บท 17: Her memories
CONTENT WARNING: This chapter contains a depiction of suicide that some readers may find distressing. Reader discretion is advised.
Chapter 17: Her memories
The moment his fangs sank into her skin and her blood entered his throat; the snake beast's sentience entered the realm of the soul. Indicating that they have become a united entity.
Zethus found himself on an unfamiliar plane. A gloomy space veiled in a seemingly unending darkness connected to the girl's consciousness. He started walking aimlessly, without any idea where his feet were taking him. It was as though they had their minds and pre-destined destination.
"This is…"
Under the moonless sky and indiscernible shadowy stratum, Zethus, who had been walking for what seemed like forever, halted his steps. Right then, he saw a slate grey lake up ahead, which was oddly situated in this infinite gloom of the abyss and embellished with the incandescent flare of fireflies above the water.
Upon closer inspection, his calm and collected eyes reflected a newfound shade. His previous indifference shook at the sight of something he had never seen or expected. Those glowing things, which he assumed to be fireflies, were apparently floating 'memory orbs'.
If that were the case, then, that could only mean that the still lake before him is not a lake per se but the "stream of reminisce" that can show one's past through the 'memory orbs.'
"These held Atasha's memories," said the white snake.
A slight hesitation in his heart told him not to invade what she was keeping secret beyond the walls of her past.
At some point, Zethus was conflicted, but the temptation got the better of him. He wanted to know about her. Everything. Regardless of her past, he wanted to be a part of her present and future. They are now bound for life. He doesn't want to miss this opportunity to find out who she is.
Thus, with a single swift slash of his tail, he swept the memory orbs above the ground and shattered them like a sprinkle of glitter that dusted down into the grey stream. Right at that moment, the lifeless water lit up and began to show the images mirroring the girl's life.
As the fragments of the orbs continuously pour into the enthralling pool, her secret past reveals itself. Zethus was instantly thrown into a massive wave of emotions upon seeing her childhood filled with rainbows, which soon turned into an upset because of the people she once cherished. Among those emotions, his chest tightens due to the surge of sorrow she has suffered alone.
Then, a figure of a girl standing on top of the school building, filled with forlornness and emptiness, was shown. Her face was illuminated by the orange glow of the sunset. But her will to live is sinking like the setting sun at dusk. He reckons what has pushed a young girl to be standing on the edge of the cliff.
The sixteen-year-old Atasha looked at the distant sky before shifting her gaze to the ground below her feet. Love? She was full of it. But now there's only regret and resentment in her heart.
"Did you really love me?" She whispered to the air bitterly. After all, not a single soul ever listened to her.
"Or did you just stay to screw me up in order to win over Tamara, who dislikes me?"
"Did you even love me? Even just a little? Five years, damn it!"
The tears in her eyes poured like a rainstorm as she recalled how they proudly announced their deceit like they had done a great deed.
"Ah! You're my fiancé, Leo! I gave everything to you. I loved you with all my heart. How can you betray me with Tamara? How can you guys play me for a fool?"
Even her illness relapsed because she was eager to look nice to him. Now, she realized how stupid she was to even love him so dearly. One is her fiancé, who betrayed him, while the other is her cousin, whose family seized her home, her life, and everything that should be hers.
"You're a bastard, Leo! And Tamara, you're a bitch! A bitch pretending to be a puppy, but you stink all the way up here! I treated both of you well!"
Her house, her lover, her identity. Everything turned upside down, and she just felt exhausted. Her eyes brimmed with tears and fear as her knees grew limp.
She felt lost and desperate after being subjected to distress and shame, which led her feet to the edge of the cliff. But now that she's just a few inches away from ending her misery, she feels afraid.
When she saw how high it was, she immediately imagined how painful it would be. Atasha took a step back. She can't do it.
However, her trembling knees almost gave out as she moved her feet, and she almost fell off. A deafening scream escaped from her lips in panic.
With a loud thud, her back hit the floor. Her entire body shook when she saw herself almost breathing her last breath. She started to feel bad and sorry for herself. She was stupid and a coward.
A cold shiver ran down her spine when she recognized her flawed and dreadful idea. She wasn't ready. No, she was never ready!
She wanted to run away from everything and everyone. She could hear their laughter and ridicule from miles away, even in her sleep. She was so tired of being targeted all day. Everyday!
She could tolerate their constant body-shaming since they'd been at it since she entered high school. But now, ah, what can she do?
How could Leo tell other people about what happened between them? About her losing her chastity? It was her fault for giving it to him, but how could he just announce it and dump her in front of everyone?
The fact that he promised her that he would take responsibility for her and that everything would be fine since they were already engaged was all a lie.
Not only did she become a whore in everyone's eyes, but when he announced his relationship with her cousin, he made it sound like she was the other woman. He made everyone think that she was a whore and the one who led him.
She was so ashamed and devastated, but no one cared about that. No one believes her. Who would believe that an ugly girl like her is his fiancée when the other two are so compatible with their good looks?
To them, she's the bitch who sneaked inside Leo's bed. It was unfair, and she couldn't take it anymore. So, she thought of taking her own life to stop hearing all their judgements and escape from this nightmare.
Right at this moment, she came to a realization.
Why must she commit this grave sin? Why does she have to be the only one getting implicated and bullied?
"Why do I have to be the only one suffering when I didn't even do anything wrong? I never hurt anyone, nor did I plan to do so. So why are you treating me like crap? I never really intended to die in the first place; I was just scared."
"Mom, Dad, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for thinking this way. Please come back. I need you. Why did you have to leave me behind?"
She was having a life crisis, but there was no one by her side.
"Please come back; I'm begging."
Zethus stared solemnly at the girl, screaming and crying in melancholy from the other side of the world. His cold, menacing glare almost pierced through the void and grabbed her when she almost fell off.
An implacable worry and madness were brewing inside him. Even though this was in the past and she was in a different world, he wanted to torment those people and end the source of her grief. He will never forgive those people, especially those dog couples.
Atasha, who was crying alone on the rooftop, was later found by the school guard, who was patrolling. Seeing how unstable the girl is, the lady guard talked to her and offered to send her home, but she refused. She didn't want to go home and pretend to be okay after what her cousin did to her.
Tamara and her family never treated her right in the first place, but that family is enjoying her house and everything that her parents painstakingly built. She was initially conflicted about leaving that house since it held all the memories of her and her parents, but now she decided to leave as it was already stained by those hypocrites.
The next day, she decided to withdraw from school and move to another town. Others might think that she was a dog running with her tail beneath her legs. But it was her only way of protecting her mental health from breaking apart and losing herself once more.
The life she led two years later was not something she could brag about, but it was simple and peaceful. That is until she was transported to another world, which was a strange spectacle, even for the white snake.
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