Never Kiss Your Best Friend

Chapter 36

त्रिविधं नरकस्येदं द्वारं नाशनमात्मन: |
काम: क्रोधस्तथा लोभस्तस्मादेतत्त्रयं त्यजेत् || 21||

tri-vidhaṁ narakasyedaṁ dvāraṁ nāśhanam ātmanaḥ
kāmaḥ krodhas tathā lobhas tasmād etat trayaṁ tyajet

There are three gates leading to the hell of self-destruction for the soul—lust, anger, and greed. Therefore, one should abandon all three.

Aisha's POV

Everything was dark. Even though my eyes were open without any blindfold, everything around me was black. No light, no ray of sun, and no sound. Until I heard a metal click from the left side.

A container. I was in a locked container. I rubbed my face and halted when my hands touched the nose. An oxygen breath connected to my face with a string followed somewhere outside. I did not even need it. how very thoughtful of my uncle. Sitting and resting my back on the iron wall behind me, I wondered what time it was. What place I was held captive in? Was I already out of the city? By the steadiness of my position, I could tell we were halting somewhere, probably for some rest or waiting.

Hoping that Aaron would realise I went missing was wishful thinking because my not being present in his life would do good to him only. A smile crept on my face, my head resting on the wall behind me as I shut my eyes. Aaron's smiling face popped up in my face. What could be more peaceful than dying with his memories in my mind? With his scent in my senses, his touch on my burning skin, and his very existence in my soul? Peaceful. Delightedly peaceful death.

I did not open my eyes when the front panel of the container opened with a sea of light flashing on my closed lids. Soft footsteps padded in my direction, removing the oxygen mask from my face. I was lifted on the shoulders of the hulk as I slowly opened my eyes. The distance between me and the monster, whom I often call uncle, decreased. He was sitting on the chair in the middle.

I furrowed my brows. Middle?

The broken window to my left stitched with wooden logs followed by a small dome to the top was nothing but a cheap reality of how far my uncle's imagination could go. To my right, at the extreme corner of the wall, the door looked old yet thick as if it had all the strength in it. In the middle of a wooden chair, my uncle looked at me with a gun twirling in his hands. I was thrown on my ass like a potato sack as I glared at the man. He was, by the looks of how blond his hair was, some local goon my uncle hired.

Talking about my uncle, I tilted my head at him with a raised brow. Dressed up in a blue shirt, and grey pants, his hair was parted to the sides as if he was recently groomed into a newly bathed baby.

No one spoke for a long time under the tall dome of this small space. Unable to digest the silence, I rolled my eyes. "Is this the only place you can keep me in?"

He leaned further, resting the elbows on his knees. "Is this the only thing in your mind?" he nodded his head to the man standing behind me. "Tie her up,"

Before I could spin and kick the man where the sun doesn't shine, he tugs my ankle, twisting and tying with rope and tape. Loop after loop, the duct tape rolled around in a blood-freezing grip.

"You have changed over the years, Aisha. I missed the child you were." Uncle said.

Indeed I had changed. My entire world changed after I left the country. I was confident, courageous, and open-mouthed. All because one man held my hand for almost a year and pulled me out of the misery, step by fucking step. All because I trusted the right man. How unfair to not give him a smacking goodbye kiss?!