to love. I should not have done that. That kidnapper called my dad and asked for ransom. My dad agreed. But problems occurred before my dad reached the hideout. When he kidnapped me, one person saw it. He thought it looked suspicious and he called the police. The police came to my rescue. When they saw the police they thought my dad betrayed them. And my dear friend came near me with broken glass. He said that I did not only break his dream but his life too. So I have to pay. And raised the glass. The glass was about to be stabbed when I heard a gunshot. The broken glass fell and left a mark on my life. A proof that I should never trust anyone. But still, I did. Even when every time I saw my face in the mirror and saw this scare, I didn't learn my lesson."

Ash again put his head on Rose's shoulder and said, "If I did, I would have never loved you."

Rose's heart hurts. She knew she never deserved Ash's love. This person was broken and she broke him more. No amount of sorry could fix it. So Rose did the things she could. She hugged him and said, "Everything will be okay. One day you will overcome it and you will forget about me."

Yes, Rose wanted him to forget her. To a person who loves someone, it was the greatest punishment. A punishment where she knew him but he didn't remember her. A love that was never recognized.

Rose said, "When everything becomes normal, I will go. I will never see your face."

Ash looked at her and said, "Will you be able to forget me?"

His innocent eyes that asked it with hope rose to hold him.

Rose said, "I won't. I will remember you. And will live for you. But never ask you to accept me. Also, I will pray that you move on. This will be my punishment."

Hello, my dear readers, I hope you are doing fine. Today we saw a glimpse of Ash's thoughts. It is easy for us to say, "Go, and get your revenge. I am looking forward to seeing you get your revenge." However, if you truly love someone it is hard to get revenge. I wanted to portray not a perfect character but a character that evokes our emotions. Thank you for reading. I am looking forward to your comments. Thank you.