Thrust Into His Arms

She disappeared after that and went missing for days. The police found her body at a small house in the woods. The reports made were that both her wrists were slit in apparent suicide with no sign of foul play that it was a homicide according to the detectives at the scene. She had wrote a letter in blood addressed to her assailant, cursing the womb that bore him. And that she would haunt his life and made sure that he ended up like her.

She was 32. Working as a psychiatrist. She was trainned and licensed in a profession that cares for mental health. The toll of what happened was too much even for her to take.

When she died, some were remorseful.

Others were still adamant on the belief that she was a liar and an attention seeker.

Her assailant, Devon Livingston, died in a car accident later that same year, only months after.

His car had somersaulted and had fallen off the bridge into the river below.

He had been with his wife in the car and their son who was a toddler.

They all died.

The only one I was sorry for was the poor kid. He has his father’s evil DNA but he was still little and innocent at the time.

The woman?

She deserved it for being the wife of such a man. Their deaths rose wild speculations on whether or not it had been a case of karma—referring to Maya’s suicide or if it had been just a terrible accident.

I like to think that it was Maya’s ghost who did that to them. It wasn’t karma.

Nothing beats the spirit of a person who died harboring deep-seated resentment. Wanna know what is better than apologizing or suffering punishment for a crime?

Not doing something that would warrant it in the first place.

"Yes, that one." Dad said. "The law is dead. I should have taken it into my own hands and killed him when he dared to come here asking for you."

It takes some time for that to register in my mind. When it did, it hit like a thunderbolt. "He did what?!!" I shriek, jumping up.

"Why? What did he want?"

"I don’t know. He told me to tell him where you were. I am still baffled at the audacity."

For what reason?

"What did you tell him?"

"I answered with my fists and I have been regretting it. I wish I had killed him or given him an injury that he would remember for the rest of his life."

"Perhaps, but that would have only made you a monster like him. He is going to get his retribution in full one way or another."

"I really do hope he does. In the meantime, come back home."

I snort, "You cannot be serious."

"I am. You have had enough time to grieve. It is now time for you to get your life back on track." He is making that sound easy and possible. "How? How could I possibly do that?"

"We’ll figure it out when you come home."

"No." I refused firmly. "I like it here. There is no one to criticize me and no bully sadist who get off on watching others hurt."

"What are you going to do there? Just waste your life away?"

"My life is already wasted.

Over.

Done.

Finished." And whatever more words that you can add to it.

"No it’s not!" Why has the voice changed to mom’s? "Mom is that you?"

"The one and only." She said in a singsong manner.

"What, disappointed? You thought it was just your Dad?"

"So basically, you have been there all this while?"

"Yes. Even when you called me a damn bitch.

You have become good at swearing." She makes it sound like a compliment-worthy thing."

"I learned from the best." That wasn’t all sarcastic. You learn how to swear and pick it up from being sweared at. It goes both ways.

"I am sorry that I doubted you."

"You think that was all you did?" I point out, "You believed the worst about me and you always will."

"I am very sorry honey. I was mad that I was the only one left in the dark. Why didn’t you tell me?"

"There was nothing you could have done."

"There is. I would never have sit on my hands and watch you being destroyed." She fumes. "I would have gone all out to teach them a lesson! Hire an assassin, setting places on fire. There are a lot of options. We can all be dangerous when we find out someone that you love is being messed with!"

I smile, feeling warmed by those words. "You do realize that those are illegal options right?"

"So is bullying my baby. And besides, illegal is fun. It only becomes a quagmire if you are caught."

"Who are you? Are you sure that you’re my mom and not a gangster?"

"Good question. I wanna know too." Dad pitches in.

"Very funny." She does one of her voice change and we are all laugh about it.

"Your Dad is right. We get how hard and depressing it is for you, but you cannot throw your life away and let that sordid incident define you. If you let that happen, it means they have won. And you cannot let them win.

Where is my fighter? You are not one to give up remember?"

Maybe I was. But now I cannot just remember that version of myself anymore.

"We will get you enrolled into a new school okay? It can be an all-girls school if you want."

The calm ambience that had just began to settle on me starts to crack at that suggestion.

"See? This is why I said that you guys do not get me. How can you bring up the idea of another school. Do you seriously not know how insensitive that is?

What if they will be just as evil there?" I half-yell.

"You don’t know this do you? That I was bullied and picked on in middle school as well.

I now have an allergy to school. I’m getting awful chills and rash just by the mention of it!"