Rosea Ignis [Unedited]

CHP: 20

*Flash.

Xiao.

I was eighteen back then, when I first saw her and after that I never felt like looking at any other girl. It was happening first time after Darla died. Darla and I were childhood sweethearts, my dad was a gangster and mom left him because she hated his job. But dad kept me by his side, he loved me more than anything else in this world and I knew it just by looking in his eyes. Most of the time he wasn't around me when I was a kid, we had a maid named Marry who worked in our house. She was someone dad trusted the most, once she took a bullet for him they were more like siblings than a master and a servent. She had a beautiful daughter and she brought her along so that it would be easy for her to look after her child and me at the same time.

Darla was an angel without wings, I grew up with her till the age of 14. I was her life and she was mine. We went to school together, we studied together and life was just like a dream when I was with her. But then one day when we were on the bus, we got into an accident. I was unconscious for days or a week you can say. When I opened my eyes, I saw dad and Marcus. Marry stood there in the corner of the room crying. The first thing that I asked  after opening my eyes was 'where is Darla?' and no replied. The fear took over me but I tried to persuade myself that she was fine. Some how I managed to get up and then dad took me somewhere, I was trying not to think anything bad but all of that hope was crumbled when I saw her grave. For a while I just couldn't believe it, I cried till I had a sore throat. My eyes were puffy but I just couldn't stop myself, no matter how much I cry she just won't come back to life.

I locked myself in my room, I was isolating myself and throughout the day I would sit there by myself and ask a single question 'why did I have to survive? I didn't followed her in the afterlife?'.  My body was weak and one day I collapsed. When I opened my eyes I saw dad, he was crying. He's a strong man, the man who didn't even cried when mom left us. "Xiao, you are my only child and I want you to live. I understand that she meant so much to you but you can't just end your life like this, my dear. And if you want to die like this, first kill me" he said while giving me his gun. I know what he wanted to say but I just couldn't come out of that grieving. That same night Marry came to me and sat next to the bed, I couldn't even meet eye with her.

"Xiao, I raised you like my own child and therefore it hurts me to see you like this. My darling Darla is gone and I can garantee you one thing that she loved you till the end and if she is watching you from the heaven she would be really sad to see you like this. I can understand what your father feels like right now, I was not there when my girl counting her last breaths but your father is nothing but a helpless man who is watching his son taking a step closer to his death every day. Please, don't do this to yourself " she said and we both cried that day I slept and saw Darla in my dream, I saw her leaving. The next morning I woke up and after so many days I opened the curtains for trj first time and my room was all bathing in morning sun rays. I took a bath and took a look at myself first time after so many days. My cheeks were hollow, my eyes had dark circles beneath it and I looked so skinny. No wonder dad was crying. After so many days I stepped out of my room and had breakfast with dad. He was happy, though he didn't say anything I still knew that he was happy.

Days passed by and I buried Darla somewhere in my heart, I had to live. Live for my dad; who love me more than anything else. I turned into person with a much more rough and tough personality after that. I and my friend Jaden were involved in street fights, something that I was scared of back then. One day one of those street fighter attacked me and my friend. They were five against the two of us, but we fought as if it was a matter of life and death. As we realised that they had a strong back up and ran in opposite direction. I was badly wounded, my hand was bleeding too, I didn't knew where I was going to but I was just running and then got hit by a car. Hopefully whoever the driver was, that person stepped on the brakes on the right time. I got on my feets and the person in the car stepped out, it was a girl. She was short, had a beige skin tone. She kept asking if I was ok, but I was in a rush. " Listen I'm in a rush, I'm being chased by someone. Let me go, and believe I'm not bleeding because you almost ran a over me. I'm ok" I said and was hastily walking away when she said "You can hide in my car" I looked back at her still trying to catch my breaths. She pointed at her car and I got in after thinking for a moment. She stood there out of her car and those people were trying to find me asked her 'if she someone running on the street?' she pointed at the road right in front of her and they ran in that direction. As I saw them speeding away I sat properly in the backseat of her car.