Dusk Town

Chapter Twenty-Three

Sapphire!

What a beautiful name! Mine is Celestine.

Look how beautiful your long hair is! Black hair really suits you! I wish my hair is just like yours!

Let's be friends. No matter what happens let's stay as best friends forever!

Really? Are you sure you'll do it for me? You really are the best!

Thank you for understanding me and for not leaving me alone.

I'll stay by your side, Sapphire. That's a promise. Rain or shine.

Sapphire.

I don't think I can ever mention your name in public again.

You should cut your hair short. Dye it. I think that's the best for you.

Let's stop being friends.

You don't have to do it anymore. That's enough!

It's not understandable! You should have said no!

I can't... I have to leave you. They said that I should never befriend someone like you.

Identity, house and school were changed but none of that is enough to cover up what happened. We moved from a different city and wished to start a new life there until everything went south. Despite the alibi we released in the press that my abuser took his own life because of the guilt he felt for the crimes he did, somehow the truth always comes out in the end.

No matter how many layers you put just to cover it up, it isn't enough. People knew I killed my mother's adopted brother with my own little hands. Everyone judged me and threw hurtful names on us. They thought I'm a mentally-ill child. My brother and I were being rejected socially in school. No one wants to talk with a criminal and its family. I don't know if they are afraid of me or disgusted. I don't even know how to feel at that time.

Do I need to feel sorry for killing my perpetrator or should I feel pity for myself because of the physical, mental and emotional trauma he has caused me?

Who is more sinful? I, who killed him to get revenge for abusing me? Him, who was killed out revenge for forcing a child to sleep with him?

Those people made me feel like I am much worse than the monster who ruined my life. They said that I should have said something to an adult. They all blamed me for what he did. They never felt sympathy towards a child who had just lost her childhood. I isolated myself from everyone. No one cares if I am wounded. All they care about is that I killed someone.

Oh Quinn? Is that her new name? She was called Sapphire before right? Sapphire, that kid who killed her uncle because she can't say no.

"Finally you're awake! Nurse!"

Every inch of my body is aching as I tried sitting on my bed. Even my head felt like someone is pounding it from the inside. I looked around my surroundings and noticed that there's an IV stand on my left side, a monitor screen and a ventilator breathing cup that is placed over my nose and mouth. It's really hard to move when there's a lot of tubes that are attached in you. What the heck happened to me? I heard my brother as he yelled she's awake for a thousand times. He called the nurse in and they both looked at me with tears in their eyes. I can't open my mouth because of the cup so I raised my hand to my brother for him to hold it.

"I thought you're going to leave me too. I don't know what to do if you... I'm sorry, I'm just so happy right now that you're finally awake." Max touched my forehead while weeping out his uncontrollable emotions. He's not wearing his uniform so I guess he's been taking care of me.