Half of a Whole

Deal

NELOFER

Nelofer woke up to the realisation that she survived a murder attempt. By her own brother. Did her mom and dad know? They must. Her brother would've at least gotten her father's approval, he was an awfully filial son like that. What she didn't want to believe was that her mom gave her blessing to her brother too. If she wasn't ok with it, why didn't she stop her brother? He respected her so much, he would never go against their mother's words. For all his faults, her brother believed a son's door to heaven was beneath his mother's feet. So were they all on this? Did her whole family want her dead? She never did anything to them. She just left the home she was abused in to live a better life, a chance to start again.

She felt so cold suddenly. So alone. She had no one in this whole wide world. The people she would've died to protect, wanted to kill her. It hurt. She couldn't understand how this happened. How could humans do this to each other? How could a loving brother want to murder his sister so cold bloodedly? How could parents who raised a child for 18 years want it dead overnight? What kind of world was she living in? Her heart hurt like it was eating itself out.

How could a person recover from such betrayal? How could she trust anyone ever again? Would she ever be okay again? Because she felt like she was drowning in grief, pulled down into a dark abyss of sorrow and misery. She may not be dead but a part of her being had just died and she was grieving for the girl she had been. The girl who had loved her family. The girl who had forgiven them even after all the emotional and psychological abuse they inflicted upon her, because at the end of the day they were all she had. The girl who had cried herself to sleep almost every night so could smile during the day in front of her family. The pain was unbearable. It was hard to breathe as that naive girl got buried six feet under the ground.

She hugged her knees and curled up into a small ball. The cold around her became too overwhelming for her, it was seeping into her bones through the shattered cracks and pores of her skin. She was crying but for the first time in her life she couldn't utter a sound. The tears fell down in silence. In surrender. In resignation. Alone. Her voice was stuck in her throat from the paralysing pain in her soul.

"Can you get up?" a woman's voice asked. Ririth. Her saviour.

"What happened to my brother?" Nelofer croaked out, her voice came out in broken pieces, her throat was dry, she felt dreadfully parched. She pulled herself up in a sitting position. Looking around, Nelofer realised she was in a luxurious room. The bed she was on was king sized and soft, with beige silken bedsheets.

"He's gotten the punishment he deserved" Ririth answered tediously.

"And what's that?" Nelofer pressed on, clenching her fists. Her hands felt fine...too fine. Didn't she have broken bones, so why did her body feel healthful, fresh and well-rested?

Ririth examined Nelofer up and down, maybe checking if Nelofer could handle the news. "I've broken his mind. He'll never have a normal life again or a single moment of peace when he's awake."

Nelofer tried to feel some kind of sorrow for her brother, but she failed to contain the dark giggle that escaped her mouth. All she felt was happy relief. It was over. That monster would never be able to hurt her again. But then she felt guilty that she didn't feel guilty for his predicament. He was her one and only brother after all. He was her blood and she was celebrating his utter demise. Was she losing her humanity after everything that happened in the last few months? Was she out of her mind?

"Why did your brother want to kill you?" Ririth's tone of voice was flat, unperturbed. But in Nelofer's head it became accusatory, as if she was asking 'Did you do something to deserve it?' Oh, the paranoia.