Lover of mine

“Run ! Avani, I said, Run! RUN!” You wake up with a jerk, your palms and face sweaty. You looked up at the dark ceiling as you groan. This is the third time you've woken up in a single night. You turn to your bedside table and enter this into your logbook and turn your phone on. You look at your lock screen wallpaper; you in a wedding dress holding your beloved's hand. His suit is crisp and black, and his hair wavy and messy as usual, his smile lighting up the room. Next to you stands your sister, Allie. Her eyes are bright, but her mind is working furiously. She knows something nobody else does, but she’s kept it in for a long time. Something so deep and dark and scary, no one would ever guess looking at his attractive face.

They say looks can be very deceiving. In this case, it was impossible to believe this fact. Those deep blue innocent eyes, those crinkles in his smile, it was hard to believe he did anything wrong. It was as if you were in a fantasy world when you were with him. Not until you found out his secret. His secret, that changed the road to your life.

You unlock your phone and delete all those photos and change that horrid lock screen to a picture of dogs. One of the only things that makes you feel good.

You play some soft jazz instrumentals as you try to get back to sleep. A soft drizzle begins outside and puts you to sleep gradually.

✧

Brightness fills your eyes as you open your eyes. You stretch up tall and rub your eyes. A new day, and a possible new beginning. What should you do first?

Work begins at 11 am, and it’s only 7am. You walk to the bathroom door and have a long shower, your muscles still aching from last week. You make breakfast and get out for work.

It’s only 8 am when you walk out, so you know you have plenty of time before work. You walk to your favourite secluded park in the corner. No people today, peace and quiet. You take your phone out and play some calming music as you look up at the sky. It’s turning grey and the sun is hiding behind the dark clouds. You shake your head as you realize you forgot to bring an umbrella. Oh well, you can always go back.

You hear a crunching of leaves and your ears perk up. Alert, you turn around to face the dark silhouette of a man. “Who are you?” you shout. No answer. Trembling, you get up. The silhouette comes closer and closer as you make out the outline of the person. No way, it can’t be. It can’t be. The shadow rises from the dark and presents itself to you; Michael Dawson.

Your mind flashes back to last week's night.

It’s pouring as you and Allie drag a dead body. Lightning flashes as you whimper. “Allie, I'm scared” you shout over the harsh winds.

“Me too Avani, me too. But we got to keep going. We have to do this, or else this psychopath will kill everyone!”

Your white wedding dress, something beautiful you’d been saving up for months now, is torn and tangled and a muddy brown from slipping in the mud. The harsh winds keep trying to blow your veil away and it gets intertwined in a tree branch. It pulls at your hair, now matted and falling.

You shake your head. How can he be a psychopath? It’s impossible. His face sticks out of the plastic as Allie shrieks. You place the body on the muddy floor as Allie takes out the shovels. Frantically digging, hands and body aching with each shove, you guys finally dig a hole big and wide enough for the muscular body. You throw the body into the hole and stroke his scarred face one last time.. Allie begins throwing clumps of dirt on it as you stand there, staring at his face. “I will miss you” you say as you bury Michael Dawson’s body.

You thought he was dead, but there he is, right in front of you on the street, smiling at you. His hair is still messy and tangled, his suit from our wedding day, still as crisp but slightly torn. The scar on his face has magically healed, and his shoes are black and shiny. The only alarming feature is his eyes; they’re black and red, presumably from crying or anger. His fists are clamping together as he takes an intimidating step towards you.

You look around you. The streets are empty and deserted and it begins to drizzle. The clouds now turn black, casting a gloomy curtain over the world. The sun is gone, and the only form of light are the streetlights.

“How….what….why….how is this possible?” you stammer.

“You really think I’m dead, Avani?”

His voice sounds the exact same; powerful but gentle, and the way he says your name sends shivers down your spine. It is as if he has finally found his food and is savoring this moment.

“I mean, yes….” you falter as you realize his trick. Manipulative as always.

He laughs. “I knew this was going to happen. How dare you do this to my brother?”

“Brother? What do you mean?”

Oh. You realize now. His brother.

You remember the day you first met him. Sunny day, outside a restaurant sipping cocktails. Partly drunk, you had fully taken in his presence, but forgotten to ask his name. You were late to a party, so you left soon after. To your surprise, you find him there again, waiting for someone. When you told him, he laughed. He knew you were drunk. He took you in and you got to know him better. He gave you his number, and the meetups were more frequent. He never mentioned anything about his family, and you loved this mysterious side of him, so you never pushed those questions. And anyways, you were drunk. You could have imagined anything.

Standing in front of him, freezing, the truth dawns upon you. They were two different people who looked like each other. To be precise, they were identical twins, who simply hated each other. No wonder he never mentioned it to anyone.

“They all were right about you” you shout angered. “You really are a psychopath!”

He laughs again. You take a step back and look around you, trying to find a way out. Suddenly it seems as if the walls of the park are closing up on you. It’s getting harder to breathe, and it’s pouring now. Shards of lightning appear over head and thunder booms. Michael takes a step forward and thrusts his knife to the floor. You gasp, close your eyes and begin to say your last goodbyes when you hear a clang!. You slowly open your eyes and find his knife and him on the floor. He looks up to you and quietly says “I surrender”

You look at him astound. Is he being serious? He wants to change? You look at him and your mind fills with courage and confidence. You grab his shirt, look him in the eyes and say “you’ve ruined my life. You made me kill you. You know the damage you’ve done to others?” you scream.

He looks at you with tears in his eyes and says in a low voice “I miss my brother. He….he was the only family I had. I acted out of remorse and anger. I didn’t mean to. That night, that night of us fighting, when you realized I was a psychopath” he breathes “I never wanted that. I never had a family to rely on as a kid. My parents were addicts. When we decided to get married, you were my first and proper family. I was excited and so very nervous, but I was finally fulfilling my dream. When we fought that day, I...I acted like a lunatic and replaced my drunk brother with me. This was not meant to happen. I’m sorry, I want to change. Please, please Avani, will you help me?”

You breathe. What is happening? Is he for real?

When you look at him, you see the sadness in his eyes. You know he is telling the truth. He genuinely wants to change. You think about everything he’s been through. There’s no harm in giving him a chance. Besides, you can always keep him under a watchful eye. It’s bound to work. If he's determined, it will work.

You smile at him “Don’t let me down, Michael. I forgive you”

Almost magically, the rain reduces until it is a drizzle, and the clouds part to give way to the sun. The yellow sun lights up the park. The pink and red and blue flowers that stand out in the green park shine brightly because of the dew. Birds begin to chirp, and people gradually begin to get ready for work.

You breathe in the fragrances and smile. A whole new life, full of possibilities. Where does this new chapter in life take you?