Crimson Blue Snow

Part XV- "Last Resort"

Part XV- "Last Resort"

 In the apartment she quickly went to the drawer where she kept the gun, not having the strength to look around for too long because every corner reminded her of Beata. Passing by, she took a framed picture of her, pulled it out of the frame and kissed it. "Those bastards will regret messing up with you, my only one. Now I have to be decisive, later I'll let myself cry, my soul breaks at the thought that you're forever gone. To me, you're never dead anyway, you can't be dead. Now I have to put myself together and do what I have to do."

 On the way out she met Michelle, who was just entering the building, pushed the keys of her apartment into his hands with one brief: "Take it" and head outside. He called her back, she quickly got into the first taxi and told destination to a driver.

  She's arrived at the park. It was already dawning, the sun had just appeared but she hoped she'd be lucky enough to find the ones she came for. She only found two of those five in the park. With a look of anger and despair, she stood before them.

 Young man 1: "Look, here's the one who likes girls..." Amadea (furious): "A girl. The one and only." Young man 2 (approaching): "You came to change your mind? (laughs)" Amadea (points a gun at them): "Shut up, bastard. (both gulped) You jerks made me spend this night in the hospital, because you smashed my head so lovely. I've been vomiting blood for days, screaming because of pain, my heart stopped at one point. But do you, dumb violent creatures, know what else you've done? Do you know?! Of course you don't know, if you knew something you wouldn't be drinking here, but you'd be doing something useful. You jerks have damaged organs of my beloved Bea so badly that you've made her die! I have more mercy than you, pathetic excuses for human beings, I don't want to torture you for days like we were strugling, but I'm going to blow your head with a bullet right now. Too bad you're not all present so I can start in order." Young Man 1 (shaking): ,We... We didn't want it to go that far... We didn't want to kill anyone!" Young man 2: "We were drunk that night and..." Amadea: "Really? You do not say! So, if you get drunk and beat someone up for fun, that's fine?! And how far did you want to go, you fools? Huh? Who's going to be responsible for Beata's death?! Obviously no one. That's why I'm here, somehow I no longer believe in cosmic justice because if there was justice I'd be working with my Bea on another album, we'd wake up grateful for every day we spend with each other, we'd have long philosophical conversations that most people couldn't understand, feel the warmth of the embrace of the person who represents the whole world to us. Why did you destroy it?! What have we done to you?! Just because we're two girls? What, only straight couples can have a happy ending? Well, I won't give your girlfriends, if you have them, a chance to enjoy with you. (laughs at herself) Like I'd do something so terrible, you don't even have feelings - how could your girlfriends feel the love next to you? I'd turn out to have something against straight couples even though I don't, and I've always hated the human trait to generalize and put everyone in the same box. Anyway... (pointing gun to the one of them) To shoot you first, this bastard will be here right away to keep you company."

 Michelle runs up behind her and says, "Stop! Amadea, what are you doing?! This won't solve the problem!" Amadea (slightly turned): "What, do you think they should kill me? Good. (throws the gun at their feet) Come on, get it over with." Michelle (gets close): "What on earth are you doing?" Amadea: "Get out of the way, I don't want you to get shot. (opens arms) What the hell are you waiting for, rat bastard? Shoot!" Young man 1: "I... I can't shoot... I'm not a murderer..." Amadea: "Yes, son, you sure are. You killed Beata, and you killed me along with her. Now finish me off so I won't suffer anymore." Michelle (to young men): "Go to hell both of you! Come on, get lost! (they're running away with a running pace)"

 Amadea (run for the gun, Michelle hurrys to get it before her but she gets there first): "You let them get away?! You let your sister's killers go, what the hell?!!!" Michelle: "There are police waiting for them, I called them before I came here. Give me that gun, you know Beata wouldn't want you to hurt yourself. She even told me to look after you, I'd let her down if anything happened to you." Amadea (nervous): "I won't stay. Not because I'm physically not right, but because she represented the life that was given to me. If it wasn't for her, I'd be dead or I'd still be living like a maid who's just fulfilling her daily chores. I couldn't have imagined such beautiful moments that I actually lived with Beata, I feel honored that she chose me. It's not your fault for anything that happens..." Michelle: "Amadea, leave that damn gun, I beg you." Amadea: " ... And I wish you success with the band. Wish Tyrone, Leonel and Brody good luck on my behalf. (presses the gun to the heart and moves backwards) And tell Brody that he should never be ashamed of his orientation, to tell everyone who have problem with it to mind their own business and that there is too much negativity in this world and without all those judgments of others." Michelle (approaches): "That's what you're going to tell them in person, put that damn thing down. Don't make me force it out of your hand." Amadea (her eyes fill with tears): "I didn't get to visit Bea this morning, put blue flowers on her coffin and grave on my behalf, I'm sorry I can't say goodbye to her. Maybe it's better that way, let her stay alive forever for me."

 The birds from the park fly from the trees at the same time, frightened by the sound of gunshots breaking the morning silence. Michelle catches Amadea in his arms, panickily trying to stop the bleeding, but her already weak heart soon stopped. Tears on her face shimmered with the first rays of sunshine, falling into a puddle of blood.

***A year later***

 Crowds gathered in the town square, waiting for the musicians to take to the stage set for the occasion. Brody, Tyrone, Leonel and Michelle took to the stage and Brody started giving a speech in front of the crowd:

  "It's been exactly a year since our dear friends and bandmates Beata and Amadea left us. In cooperation with the city administration, we decided to give this concert in their honor, because music was the essence of both of them, a thread that connected them so strongly that they left this world together. (raises the white flag) Today we will raise white flags - not in the color of the rainbow, not in any particular color, but pure white flags. You're wondering- why didn't we take the rainbow flags, even though Amadea and Beata were somehow killed for their love? Because with these white flags we symbolize peace - not surrender, but peace. We live in a world where peace is the noun we all supposedly want, and how much do we actually contribute? And why is peace synonymous with weakness, when it takes more courage to defeat the prejudices we have towards others than to attack those we consider worse or weaker than ourselves? The only moral obligation we have to other beings is not to hurt them, and for the rest there is no one who will say what is right and wrong because there is no right and wrong in life, there is more than one way for everything and each one is right in its own way. How many people were killed because of nationality, religion, orientation, opposing attitudes, even different way of dressing? This flag is there for all of them, not just the LGBT+ population, because Beata and Amadea believed in such a world where people will respect each other regardless of diversity, and in a world where people will look after other species that inhabit this planet, because animals and plants are just as important to our planet as we are. The five hooligans who inflicted grievous bodily harm to them are in prison, it may be justice for the legal aspects of this case, but the real satisfaction of justice will be if something like this never happens again."

 They started performing a song "Love You to Death- Kamelot". The song was sung by Michelle, who also played guitar, trying to stay strong during the performance, but he couldn't stop a few tears that were falling secretly despite his efforts not to cry.

"I will always be with you, I'm the anchor of your sorrow,
There's no end to what I'll do cause I love you
I love you to death..."
 
 White flags were flying in the wind as symbols of peace, while the melody was carried through the streets further away. For the next hour the songs took turns, after which the music went silent and people slowly dispersed, except for a smaller group of people who, along with the band members and Michelle, headed to the cemetery with bouquets of blue flowers in their hands. They moved with dignity in silence, but inside them a scream could be heard up to the sky, dispersing black birds that covered the sky.

 In the end... All that's left is the story.

The End
17 January 2021  06:45 a.m
Typing completed 23.01.2021 8:00 am
Suzana Ristic Suza