Resolute Fate

Chapter 1: It's been 12 Years

"Hi hon, I'm off to school."

"I'm tired, I could really use a massage from you right now."

That very message flashed before Zevin's eyes as he was enjoying the day with Sera and her family. They have been sweethearts for almost 4 years, the love story that began after high school graduation.

Zevin felt the chill run down his spine as he held the phone tight. "Sera, who's this?" he asked, his voice quivering with a mix of fear and confusion, his eyes locking onto hers, searching for any hint of deception filling the room with chilly air.

Sera avoided his gaze, her fingers clutching the phone like a lifeline. "It's... it's nothing, Zevin. Just a friend from class."

"A friend who wants massages?" Zevin asked, holding back his tears. He recalled all the days of joy spent with Sera, whom he so loved.

As he was about to break into tears, he went on to Eve, Sera's mother and said: "auntie, there's . . . something really urgent at home." He stammered as he spoke, clearly holding back intense emotions.

Feigning ignorance, Eve answered: "It's just been an hour, I hope you're fine Zev."

"Thank you Auntie." Zevin bid farewell and immediately turned around as tears streamed down his face.

He faced Sera, who by that time stayed silent, her gaze dropping to the floor.

"Sera . . ." Zevin's voice broke, a mix of sorrow and hope, a desperate plea for a sliver of denial, a lifeline to cling to.

"Ma, let's hold on, please?"

These were the last words Zevin thought had left his mouth. But was ultimately held back as he walked out the door.

The silence that ensued was a deafening roar, confirming his darkest fears leaving him feeling hollow and broken thinking about the moments of Sera and the guy behind the text message.

In the dimly lit confines of Sera's home, nestled in the heart of Mothra, in the town of Trissa, the once vibrant love between Zevin and Sera now hangs in the balance, overshadowed by secrets and lies.

With a heavy heart, Zevin continued to leave, each step a descent into an abyss of despair. He longed for Sera to chase after him, to utter words of solace, to mend the fractures with a single touch.

Yet, she remained still, a statue of indifference, as he walked away from the life they built, from the love they nurtured. Each step he took felt like a weight dragging him deeper into despair, suffocating him with the weight of his own emotions.

To his dismay, she allowed him to walk away leaving everything behind in just a single moment.

The supposed happy day planned for enjoyment, singing and deep conversations, ended with a huge blow of despair.

As Zevin was leaving, the walls seemed to close in around him, suffocating him with the weight of his own pain, consuming him into a dark whirlpool, pulling in everything around weighing him down.

And then, as if in a cruel twist of fate, Zevin jolted awake from his nightmare, drenched in a cold sweat. The memory of the message on Sera's phone and the enigmatic "D" person lingered in the recesses of his mind, casting a shadow over his thoughts as he struggled to make sense of it all.

It was morning, before he knew it.

"It's been 12 years Sera, we've long moved on. Why now after all these years," Zevin thought to himself as he peeked through the ceiling. Tears fell on the corners of his eyes.

He slowly got up and noticed a bottle of beer in his hand, half empty. The room, in a disarray, was littered with bottles like fallen hopes and dreams. He then noticed he was alone and realized he had slept on the floor.

"Ah, my head hurts," he groaned as he looked around trying hard to recall the events of the previous evening. His memories are hazy and fragmented.

As he stood, his eyes fell on a broken picture frame containing a happy photograph of his daughter's first birthday. On it were his wife, Claire Smith, their daughter Eleanor, and himself.

"Damn, it hurts a lot." Falling to his knees, he cursed as he embraced the photo close to his chest. He screamed hard in pain, "Claire! Ella!" Only to hear his own voice echo in the corners of the room.

He was slapped by the reality that he had been left alone by his family.

Tightly embracing the broken photograph, Zevin suddenly felt a slight pain in his left wrist. Blood trickled down as the piece of broken glass fragment sliced through it.

"Dream or reality, present or past, I'm destined to suffer heartbreaks." He sighed watching the drip of blood from his arm.

"Had I chosen not to hold those words back then, could I have stayed with Sera? Could she have held on to our promises?" He suddenly thought. 

Zevin had an internal conversation with himself and he answered: "I'm happy with Claire . . . well, I was, and we were not until yesterday."

His internal conflict between his current life and sad past completely bothered him. 

"I married Claire, and we have Eleanor now. I should do everything to fix this and have them return home."

He thought while suppressing a fraction of emotion that longed to bring back Sera and long lost love they had shared.