MELINOE

The End

Chapter – 27

Minutes before the gunshot shook everyone

“I can’t thank you enough for all that you have done for me Nadiya,” Rayan’s voice spoke. “Nobody on earth would have taken the pain that you’ve done to set free an unsatisfied, restless and wandering soul free from such an existence! Thank you,” he continued. After a pause of few seconds his loud whispers sounded, “Its time for me to leave now.” “Please don’t. Don’t go…” Nadiya’s starving body curled up on the floor in sorrow. “I have to,” said Rayan.

As Rayan’s soul tried to leave Nadiya’s body, it only caused more pain to Nadiya but couldn’t escape. Rayan tried best to leave Nadiya’s body but couldn’t. After a number of failed attempts and inability to realize what was going wrong, both of them saw a very bright white light ray coming in through the window. A lady in red dress and completely white eyes with a crown of roses adorning her head, came inside. “I’m MELINOE, the Goddess of the dead. It is time for you to leave now my child,” her intense voice resonated till far. “I can’t leave her body. Help me,” pleaded Rayan. “Your soul has been attached to Nadiya’s. Only Nadiya can decide whether she wants to let you go,” the Goddess said. “I want to die with him,” said Nadiya.

As Nikki and I reached Nadiya’s room and found her body lying still on the floor, I broke down next to her, with eyes unwilling to believe what they were seeing. Nadiya’s fingers clutched the pendant tightly. I tried to open the grasp, but found the pendant broken.  The dressing table mirror had crushed to glass pieces, that lay scattered in the entire room. We couldn’t explain how and what happened to Nadiya to Mom and Dad. We never imagined our plan would bring such unwelcome consequences! Everyone in the room mourned for the irreversible unexplained loss.

10 years later . .

“Then? Then what happened Dad?” a little girl with two brown ponies, in a pink night-suit that had hello kittys printed all over, shook her father’s hand. “That’s all. That’s how the story ends sweetheart,” said the father, taking off his tiny daughter’s big round glasses. She and her even tinier brother wasn’t ready to sleep and wanted to listen more about their favourite story. Both of them started to roll on the bed whining. The mother came in, “Silence. No more stories. Both of you close your eyes now. Its sleeptime.“ The kids obeyed their mum.

The mother turned on the bed-light of their kids’ room. Both the mum and dad came out from the kids’ room. They sat down next to the window in their drawing room, looking at the stars far in the full-moon sky. “Do you miss your twin?” Nikki asked holding her husband’s hand. “Everday,” replied Noah.