CHAPTER 09

Be glad, and your friends are many;
 

Maya walked down the stairway, the gun in her hands. She had decided what she was going to do. She gave the gun to her mom, while her mom looked at her, startled. She saw her daughter walking, no - storming away. 

  Be sad, and you lose them all.

Maya scurried through the footpath to the place where it had started. Where Virat had once saved her from drowning. There was an instant connection between the two because Maya had always been lonely and Virat had no one to talk to.

She wondered why she felt so connected to Virat? There was something really enigmatic about strangers... the disconnect you feel with them make you feel connected to them. Without Virat, Maya felt lonely.

  There are none to decline your nectared wine,

She skedaddled through the rocky path to the cliff which had deep waters dashing across it. The waves lapped across it like cerulean paint on an infinite canvas. As she looked at the water, she realized why hurricanes were named after humans. Because humans were treacherous, never trust them enough.

  But alone you must drink life's gall.

The first time they talked, she remembered her cheeks turning as red as fire hydrant on a rainy day of August. Her lips pulled into a full smile until she heard his voice.

"Why the hell did you give her the gun?" Virat yanked her arm with force. Maya looked at him painfully. He was the man she had only loved, the one who understood her.

But he also controlled her.

  Succeed and give, and it helps you live,

She wanted to be free, free from his control, free from this world, free from him. 

And so she jumped.

This time Virat didn't save her. 

  But no man can help you die.

Ophelia drowned to death. Ironically, so did Maya.

FIN-?