Tears | [BoyxBoy] | English

11

On the last day of school, the event held by the Leo Society lasted till night and I was so busy with the work that I could not even find out if Mehansa went home or not. Akindu and Himash sat by my side telling me what to do and I nervously managed to text Mehansa. Even after half an hour, I had not received a reply from her.

'Miniru...' Himash patted my hand.

I looked up from the phone. 'Mmm?'

'Put that phone aside and go come with me. People are waiting for you to come... Minula is holding the candle and waiting for us to come and light it...' Himash took my phone from his hand and switched it off.

I sighed and stepped into the room with him. Minula was standing by the lamp holding the candle in one hand. As soon as she saw me, she tricked me by pointing at the clock to tell me that I was late. I shrugged and indicated to her that there was nothing I could do now.

Me, Himash and Minula lit the oil lamp while the sounds of taking pictures filled around us. We had to leave the official board because the three of us are doing A/L this year. First there was my speech. After that, the new officers' badging ceremony. I couldn't even take my phone out because I was in the front seat. The thought of searching for Mehansa faded from my mind as I busied myself with the invited guests. By the end it was nearly nine pm and before going home Himash said he would buy us some food.

Then we all went to a nearby food stall and spent almost an hour and a half there. We stopped at a nearby supermarket to buy something for dessert. Spotting a bottle of Nutella on a shelf there, I bought it to use as an apology to Mehansa for coming home late. She was very fond of Nutella. My eyes, which were about to close with great effort, opened for a moment because Minula squeezed my hand.

By the time we came out of it, it was almost eleven thirty at night. After leaving Minula at home, I went to our homes along with Himash and Akindu. Anyway, when I opened the door of the house and entered the house, it was around twelve forty-five.

I rubbed my eyes with my fingertips to drive away the sleepiness. I strongly believed that Mehansa should not see that I am tired. I knew she was not replying to my text messages out of anger because I was late.

'nangi...' I paused at her door thinking that she would come and open the door. I knocked on her door several times but got no answer after about five minutes.

When there was no response from her I opened the door. It was not locked and I lifted the bottle of Nutella. 'I brought you a bottle of Nutella, dear. Sorry for being late... Your brother has work baby... You can eat this alone... I won't even eat secretly...' I closed my eyes and said but I could not hear Mehansa's voice.

I turned on the light bulb in her room. As my eyes adjusted from the dark to the light, my whole body was freeze when I saw her. I heard the bottle of Nutella fall to the floor and I fell to the floor and yelled with my head in my hands.

Nothing after that stuck in my mind. I could barely hear the sound of the father coming upstairs, but not a single word he said was clear to me.

When I opened my eyes, I was in the living room of the house. It was nearly two in the morning and I fell asleep on the sofa. My lips felt dry and a strong thirst was invading my throat.

'Water...' I pursed my lips.

No one gave me water and as my eyes stung, I saw an ambulance parked in front of the house. The house was full of talking voices but I could not hear any of them clearly. I pushed myself off the sofa and curled up on the floor with the blanket covering my body.

'Miniru...' Someone put a hand on my shoulder.

'Water...water...' I pursed my lips and then felt someone place a cup of water between my lips. I took a sip of water awkwardly and stayed like that until I regained consciousness.

After a while everything became clear to me. Mehansa suddenly came to my mind. I put down the cup in my hand and tried to run upstairs. Two neighbors grabbed my waist and pulled me back and I screamed and kicked them.

I only felt that I cried until all the strength in my body was exhausted. Everything started to blur again. The people walking around the house seemed blurry to my eyes. As sirens blared in my direction, I realized that the ambulance was leaving.

Then I felt a neighbor woman wet my face with wet water. That's when I came to my senses. I did not feel the strength to even move from where I was and I fell into the arms of the neighbor woman and waited there.

I heard some footsteps behind me on the sofa and I awkwardly looked back. A tall man was coming down the stairs with the father and the other. Finally the tall man muttered a few words and left the house, and my father brought a file cover and dropped it on the sofa. As he left with the other, I turned my head and glanced at the file cover.

I could barely read the few words written on a white sheet of paper.

Name - Mehansa Devrani Gamage

Age - 15

Cause of Death - Fracture and suffocation due to strangulation

I wanted to yell and cry but I couldn't do anything. When everything went dark in my eyes again, I fell into the arms of my neighbor again because I didn't even have the strength to cry. 

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TEARS
2022.07.29