Of Winds And Quakes

21. The Dagger (2)

Year of the Lilies
Torrid Season
The Streamlet
Altsas

Mavli

I AM NOT ONE TO LOSE CONTROL, but I do when I see him. The onyx ring burns the ring finger of my left hand. An unknown emotion charges my insides.

"Cirok." It can't be. "What are you doing here?" My fingers are trembling, my heartbeat is frantic.

Something I can't decipher flickers in his eyes. "Aren't you glad to see me, Mavy?"

I wince at the sound of the nickname. He  takes a shaky step forward, his eyes don't leave mine. "I was looking for you, I was so glad when I saw you."

I can't stand the pain in his eyes so I look away. What am I doing? I'm supposed to run into his arms and cry on his shoulder, God has brought us together again. It's fate; we were meant for each other, created for this purpose. But I stand adamant in the streamlet, it's cold water soaks the hem of my trousers, it chills my legs and reminds me that I'm still alive; exactly what I don't want to be.

"Mavy? Is something wrong?" He takes another step so he too in standing in the streamlet. "You are acting strange."

"You wanted me to jump up and down in celebration, am I right?" I hiss.

He just stares at me, utterly stunned.

"You expected me to run into your arms so we'll kiss under the moonlight, didn't you?" I blink back salty tears. I've cried too much within the span of a few hours. I'm supposed to be out of tears by now.

"Mavy-"

I hold up a hand to silence him, my left hand so he can see the platinum band of the onyx ring. "I was so in love with you, Cirok." There is sadness laced in every syllable, pain in every vowel and regret in every consonant. I shake my head slowly," but that was a long time ago."

"What are you talking about?" Confusion marks his furrowed brows," I didn't relent until I found you, Mavy."

"How did you find me, Cirok?" I'm just dying to know.

"It's a very long story," he glances around nervously, there's something in his eyes. Fright perhaps? I don't know but it's very alien to him. Cirok was always confident and comfortable in his own skin. He seemed so sure of himself. But now, standing with me in this streamlet under a burning crescent moon, he is another person. He has changed. Pain does that to people. Pain has changed me too.

"I have all the time in the world," I reply not recognizing the too calm voice as my own.

His eyes look at something, I follow his gaze. The dagger. It fell beside a rock which blocks it from flowing away with the water. He raises his eyes to my face, so many questions flash in those endless pools of black. How come I had never noticed how dark his eyes were? How did I not see the midnight darkness of it?

"Mavy," his voice quavers and he stretches out a hand,"let's get out of here. We don't have time." I expect urgency but he voice calm like a whispering brook.

I stare at his outstretched hand. "Like I said," I tell him," we have all the time in the world."

He hesitates. "I saw you in the plantation. I couldn't do anything because I didn't want to draw attention to ourselves," he sighs.  "I left the hut I stay in with others", he voice trails off," I wanted to come into your hut but I had to hide when I saw the taskmaster." The unknown emotion turns to hate.

He looks straight at me. "I didn't want to cause a scene, Mavy. So instead I followed you and hid till I saw you come out." His voice breaks and tears roll down his cheeks. I've never seen him cry before, my heart sinks but I harden it immediately. I won't feel sorry for him. I'm the one who suffered, I'm the one who's dignity and pride was ripped off her. I'm the one who is better off dead. I'm the one he didn't save when I needed him the most.

"You monster." It isn't a scream or an accusation. It's a revelation. I've never been more enlightened. I raise my eyes and stare right at him. "You stood by and let that creep have his way with me?" My voice increases from a whisper to a yell in a nanosecond. I take a step closer, "you let him touch me. You heard me screaming but you did nothing about it!"

He swallows. I can see his Adam's apple bob up and down. There is something incomprehensible in his dark pools. "I wanted to help you, Mavy but..."

"But what?" I raise a brow, "you were scared weren't you?"

"I'm so sorry, Mavy." The pain in his eyes deepen. "I was so confused, I didn't know what to do."

I scoff. "Sure. I believe you." My eyes catch a glimpse of the dagger, I bend down and grab it again. It's cold and wet, I smile. "You can't fail me again, Cirok. I won't let you."

He eyes me carefully and stares at the dagger. "What do you mean?"

I take slow paces towards him," you'll see."

He doesn't move, doesn't take a step back. "Listen to me, Mavy. I've got alot to tell you, we have to get out of here-"

His unintelligible ramblings stop abruptly as he makes sense of my quick advancement. The dagger's blade gleams again, the glow of the moon washes against it and I raise the dagger above my head and slice it through the thick frigid air targeting my mark.

Cirok's scream fills my ears and I feel justified. The unknown emotion now has a name: anger, fury, rage, wrath. Ire.

His face is painfully twisted with pain and he raises a bloody hand; the dagger has sunk into the flesh of his palm and thick red blood runs down his hand.

I don't feel sorry at all. The contrary. I've attained a very heightened state of euphoria. My feet splash in the streamlet as I follow it downstream and increase my speed. The frigid air causes the rise of goosebumps, I suck in air and breath out a mist.

My moment of enlightenment is cut short by the sound of splashing footsteps behind me. Cirok. I run out of the water and make to run into an arena of towering trees but then the world tilts and a sharp pain rakes my skull.

"Mavy."He stands looking down at my sprawled form. I can smell the metallic scent of blood, I can sense the rage in his eyes. The dagger is clenched in his fist.

Do you support what Mavli did or do you think she's plain crazy? What do you think Cirok has in mind? I hope you are enjoying the journey so far. I'm so happy with our number of views and comments though I'm praying for more popularity. Recommend this book to friends and family if you like it.

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