Submission

CHAPTER : 39

The ragged and torn curtain swayed a little from the soft whisper of cold wind that caressed the broken nook and corners of the ruins of a home it once was. It's just bricks and walls now. Nothing left but the ghost of a reminder accompanied by the shreds and tears of scars. I never thought that the dead monsters of my past will return in such manner and leave me hanging off the edge. I didn't know what to feel, I didn't want to feel. Shock? Life has given me enough experience to deal with that I don't feel surprised any more. I think you get used to it and its tortures. A time comes after that when you feel nothing but the cold and lonely chill of numbness. Betrayed? Yes maybe I should be feeling betrayed by Liza but I can't blame her either because it's all my fault.

Liza had this envelope with her when she left. She told me everything will be fine and when she'll return we will have one of our food parties again but this time she said she will cook. I didn't understand what her underlying words meant at that moment and I couldn't ask her either because she was already in her car, disappearing into the sun. I knew something was off but I didn't know what. I never thought she will come here. I never thought she will hide this from me, and yet she did. I should have guessed something was wrong when she came downstairs after reading the letter. Her eyes were glossy, and she was looking at me with nothing but sympathy. I brushed it off and thought that maybe she was upset because of the reminder of her heart-wrenching past.

The empty envelope felt so heavy in my hands. It's my fault, all of this is my fault. If only I wouldn't have been scared to dive back into my past and tell her all about myself then maybe, just maybe we would still be at our home, having the food party she promised. The demons have returned and this time they don't want me, but they want to destroy me, to crush me by taking away the only person I love and care about. It's one of those situations I guess, where you just want to give up and wait for the devil to swallow you inside of its darker self.

Slowly I opened up the envelope, expecting it to be empty but one small piece of paper lying at the bottom pit surged a wave of hope in me. I quickly pulled it out and opened it up with my shaking fingers and once again I found myself with a frown on my forehead. I should be happy that I found a hint but maybe I should be scared instead because the neat cursive handwriting was too familiar to me and that was definitely something I should be scared of. The uncanny resemblance of the strokes of ink to the anonymous letters I have stacked into the dresser shook my entire being.

I am here.

The neatly creased piece of paper burned my hand and I dropped it on the bed and walked five steps away from it. I didn't even want to think what that meant but all I cared about was getting out of this place as soon as possible. I turned around to leave my old room when the smooth melodious tune of a piano wafted from downstairs to me. Someone was here, and they were here all this time, stealthily waiting for me to find what they wanted me to find. The huge lump in my throat prevented me from screaming the horrors out of my throat. Shaking and dripping with sorrow and fear, I made my way downstairs. My wobbly legs lead me towards the front door but of course, it was locked. A groan of helplessness escaped my lips as I kept on wiggling the knob and slamming on the closed door with my hands. Melodies of torment and mocks kept on teasing me and laughing at me and my futile attempts. I have never felt so weak and vulnerable. I don't know whom to trust any more, whom to rely on. I just want to be left alone. Is it too much to ask for?

I am just a toy in the hands of my tormentor.

The tears that dripped down my cheeks landed on the rug and got swallowed in it. I stared at it for what seemed like forever, waiting for the tune to stop but it never did. All these years I have always run away from my nightmares, too afraid to face them but alas they never stopped chasing me either. If it's karma or fate I don't know, but they never stop. This time, this time it will be different, it has to be because I won't run any more even if they try to kill me. The weak creaks of my footsteps were aimed towards the living room where the piano was playing. I was determined to face my fears and look in the eyes of the person who made me go through such terrors. I was very close to the doorway and even though it took every fiber in my body to take the last step, I did and I came in front of the person who takes pleasure from my pain.

I should have known that it was him all this time. I should have but my lack of cautiousness led me here today, in this spot. The twitch on his lips was nothing but a smirk. He was proud of himself when he saw me and the dark aura of fear and sadness surrounding me. His eyes were unmistakably on me but yet his fingers didn't stop their dance on the keys as he kept on playing the ending tune again and again as his prize and possession. He was behind the piano, facing me when suddenly the last key of the tune was hit, and he stood up. Dmitri's green eyes were staring at me and my tears with nothing but victory in his eyes.

Victory achieved on my Submission.