34
34
Kaya’s POV.
I expected the air to hit me on the face, sprawling my hair and notifying me that this is my last second on this planet.
My eyes are tightly shut, expecting my consciousness to fade away within a split second.
Except neither of those came.
Gravity didn’t take its course.
I don’t feel like I’m falling.
Then my brain comes back to reality. There’s a sharp sting in my elbow, and I hear the voice of a male, “are you okay?”
The person taps me, but I don’t open my eyes, even though my eyelids flutter. I’m scared to open my eyes because I already know what has just happened.
I am still awaiting my death.
The male keeps hitting me on the shoulder till I finally open my eyes, and he cups my face in his hands. “Are you okay? Can you say a word to me?”
I hit his hands away from my body and turn to the sides, looking around to see that I’m still on the roof.
No, how could I not be dead?
Now that the fear is sipping away, I recall feeling someone wrap their arms around my waist and pull me backwards just before I fell.
Wait, did this guy stop me from dying?
“Hello, would you say a word?”
I turn to my side, now paying attention to him. He’s dressed in a shirt and a woven trouser with a black boot in his feet and a small scarf wrapped around his neck.
He dresses more like a grownup than he looks facially.
“What did you do?” As I shout at him, his light blue eyes, just like the sky, flare at me before he narrows them, unsure of the kind of question that I’m asking.
“Um, shouldn’t you be saying things like, thank you for saving my life… thanks for not letting me fall off a five-story building?” He seems utterly confused.
Infuriation showers inside me, and I hit him on the chest. “Why did you? Did I ask for your help?”
“Wait, what? I just saved you from dying, miss…” His voice trails off before he looks around him. I can tell he’s thinking this is unreal.
I hit him on the chest again, then I walk away from him to grab my hair and groan to the ground, falling onto my knees.
Oh, my, he didn’t just stop me! He couldn’t have.
I can’t proceed with attempting to murder myself anymore. I can’t go through the fear again.
Now that I even think of wanting to kill myself earlier, I fear whatever my mind has become.
I look towards the roof, and now it scares me so much that I fall on my buttocks and crawl further away.Owned by NôvelDrama.Org.
The male comes to hold me by the arm, and I clutch his clothes. “I didn’t ask for you to save me. You shouldn’t have! Who are you?”
“My name is Aiden. I have been here the whole time. This is like my place of relaxation, where I am alone with my thoughts and scream into the sky without anyone hearing me from below, just like you did earlier. It is a good spot for someone like me.” He starts to explain.
He was here the whole time, it seems.
“I heard all your cries, and I got pitiful for you. We sort of have a similar situation, and then you tried to kill yourself, and I wasn’t sure that was it at first, so I stayed where I was, under there.”He points to a small canopy-like shield close to the vents before he continues, “I thought you wouldn’t do it, but then… I just had to pull you back. And I’m sorry that you scraped your elbow.”
Now that he mentions that wound, it stings again.
But I don’t want to be saved. I don’t ask for it.
“I didn’t ask you to save me. You shouldn’t have.” I whisper, as though I wasn’t talking to him.
“How could you be so wanting to die? Why?”
“Have you taken a look at me?” I ask him, twisting to glance at him, and he makes an “oh” sound.
He clears his throat. “I was about to ask that… if I’m not mistaken, I mean, you looking all dirty and wrecked, are you not that witch that was chained up at the center of the palace?”
Oh, I think he means to say that the cheap whore, slut, who tried to sleep with a guard, is a property of the triplets, that he hates me so much just like anyone else, and that he saved me just so I don’t die and I can continue to get punished by everyone else.
It’s a facade. He’s probably just like Melissa. I have no idea why he reminds me of her. Maybe because he acts like he cares.
“What do you want from me?” I step away when he offers his hand.
“We could stay here, having this little chat, or I could take you somewhere where you’d have a nice bath, change into a better cloth, and eat good food. I’d like to see your actual face, not this one filled with dirt.” He sounds like a nice person, but I don’t trust it.
“And why should I trust you?”
He makes a “hm-mh” sound as he shrugs, “Well, let’s see. No one would help you, and since you’d end up being beaten again, you can, for now, eat something nice.”
“It’s all your fault. I don’t want to live in this world anymore.”
“But you don’t sound like someone who wishes to die.” His confidence in arguing with my wants surprises me. I am a tad bit taken aback, but I did not show it outwardly.
It takes me a few seconds before I talk. “Lead the way.”
Well, I can try eating and changing into something nice before I die. I don’t want to keep roaming in the afterlife with this nasty appearance. I’d forever regret it, even while dead.
As he begins to lead the way, he scratches the back of his head and says, “by the way, I am sorry for saving you from death.”
“No, you’re not.” I mutter under my breath, and he hears.
“Sorry, you haven’t told me your name. What is your name, miss?” The way he calls me Miss raises an emotion in me that I haven’t felt in a long time.
It’s about another living being, a heightened-sense mammal, not referring to me as an animal or a thing. He sees me as a female, an elegant one with the title “Miss.”.
It makes my lips spread into a smile.
***
I still haven’t known who Aiden is completely, but he did tell me that he’s a personal servant to the triplets’ uncle, and because of that, he knows a lot of luxurious rooms around that we can hide in and enjoy for some time before anyone catches us.
Presently, we are inside one of them. At least, I am. I’m inside a fancy shower, having the water wash away the dirt from my body. The pores of the skin of my head relax at the stains unattaching themselves.
I watch as every wretch seeps down the outflow and find myself smiling.
I had wanted to die a few minutes ago, but I feel great now. I know it won’t last long, but at least it’s something.
I wonder what would happen in the future, but if there’s one thing I am sure of, it’s that I might still try to attempt killing myself.
I wrap myself in a robe and walk outside, where Aiden is also just entering the room. He peeps outside the hallway, looking left and right, before he finally locks the knob and comes closer.
“Are you sure you’re really a servant?” I am very confused at this point.
He laughs, “do you not trust me?”
Smelling the food on the plate he has with him, my tongue salivates. I dive in when he says it’s for me.
I’m eating like a monster, and realizing he’s watching me with flared eyes, I pause and smile with my lips and teeth stained.
“Sorry.”
“No, no, no. Eat. I’m so sorry about all that you’ve faced. Now that I think about it, I think I might decipher why you’re trying to kill yourself. Again, I am sorry for any distress I might have caused.”
No, he sounds too true to be real. He sounds too nice to be genuine.
I stand up suddenly and point at him. “Is this a trick? Who sent you to save me? Why are you doing this? Why are you making me think that I’m saved when I’m still inside here, in this hell, when outside there is a torment awaiting my presence?”
He has his jaw agape as he watches me with wide eyes. “Woah, is it that bad?”
“What?” My voice is not my own.
“The suffering. Is it that bad? I’ve never seen a witch before, but I didn’t know it’d be this bad. I didn’t know the punishments, the hates were that much unbearable. I thought… nevermind. I’m sorry.” His face falls to the bed, worry creeping up his expression.
Suddenly, I feel sorry too. I didn’t mean to have said all that. Maybe he’s being real. From the way he sympathizes with me, I am reminded of someone-my brother, Williams-and hurting this male in front of me hurts my heart too.
“I’m sorry, Aiden. I’ve just been betrayed before, and this all looks too good to be true.”
He pats the side of the bed and smiles at me. “Do you want to talk about it?”
Oh. I am left stunned. “Yes, yes, yes, I want to.”
I take a seat and continue eating with Aiden across from me.