Chapter 13 - Regret - 24/11/2023

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In the grip of this recurring nightmare, it haunts my thoughts,

The crazy lady, bathed in wine, her departure, the ties it wrought.

Never fathomed she'd forsake us, our town, the love that flowed,

Beneath the tree where memories sowed.

"Why rest her here beneath this ancient tree?" I dared to ask,

"It was her final wish," came the reply, a memory-mask.

"Final?" I questioned, sensing a truth untold,

A truth darker than the skies that loomed bold.

"Why did her breath depart, abandon its course?

Why does she not breathe?" I pressed,

Feeling a sudden stillness, a heart that ceased its quest.

He gazed at the heavens, now darker than before,

"It was Ölum, the creature that takes those we adore."

He cast a disappointed glance, a weight I couldn't bear.

"Stubbornness," he sighed, "we could have kept her here with us,

Had you not resisted, she'd have left, unbound from the fuss."

"Why was I ignorant of this lurking dread?

Why does it reap the ones we love, leaving them dead?"

I pondered aloud, my heart heavy with despair,

Regret painted his features, a canvas of sorrow,

I wept, an outpouring of grief that knew no tomorrow.

"It's my fault, my fault," the words escaped my breath,

I cried, leaning over him, drowning in the sea of what he called "death".

Hours passed, tears cascading like a relentless stream,

He listened to my sorrow, an unspoken, shared dream.

His hugs, helped me, so much, please, never let me out of your arms

"I'll guide you to where my sister will meet you," I said,

Exhausted, I headed home, thoughts swirling in my head.

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In the dead of night, a plea echoed, "No, Ölum, no!"

I jolted awake, drenched in sweat's relentless flow.

A desperate wish to banish him from sight,

Regret festered, anger flared, fueling the night.

Had not anger clouded reason, reason so clear,

The crazy lady might linger, her end not near.

Craving solace, I sought the cool night air,

Descending downstairs, I found my father there.

"Dad?" I ventured, my fear laid bare,

He met my gaze with a paternal stare.

"You have nothing to be scared of," he declared,

Yet my trembling body bespoke a truth, unshared.

"I am truly scared," I confessed in haste,

His demeanor shifted, his expression chaste.

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