The Broken Tale

A Note

Song: it's not goodbye by Laura Posini

Over the next few days, Layla slowly recovered. The medical staff were different from other hospital staff she had seen. They took extra care of her, checking up on her several times an hour and Layla noticed they always took the extra step to make sure she was fine. The room they transferred to was much more comfortable and was even set out a little luxuriously expensive furniture. The staff were kind, not one of the nurses nor the doctors ever had a small frown for a moment at all and always tried to cheer her and Brian up when they could notice things were becoming difficult. Soon Layla learned why the hospital was different. Once she had enough strengh to speak, she asked Brian about it. It was him who explained that Chanel owned the hospital.
Layla was required to stay in the hospital for six whole days. Brian told her that Chanel had to fly back home to take care of her sick daughter. But it was fine. Now she knew they were safe. She was finally free of the accusations Ali had set down on her. The truth was out there and the authorities now knew who they had to be going after. Though some detectives did ask for Layla's statement, it was now surprisingly easy for her to tell her story. She found little discomfort telling detectives what they probably already knew now with Brian by her side. But aside from that, there was nothing else for Layla to do except recover.
But she did bully Brian enough to get him to go home. She did not want Alondra to be home alone even if the nanny was trustworthy.
After six days in the hospital, Layla felt just as perfectly fine as doctors told her she must be. With nothing else left in her, she was allowed to go home. Brian though did not know for Layla had asked the chauffeur and hospital staff to not tell him so she could surprise him.
As promised, Chanel had sent a chauffeur to pick Layla up. Three female nurses Layla had befriended helped her get dressed no matter how much Layla protested that she could do it herself. They congratulated her over and over. The oldest nurse among them, a tall woman in her forties, gave her endless lists of advice on how to take care of Alondra once the nanny would leave.
        The goodbye was almost a little depressing even though Layla promised to keep in touch with the nurses she had befriended.
        Never did Layla think that driving back to the mountain home would excite her. She thought when they were first on their way to the mountain home, Layla could vividly remember her trembling hands and the rock that sat in the bottom of her stomach. How she thought she would never leave the house alive or free. It seemed so unbelievable, so surreal that she was now returning to the house with excitement and for the first time in months, happiness, in her heart. She was now free and on her way to get justice for not just her but for Alondra and the baby Ali had taken away from her. As she was lost in her thoughts, she felt the new, normal phone Chanel had given her ringing and vibrating in her lap. She picked it up without even looking at the screen.
"Hello?" She answered.
"Hey, Laili." Chanel's voice said on the other end, "Great morning, huh?"
"Is it even morning down there?"
Chanel laughed, "No but I assumed it must be in the States."
"Well damn you're good at math."
"No, I just have a phone with WIFI."
"How's your daughter doing now?" Layla asked.
"She's better now. Her father managed to get her to take some medicine while I was on the way."
"That's amazing, I'm so relieved."
"Thank you. Anyway, how are you? Did you get discharged yet?"
"Yeah, I'm on the way home."
"Really? That's awesome. How do you feel?"
"It's really funny, you know?" Layla sighed as a smile formed on her lips, "I honestly didn't think I'd ever leave those mountains alive. I really thought it was just a hopeless chase but I wanted to at least give it a shot for Brian."
"Look up at the sky, Layla."
Layla looked up at the aqua blue sky.
"Life is just as unpredictable as where those clouds are heading to." Chanel continued, "Our problems are much more similar to those clouds than you think."
"Clouds? That's a really weird analogy."
"Yes. They seem big and sometimes they really are. But just like those clouds, they're big but fragile. With enough time and persistence, Layla, there is not one problem that can remain just like not a single cloud stays in the sky forever."
"I...I honestly never thought of it like that."
"I didn't either. At least I know I didn't the times I tried to throw my life away."
"If you had then the world would never be what it is now." Layla replied, "Chanel, everywhere I look now, I can see the difference you've made."
"Precisely, Layla. If I had given up then I would've never been as happy as I am now. Let me tell you, Layla, you will never value your life until you've spilt enough tears to see your own reflection in them. Only then will you learn to never take anything for granted because you don't want to see yourself so broken in your reflection ever again."
"It's hard to believe someone like you could've been through that."
"Why is it though?" Chanel asked, "If I hadn't struggled then how would I ever be here now? How can anyone think any human being can muster up any fortune without failing a few times?"
"I don't really know. It's just...hard to see you as-"
"Anything besides smiling in high heels and tight dresses? Yes, I know."
"I hope you won't take it as an insult, it's just-"
"No, no, of course not."
"I just can't wait until this storm passes so I can finally start my life. I've missed twenty-three years of it already."
"It's easy to feel like you've missed those years but honestly, Layla, those twenty-three years have taught you more than you'll ever learn. If you'll ever be happy it's because those twenty-three years taught you how to be happy."
"I want it to be over."
"It will, Layla, soon it'll be gone I promise." Chanel reassured.
"I hope so. I feel like my strength is at its say drop."
"You'll need to keep that last drop, Layla, because you still need to testify at Ali's trial."
"I don't mind that. I'm just scared if he finds a way out."
"Don't worry, Layla, that isn't possible even if he gets the best lawyers in the world. Plus I've equipped you with the best lawyers already."
Layla sighed, "Thank you."
"Don't worry about it. Anyway, Laili, I'm at work right now and I have a meeting in a few minutes. I just wanted to know how you were doing."
"Thank you, Chanel, for everything."
"Please, Layla, I didn't do anything."
"You're just too stubborn to see it."
Chanel laughed, "Typical me. Anyway, I'll talk to you later, alright?"
"Okay. Good luck with your meeting."
"Thanks. Say hi to Brian and Alondra for me."
"I will."
"Bye!"
"Bye."
         Though Layla's mind was captured by her relief the whole way back, it all quickly faded the moment she stepped through the front door of the house.
Quiet.
Still.
Stagnant.
Brian did not come out to hug her. Alondra did not cry. Nobody was there. Layla could have played it off to Brian taking the baby out for a breath of fresh air but taking just a step into the house, Layla's world fragile crumbled down on her.
How?
How could this happen?
Why?
WHY NOW?
Why again?
Why couldn't she just be free already?
When would it all be over already?
Was a moment of relief more than what she deserved?
       The cozy mansion was in tatters, completely ransacked. Not a thing in the place was in its place. Cushions thrown around, tables and drawers up turned and everything else knocked out of its place. Layla walked around in the mess but she could barely see. Her vision was cloudy in her tears but she could still see the dishes broken on the floor, the blankets spread out on the floor and books torn next to them.
         Confusion, panic, fear. They sat on her chest, not allowing her to breathe. There was nothing she could expect, nothing she could think could cause this. As she stepped on the stairs, something tickled the bottom of her feet. She looked down at the steps. Even through her tears, Layla could see the paper laying beneath her toes.
         Picking it up, Layla could see something scribbled onto the paper in a handwriting that was...familiar. Too familiar. Horror, terror, pain as her whole body began trembling. She couldn't breathe, she couldn't think, she couldn't move. The letter word by word broke her world piece by piece. Suddenly all the words of relief she had said to Chanel less than an hour ago seemed like a worldwide away.