How many times have I been deceived? If I say “I've been deceived twice.” how would I know if that is true?
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Prologue one
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The wind blew on the black mourning clothes draped over a kneeling woman’s figure. She knelt before a small tree sapling, holding a watering pot. She raised her dainty hands which held the watering pot and slowly bent her wrist, allowing the pot to bend and the water to flow down to the newly-planted tree sapling. Beside the tree was a wooden plank standing upright with the words “Dearly Beloved, Elias.” The woman neither sobbed nor smiled. She bowed three times in front of the tree.
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“How unfortunate,” one mourner whispered to another, “to be widowed at such a young age!” one agreed, “And they’ve been married for only 2 years! How tragic, tsk, tsk…” that one said, wagging their head.
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The woman kept a closed ear and only stared forward. Finally, she stood up and greeted the guests with a smile. People would come and go, greeting her, “my condolences,” “such a shame,” and “I hope you’re doing well,” obviously, she wasn’t.
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She’d be lying if she said it took her a while to get used to this feeling… It took more than just a while for her to realize that, in her husband's body, longer dwells her deeply beloved. More than a few times when she’d arrive home, she’d mistakenly call out, “Elias, I’m back!!!” with a smile that would soon fade without leaving a trace. Sometimes, she tried to ‘follow’ her husband in hopes of getting reunited with him. Again, she’d hear people whisper, “She loved him dearly… How pitiful indeed…” These words were like knives continuously stabbing where it hurts most.
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Just when she started to smile, just when she started to accept that the cold, handsome body that was displayed was nothing more than a shell, something else happened that almost drove her mad. 5 years… It had been five years since his death yet…
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‘Yet how–no–why is he standing in front of me? Fully alive? Why now?’
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Why now? Why did you arrive just now? Why weren’t you there when I needed you? Why did you leave me?
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So many questions in her mind yet she just stood there… She tried her best not to but when she felt her eyes getting hot and when her vision got blurry she couldn’t stop herself from crying.
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Do you know how long I’ve waited? But you can still flash such a delicate smile?
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For a long while, she questioned. Then she started doubting.
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I’m going crazy.
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She approached the person in front of her. She clenched her fists until they turned white. She hit the person’s chest, again and again, crying, laughing, sobbing hysterically, “Why are you here?!?! Just now? Do you know how long I’ve waited? Do you have to wait until I forget? Was it fun watching me get hurt?”
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Having her energy drained, her knees started giving up. The person hadn’t done anything until now, catching her. He pulled her into a tight embrace, tears streaming down her cheeks to his shirt. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry…” his voice was deep but calming. He spoke, stroking her hair, “I should’ve arrived sooner, I shouldn’t have put you through this…”
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Hearing his light but deep and calming voice, she paused then pushed him away, “Are– are you him? TELL THE TRUTH!” the person looked at her with heartfelt eyes, as if he was saying ‘I would never lie to you.’ she stomped her feet like a toddler who got lied to, “I’VE HAD ENOUGH BULLSH–” The man knelt in front of her, took her hand, then very lightly pecked her hand. “Never. I would never lie to you.”
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“Keep in mind, my dearly beloved, I would never ever wish to hurt you. Even if I die, I’ll find a way to come back to you, always…”
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-End prologue one-
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Prologue two
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The trees flocked together, not allowing a single ray of sunlight to pass through, aware of the person running for her life below.
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Annah looked straight ahead, not noticing the tree root, and tripped. She quickly got up and continued running.
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She finally escaped that hellish building.
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How many days has it been? Or months? Not seeing sunlight for a long time, she really has no clue.
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