The Garden of What Once Was

CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE

Every being on Earth has both a good and a bad side. While most have equal parts on either side, there are a select few that have an unequal balance. Those who have more good than bad are destined for a life full of pain coming from their unfathomable desire to put others before themselves. They help until they are the ones that are in need of that very help, but as they look around, searching for who might come to their rescue, they find that they are alone.

Now, those who have more bad than good in their hearts are faced with a life that is equally as painful as the person with an overly good soul. But, they are not pained because they are trying to help others. No, they are pained only for themselves, always yearning for something that is just out of their reach. Whether it's love, fame, or money, for them, it will never be within the palm of their hands. Instead, the source of their desire will always be in the hands of another. This, that unfair and cruel feeling, is what drives them to destroy those that make their hearts burn with envy.

As of right now, a heart was burning bright with the orange flames of envy engulfing it entirely. The flames raged with a silent hope of soon being extinguished. However, the only way that would be possible was if the heart of another was successfully stopped. Such a heavy price for one's own solace should have been off-putting, but the life of another meant nothing to this individual.

Eventually, they even found themselves praying to whoever was listening. They prayed for the death of the one that made their heart feel so unbearably pained with jealousy. But, the prayers thought by a devil would never be granted by the heaven's above, rather they would be scorned, ignored, and cursed for ever existing. Oblivious to this, they continued to pray, only succeeding in starting their downfall early on.

Their fingers tapped erratically against their windowsill with each prayer that went through their mind. Then, as if their prayers were answered, the door to their dorm opened. She returned, they thought, believing that they had triumphed once and for all. This foolish thinking was put to an end when the point of the knife was pressed to the small of their back.

Slowly, they turned to face her, a sort of saddened expression on their face. Beneath that sadness, Ember could see that in the grey of their eyes, in the curl of their lips, in every aspect of them was the devil. Not a single part of them was human, and she had been naive to have thought otherwise.

They grabbed the blade of the knife with their hand, guiding the shaking weapon toward their heart. "Go on, do me a favor. Rid me of this horrible world."

Through shaky breaths of air, Ember spat, "You're what's horrible, not the world!"

She was right, and they knew that. Everything they had done was past the definition of horrible, but they didn't care. For, what they were about to do would be the most horrid sin they had ever committed. It would not only hurt the one they loved but it would also hurt a part of them.

Despite all of this, hesitancy didn't hinder them as they knocked the weapon from Ember's hands. Their closed fist barreled into the side of her face, violently throwing her body to the left. Before she could even be granted the chance to recover, their hand found it's way around her neck, just below her ears. The feeling of an uncomfortable pressure sank into the ends of her jaw, prompting her to unsuccessfully pull their arm away from her. In the midst of her struggling, came a haunting smile that taunted her failed efforts to break free. As she stared at that sickening smile, all the strength within her legs disappeared.

This person was no longer who she had thought they were. Any remnants of the kind person from before were gone as if they weren't even there to begin with. That alone was enough to momentarily weaken Ember enough to be at the full mercy of what she considered to be the devil.