Chapter 1- Goodbye, my loved ones

The sun was about to set, announcing the arrival of dusk, and darkness was overshadowing the light. Even the sky turned dark with the gathering of black clouds. The scenery from Yula Mountain was stunning at the moment.

Along the mountain was a steep cliff which was prohibited for everyone because if one were to be a bit careless they could fall into the deep abyss. No one dared to enter the abyss because of the poisonous gas that had spread throughout it. So no one knew how dangerous and deep the abyss was.

 

At the moment, a few silhouettes of people could be seen on the top of Yula mountain but were not to appreciate the scenario.

Among them was a girl standing on the top of a cliff, the girl’s body has been covered in bruises and wounds. Blood was even dripping from the corner of her mouth. Altogether, she was in a sorry state.

Despite her situation, she was clutching a young man as a hostage and pointing a gun at the captive’s head. The young man’s movement was restricted by her.

 

Even while pointing the gun, the girl’s focus was drawn to the two men in front of her. Her eyes were emitting longing towards them. She was a bit happy by their arrival.

Aside from those four, two other people were on the mountain but stayed away from the cliff.

 

Breaking the silence, one of the men spoke in a pleading tone, “Ava, let him go. Forget everything that happened before, don’t cover your hand in blood. Your hands aren’t made to kill anyone-”

“I…can’t…I can’t, I made an oath, so whatever happens, I have to take him down with me.” her voice was quivering.

 

“No Ava, you can’t kill him. We both are responsible for keeping him safe. Don’t you dare to do anything nonsensical?” The same voice contained anger.

“Then what about my safety and the empty promise you both made to me? Am I nothing in both of your eyes…Anyway, I can’t let this man go. He deserves to be punished for the sins he committed. I don’t want to be a killer, but you all have given me no choice—” Biting her lips, Ava spoke nervously.

 

“Are you in such a hurry to end your life? Then you probably won’t mind my rudeness..,” said another man sternly and coldly. He had a gun in his hand.

He was about to pull the trigger when the first man to speak stopped him and said, barely audibly, “Roy, stop. If you shoot, you won’t be able to save him either. ”

 

“Then, Rick, are we going to stand by and watch as she attempted to kill him?”

“No, let me talk and distract her…” they devised an immediate plan.

 

Although she was listening in on every conversation, the girl’s gaze was only on Roy and Rick, the two men standing in front of her.

As the only two people in the world who knew her better than anyone else, she hoped they would support her choice or at least try to reason out her action but they didn’t. Instead, they assumed she was a criminal. What was she hoping for from those heartless people either?

 

“Ava, listen to me. Don’t act stupid. Put your gun down and free him. We won’t charge a case on you…” Rick said while maintaining his composure.

Ava said without even shattering her speech, “Why brother Rick, why? Don’t you understand me the most? Why don’t you side with me but oppose me?..”

 

Turning his face to the side Rick spoke, “Because…because they are my biological family. The same blood flows within our vein…”

Ava didn’t say anything when her eyes started to moisten up, but she kept staring at them. Her last hope was shattered by the announcement. She finally understood neither Roy nor Rick will stay by her side or leave a chance for her to survive even if she freed the hostage.

 

The rain started to fall in a single, little droplet.

Ava asked slowly and carefully after a full two minutes of silence, “So, Brother, who am I to you? Am I not a part of your family? Are you the same person I used to know? Your heart changed Brother…”

Something seemed to be stuck in Rick’s throat but still, he spoke in a low voice, “They are my…real family, you aren’t–”

 

Ava was unable to hear the cruel truth until the end, furthermore, the sound faded and was replaced by a buzzing sound. The fabric she wore, was stained with blood as a gunshot was fired close to her heart.

 

Because of this, she let go of the hostage; the hostage then shoved her aside and ran toward Rick and Roy.

Her body became slack from the forceful shoving and weakness, and she fell down onto her butt.

 

With her two hands, she applied pressure to the bullet’s impact point. Her eyes never looked away from the culprit who shot her. The pain she felt wasn’t from the bullet but her heart was broken into pieces. The person who shot her was the person, she loved the most.

She was overwhelmed with feelings of disappointment, despair, grief, heartbreak, and more.

 

Rick was distracted and hurrying the hostage man to go to the hospital because the man also had bruises on his body. One of the men who stood far took the hostage man to the hospital.

Ray turned around to face Ava when the man walked away. The environment was unusually silent.

 

He was horrified to see her lying on the ground with blood all over the cloth covering her left side of the chest. His gaze alternated between Roy and Ava.

He had never imagined Roy to shoot her and he didn’t hear the bullet fired because of the silencer.

 

“Roy, how…could you shoot her? She— “He was unable to continue.

Roy didn’t respond to anyone. His eyes were racing back and forth between Ava and the phone he was holding.

Taking back his gaze from Ava, Roy shoved the phone in Rick’s hand. No one noticed his other hand holding the gun was shaking.

 

“Sister was admitted for an operation. You should be with her.” Roy spoke as if the events in front of him were insignificant.

” WHAT??… But Av—” Rick struggled with the decision of staying or going. Ray patted Rick’s shoulder.

As Rick was about to take a step back and leave Ava in Roy’s care, a burst of insane laughter echoed on the mountain.

 

“Hah… brother, you are abandoning me in such a dire situation. Don’t worry it will be the last time I will refer to you as a brother. Let me ask you a question before you leave, please do answer honestly: have you ever once taken me as your sister? Or was I a replacement of your biological sister all those years??”

Rick was rooted to the ground and couldn’t face her or respond after hearing the question.

 

Her voice was weakening as she said, “Hah…you don’t have to reply I understand. It was my wishful thinking to think of both of you as my family; if I have known it would turn out to be a nightmare for me then I would have never made such a wish.”

 

Removing the gaze from Rick, she faced Roy, the cold-hearted person, “I was once a member of his family, but you… I dedicated my heart to you, Mr. Smith. I despise myself for being obsessed with THE ROY SMITH  and never gave up on you when I had the chance.

 

F**k up with my unrequited love and unrealistic expectations that you will someday perceive my feelings. I, at last, understood I was a chess piece for you from the beginning. Hah… I accept my stupidity. I regret —I genuinely regret meeting you both.”

 

Ava was chuckling maniacally and belittling herself with closed eyes.

“My heart is aching and it’s hard for me to sustain day by day. Roy, how could only I not exist in your memory? Maybe everything that happened between us before was my hallucination.”

She struggled mightily to stand slowly and spoke only a few words as her tears continued to flow.

 

“I wish I had never met you both in the first place. If there is even a tiny possibility that I escape this catastrophe then let’s remain strangers. I feel as though my heart has been shattered… because of both of your deeds, it pains me within.

I hope the two of you live happy lives forever. I won’t disrupt your life, Rick. I won’t pressure you to accept me as your sister anymore.

Roy, you’re finally free from me. I give up. I won’t pursue you anymore. I lose- you win…”

 

The moment she proceeded to talk, Ava had moved back a step. When she reached the end of the cliff, she smiled as brightly as she could.

“Goodbye, my loved ones” was the last word she uttered before throwing herself down the cliff and into the abyss.