Malice is malice

During times of crisis, it is never in human nature to accept defeat. Even if one chooses to run, the pain and guilt shall forever linger in their mortal hearts. This rash nature of ours has become a cause for concern in regards to our thinking, with the lines of rationality being constantly blurred as it mixes with our emotions. 

“Please, it’s not too late to put an end to this all,” said a woman, her short blonde hair was youthfully silky. “Arshun, do not let hate overcome you.”

“No,” The man beside her replied, his slightly deep and melancholic voice was opposite to hers. “Not this time, not after everything he’s put us through.”

To her, the passage of time was continuously slowing down. Slight drops of sweat poured down her forehead even though the room was air conditioned. She was wearing a rather thick black jacket, but you could still see her visibly trembling. 

Only the two of them were within this small apartment space, and just outside of the balcony door were the busy lights of the city. Typically, the apartment would be silent with fear, but now this silence had turned into something much darker.

“Arshun, please, for once listen to me!” She cried out, on the verge of tears. “Let’s just hold out for a few more years, okay? After that, we’re free! We won’t need to think about him for another second of our lives, so please, put that thing down already.”

Arshun’s blue eyes were locked onto his right hand which held a loaded pistol, it’s power was enough to tear down the lives of multiple families. As Arshun was a teenager, he couldn’t legally own one, but he had found it laying under his father’s bed the week before.

“Nat,” He looked at her intensely, “The moment he put his hands on you, the moment he put it somewhere that he never should have put it… that was the moment I decided all of this. No longer will he be able to decide how you live, okay?”

“But who will look after me? If I had to lose you to get away from dad… that would be too painful! Brother, please, stay by my side…” 

“Listen, I already told you-”

“Please!”

By this point, Natalya had already burst into tears. She was two years younger than Arshun, but she had gone through trauma that no human should have to go through. Their father put a great deal of importance on maintaining looks, with her beautiful and youthful looks served to cover up the mental scars that riddled her mind.

It physically hurt Arshun to look at his beloved sister, because all he could think about was all she had gone through. He had gone through physical abuse as well, but never had he placed his own health over hers. Away from home, he had done his absolute best to become someone reliable and sociable, to become the perfect brother.

Outside of their father’s grasp, the pair were popular amongst their peers. Good grades, good looks, and a good reach, to everyone else they seemed destined for greatness. And perhaps they were, but Arshun decided it was too late for him.

“I’ll only be at peace when a bullet goes through his head.”

“How could you say that?”

“How could you not say that? After everything! Why? Why are you still defending him? Every night, I hear you crying when that man calls you to his room!” Arshun’s frustrations had shifted towards tears, “Now, now I finally have the power to do something. It was fate that I found his gun, and it shall be his fate that I take his life away.”

“I don’t want you to become a murderer! It doesn’t suit you, and it doesn’t have to suit you!”

Though both of their emotions were running high, their thought processes were on two different spectrum's. All rationality within Arshun had been eaten away by his own weakness of being human, with revenge filling up his mind. Even if he was conversing with his sister, not a single word of hers was getting through to his senses. 

“Listen,” His voice suddenly stopped breaking, “If you don’t go visit Auntie right now, they’ll suspect you of murder as well. It’s already eight o’clock, he’ll be home in thirty minutes or so.”

Natalya was doing her best to stop her crying, but it became harder as each second passed by. The painful sensations in her throat made breathing slightly more difficult, and she could only hold herself to remain silent.

“He will receive a slow death, and he will atone for his grave sins,” Arshun had become incredibly serious, his voice and facial expressions induced fear within Natalya, “This world doesn’t need people like him. So, please leave already.”

Slowly, she got up from the rugged couch and walked out of the door. Now, Arshun was alone with only his thoughts. He patiently waited for his father to return home one final time, but he had accepted that he would no longer be able to stay free as well.

“As if I was ever free…” He muttered to himself.

To his left was the glass door that led to the balcony, and there he could see his own reflection. It had been years since he truly took a look at himself, and even he was surprised at how he looked.

He had lovely brown hair that hung around by his neck, flawless skin that even had women curious about his routine. The work he had put into his body saw fruition, his build was nothing short of incredibly athletic and impressive.

All of a sudden, he had heard a knock on the door. This knock was followed by a greeting, a familiar greeting. It was the greeting of his father.

“I’m home,” His father said, his voice was incredibly stern, “Open the door.”

“It’s unlocked.” Arshun replied, he lost composure for a bit but quickly gained it back.

In walked Arshun’s father, his tall and orderly presence was enough to intimidate Arshun. His beard was well maintained, and his short brown hair was well groomed.

The moment his father closed the door behind him, Arshun pulled out the gun and pointed it at his father.

“Put that thing down now, boy.”

“No, you’re not in a position to control me any longer,” Arshun fiercely replied, his hands trembled as he held the weapon, “This is for me, for my mother, and for Natalya.”

“Drop the tough boy act,” His father calmly replied, “You’re nothing but an idiot who rides off my coattails.”

After a few seconds of intense staring and heavy breathing, Arshun’s index finger finally motioned to pull the trigger. 

To his surprise, the gun didn’t go off.

“Why?” Arshun’s face was full of distraught, he had seemed defeated.

“What kind of man doesn’t double check his weapons before going into war, eh?” His voice was doing its very best to belittle Arshun, “And what sort of man isn’t able to realize who he can and can’t trust?”

The door, left unlocked, opened once again. In came Natalya, tears were running down her cheeks. She stood beside her father, her hands tightly holding one another while she looked at her brother.

“My beautiful daughter, you did the right thing.”

“The… right thing?”

“Last night, she told me about your heinous plans to kill your own father,” A look of disgust rose upon his face, “We do not want any kin-slayers to tarnish the family name, so I took it upon myself to rig the gun so it won’t work anymore.”

“Then why,” Arshun said, nearly choking up on his own disbelief, “Why didn’t you just hide the gun?”

“To humiliate you, that’s why.”

“Ah, I see.” 

Arshun’s actions had finally dawned upon him, and it had become clear to him that his pain deluded him. He could not feel any sort of hatred for his sister’s betrayal, but he could only feel sorrow due to how everything panned out.

“Now,” His father said, cracking his knuckles, “At least you’ve managed to save your sister for the night, be ready.”