Fragments of Me

Chap 24 : Again!?

I left her house and trailed along the now almost silent road towards the place of my abyss. The closer I got the air around seeped further away. I was suffocating. But Martyred Well had a lot of memories for me. A bond of blood, a suicidal spot, history, solitude and it's infamous shining of the moonlight on its waters. Somehow I was afraid of it because I was never the same when I went there but this time I wanted to go. Too many wants has piled up. Got to accomplish some. This time it was Zelhaem Street. Now Arya wants to go with me and that's not much of a problem. She herself will be scared out of her wits when she goes there. I know I was when I first did. My father introduced me to Martyred Well. Zelhaem Street was a blank open space before the war. There was a well there which provided the people around it. During the war, the opposition thought of finding new ways to slaughter people rather than shooting them. So they would slit the throats of their enemies and drop them down Martyred Well. After the war, an old guy went and dropped a bucket down it only to reveal a black water with it. It smelled of blood. He smelled the Well and vomitted instantly. Foul smell spread wide across. When the officials were informed, they built Zelhaem Street and named this the Martyred Well. It was close to the city zoo and from its wall you could swing your legs to an epic view. The wide open lake and the moonlight accompanying it sometimes. It was magically scary. I was afraid the first time. The place had a strange feeling to it. They say the voices screamed. I say I am gonna slap you silly if you tell that again!! I almost go there once in three or four months. The guard there is one of the freedom fighters. His six brothers were slaughtered here and from then on he decided to stay and guard their tomb. The guy never talked much. When he knew that I liked the place and offered nothing but respect and peace, he accepted me. Seeing me at the gate, he would hand me the keys and go out to smoke. Sometimes I bought smokes for him. He would disappear into the mist, something I wanted to learn. I would climb up the wall. Each brick was memorized. I sit on it, light a smoke, if I want, I put my earphones on and just fade in the view. The moon when it rose, made it more better. I was thinking of all these when I reached Zelhaem Street. I drove a bit further into the town to find Arya's house there. I called her and turned to face the road. I saw a hooded guy coming my way. I did not seem to care. He stopped in front of me and out his hand in his pocket. I was sweating. Don't kill me until I fuck you up is all I was thinking of. He pulled out his phone and then removed his hoodie. It was Arya. What the fuck!? I was ready to bust the guy's ass and then it turned out to be her. She was laughing endlessly looking at my expressions. I was poker faced.

Me : Stop wearing hoodies in the dark. People might think of you as a boy. Flatness is evident.

Damn was she hurt. I didn't care. In my mind she deserved it. Bitch. I parked the bike in front of the gate. No noises were made. I slowly knocked on the gate. The guard came out. He saw me. I had bought some smokes for him. He looked towards Arya's direction who was already shaking.

The guard : No girls.

Me : Unfortunately she is just a friend.

The guard : Two hours.

Me : Done.

I took an almost unwilling Arya inside. My god was she sweating. I told her to take her jacket off. Pulled her up on the wall. Scratching her hand on the way up that is. She finally got to place. She was flabbergasted. I was laughing. I looked at the view. My blood was peacefully iced. I looked at Arya. She was rooted to her spot. I knew that would happen. I experienced it. On my first time, Dad was standing outside the gate and I climbed the wall to look over to the other side, to see a majestic view. Something that made me forget that I was in a graveyard. And it was supposed to be scary. Two hours was passed and I forgot the count of how many smokes I had done. We spoke little and that was satisfactory. We got down. The guard came on the right time. I closed the gate behind me, while looking through it, I was the guard slowly tread into his chambers. I wondered how he lives like this. On the way back Arya looked as if she wanted to talk,

Arya : Why are you looking so low, Aron?

Me : It's just life. It catches up.

Arya : Then run away faster.

Me : For how long? I can't run away and I am having a hard time embracing it.

Arya : Told her. What did she say?

Me : She said to hope for the best. I can't really. Although there is no other way than this, I simply can't. People can fight to what they want. Why do I want to give up halfway?

Me : Because you think of the negatives. Don't this time. Be it hard, try not to overthink. I think you will prevail.

Me : I'll try. Thanks.

Arya : If you fail to do this, call me. I have to slap the person who told me this then.

Me : I think it was me.

Arya : You're damn right it was you.

I walked her to her door. She didn't want to go. She wanted to spend more time in the graveyard. I sadly told her next time. People do deserve someone who they can spend the time being, with. It just makes things better. Not that talking is necessary, just their presence is. You will only get a certain amount of people in life who do that.

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I drove home. I was tried of running. Expectations were that I will get beaten black and blue. Well I was a bit let down. Mom screamed and Dad ran to meet me at the front door. I entered without giving any explanations. I was tired in pure words. I hated explanations. Mom started hitting me with tears running down her eyes. I turned to rub them off. I hated when my Mom cried. Be it for me. If it was for someone else other than my father then that person was up for a whooping. I hugged her. She was still hitting me. When she stopped and was gonna embrace me I let go of her. I am back because I wanted to get back, not because of them. I got into a shower. Afterwards, I went to my room. My bed tidy as always. I kept and liked it that way. I sat on it. I looked at my table. Went through it to find some weed. After a long time, I wanted to get faded, this time, critically. I found enough to blackout. I loved my thinking at the time. I took the tobacco out of my smoke and well, prepared a shot. I was called to have dinner. No words were spoken. Just the way I liked it. My parents then went to their room. I tiptoed to the roof. The wind was slowly and perfectly blowing. I lighted it up. It felt on the first drag. I cursed myself for forgetting how it was done. I started shotgunning it. My breath almost seized. I pushed my lungs to the limit until it gave in. It was done. Back in the ring. A small smile crawled it's way out. I was feeling a bit better. I thought of lighting up a smoke. I had recently increased my dosage to a craze. I should take a break. I looked at my phone. A message. "Man get the fuck out of your house, got a prize". The advantages of having a duplex house is that you can climb out and in easily. I got out and walked to the end of my street. I saw Trevor with a bike. To tell the truth tears dropped down my eyes. He was smiling. That bitch brought my first bike for me. My first bike in life was a Suzuki Samurai. It was my partner for eight long years. It was actually the first bike I drove. Nobody taught me. I looked at my dad was doing and learned how to drive within a few months. When they say me, they were dumbfounded. I got on the bike, engines roaring. i drove it at a constant speed to the spot. I had never felt so good. I didn't smoke. I just drove. From the spot I went to Zelhaem Street, again. From there back home. Those 16 mins felt like heaven to me. I climbed in my home telling Trevor to keep it safe for me. He promised. I slowly tiptoed across my parents room when they were speaking they had no idea. I stopped to eavesdrop,

Mom : What about school?

Dad : No need for school anymore. It's a waste of time, money and energy.

Mom : And no improvement is being shown in him.

Dad : I wonder what will he do with his life.

Mom : If he listens he will do better.

Dad : Tell him to drop school and study by himself and do the coaching. For now.

Mom : Hope he listens.

Dad : He will have to...

I was leaning against the wall with my face stuck to it. My mind only screamed, "Not again!!?".....


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