The Girl and The Stone

05. Bitter Revelation

Smash-Crunch-Crack-Tinkle

Glass breaking, clashing of plates, the shattering of things...

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Dara-breaking things, hurting people. Voices begged for forgiveness, their pleas echoing in the chaos.

A man's voice pierced through the noise: "Dara, I think they're here. We'll be caught!"

Her own voice, cold and unfamiliar, replied, "Hurry up and leave."

"You're injured... Let's leave together."
"No, if we leave together, we'll be caught, and the Stone..." she hesitated. "I have one more thing to take care of."

The voice faded into the darkness. "Dara... Dara..."

Zia jolted awake, heart racing. Dark memories flooded her mind, fragments of a past she barely understood.

Zia's eyes opened wide with realization. Could Dara have stolen the Stone? And who was that man? Only one person might know.

She hurried to Ankul's room,

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Ankul's room

Shaking him awake- "Ankul... wake up!"

In the candlelight, he jolted, staring. "Father! Ghost!"

"It's me, Dara," Zia whispered.

He exhaled, rubbing his eyes. "What are you doing here at this hour?"

"I'm Dara, daughter of Finance Minister, and your twin sister. Our mother passed away when we were young. I've always been a good daughter to Father and a good sister to you. That's all you need to know." You said.

Ankul, still half-asleep, nodded. "Yes..."

"But what about breaking things? Hurting people? What about that incident?"

His eyes widened. "You remember everything?"

"Not all of it-just flashes, bits and pieces. But why are you so shocked?"

"Why would you want to remember those things? Just... be who you are now."

"Tell me... what was I really like?"

Ankul hesitated, but Zia's glare held him. "I'm not leaving until you tell me."

He sighed. "You were... ruthless. You took what you wanted-food, things, people. You never cared. Just tore others down."

"Wait-what? I asked who I am, not for a horror story!"

"It's the truth," he said. "You never loved anyone. You wanted power, and you'd destroy anyone to get it."

Zia stared, shaken. "Was I really that horrible?"

He nodded. "Yes."

"If Dara, I mean I was really that terrible... why were you all nice to me?" she asked, her voice barely a whisper.

He softened. "You never treated us as family, but we are family. And after you lost your memory, we didn't want to bring up the past. Father is happier this way. But..." he hesitated. "There are still those who want to see you fall."

He continued, "And how do you think you escaped punishment? It wasn't just your reckless words. It was because of Father's and Vyhan's connection with the king. People were waiting to see you executed..."

Zia's mind raced, flashes of judgmental faces and whispers in the dark filling her thoughts. If not for Father and Vyhan, she shuddered at the realization of what could have happened. She had been living on borrowed time, shielded by the very bonds she had tried to distance herself from.

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Zia's heart pounded as Ankul's words echoed in her mind. Faces flashed before her, filled with contempt and fear. Her past self was beginning to take shape, piece by unsettling piece.

A cold chill ran through her as fragments of memories resurfaced-things she couldn't ignore, choices she wished she could forget.

What else had she done? And could she truly live with it? The weight of her past pressed down on her.

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Just then, the door creaked open, echoing through the dimly lit room. Zia and Ankul quickly scrambled under the blanket, holding each other tightly in fear.

Ankul whispered, "Is it a ghost?"

Zia replied, "Why do you think it's a ghost?"

"Because-"

Suddenly, a shadow appeared in the doorway.

Zia stammered, "You go close the door."

Ankul said, "Why me? Dara, you go! The ghost will run away if it sees you. You're scarier than any ghost!"

Zia shot back, "Me? A ghost? You little-"

Ankul hesitated. "I-Is that a lady ghost?"

Zia's eyes widened. "A lady-what the heck-"

A figure in a white dress floated by, sending chills down their spines. The soft sound of footsteps echoed, each step amplifying the silence.

Ankul whispered, "I told you it's a lady..."

Zia gulped. "Is there any girl besides me here at this time?"

Ankul shrugged. "You mean an old woman?"

Zia stared at him, baffled.

Ankul smirked. "Honestly, you're scarier than any ghost!"

Zia raised an eyebrow. "Scary? Me?"

Ankul explained, "Well, no maids work this late. They all go home before sunset."

The figure now stood right in front of the door, and in the distance.

"Aaaaaa!" they shouted together, eyes wide and hearts racing as they braced for whoever-or whatever-was coming in.

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Zia: Am I trapped in a horror plot now?

Seeing is believing in the modern era, but this isn't the modern era. Anything can happen. Forget the stone, the thief label, the whole marriage mess-just forget it all.

Mom, Dad, Sky-I just want to get back home!

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To be continued...