Total pages in book: 147
Estimated words: 148949 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 745(@200wpm)___ 596(@250wpm)___ 496(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 148949 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 745(@200wpm)___ 596(@250wpm)___ 496(@300wpm)
K.D. peeked into the window.
“I’m serious.” I waved goodbye. “Get some sleep. The both of you.”
A worried expression covered his face.
Then, he left.
Thanks, David and Giorgio.
After a while, I heard their footsteps fade away.
No more bullshit from you, Lunita.
It was time to take a stand against her. Never again would she have my body violated by some stranger. And absolutely no more innocent people would die.
I should have done this before. . .but I thought. . .
I walked over to the bed and sat down, feeling the cold seep through my dress.
I thought you had some limits, Lunita.
I lay all the way down on the thin mattress.
I thought you understood how happy I was with Kaz. . .
I wrapped the small blanket tightly around me.
This will be good until we go to New Orleans.
Slowly, I closed my eyes to drift off to sleep.
Olga’s face suddenly appeared in my mind.
No.
I opened my eyes and still saw Olga’s face in my head.
I’m. . .sorry.
Her expression filled with rage and pain that pierced through me like a dagger.
Do you forgive me?
She never responded.
And, no matter how hard I tried to shake it away, her image remained imprinted in my mind.
I gripped the edge of the blanket. Tears left my eyes. And there, I finally cried in that silent, closed-in space.
Chapter 21
Lucid Fragments
Kazimir
In my dream, I sat on the edge of a jagged cliff and looked out into a wild sea. The briny gusts of wind roared past, wrapping me in its salty embrace.
My heart raced as my mind struggled to comprehend how real this all felt. “This is beautiful, even for a dream.”
The sun was setting, casting a warm golden hue across the horizon. The ocean called to me with a promise of unending freedom, daring me to take one more step forward.
“It seems so real.” I gazed at the endless expanse of water and sky before me.
But none of it was real.
Because Pavel sat beside me. “We should talk about this, Kazimir.”
I turned to him.
Pavel’s usually neatly combed hair danced wildly in the wind. His eyes sparkled with a mix of concern and understanding as he studied my face.
I frowned at him. “What should we talk about, Pavel? That your son is being threatened by possibly someone in the Brotherhood? Or should we start a conversation about my mouse and her other personality, Lunita?”
“I was thinking we should discuss Olga.”
“No.” I put my view back on the ocean, unable to share with him the overwhelming sorrow that filled my heart.
The loss of Olga, the woman who had been like a mother to me, weighed heavily on my soul. It stained every molecule of my being.
How could I explain the depth of my pain? What words would ever truly represent how I felt?
In this dream world, it seemed as if the wrong words would only shatter the fragile beauty of this moment.
If I spoke of Olga’s death, the pain, the horror of it all. . .would the darkening blue sky not be blemished or ripped by shreds of light burning holes through the fabric of reality?
“Kazimir—”
“There is nothing to talk about, Pavel.”
“Well, you would be surprised, Kazimir, but I have been thinking a lot about death lately.”
I smirked. “Is it because you are dead?”
“And because death is an enigmatic concept.” Pavel looked at me. “What do you think?”
“The finality of death. . .it is something that we all must grapple with at some point in our lives.”
“I have always believed that there’s something to be learned from death.”
“Learn? Death has only been a means for me to win or gain control, nothing else.” I let out a long breath. “Then. . .I met the mouse.”
“When you are in love, death can hurt you harder.”
“I am done discussing this.” I rose from the cliff and headed away.
Pavel never rose. He simply appeared on my side with his hands in his pockets. “Death can teach us about the value of life.”
“I already know the value of life.”
“But, do you understand how much we should cherish the time we have with our loved ones? Death is a reminder of our mortality and the impermanence of everything—”
“I did not need to know that lesson either.” Rage bubbled in me. “Olga could have lived. I already knew that.”
“Death can inspire us to make the most of our lives, to pursue our passions and forge deeper connections with others—”
“Olga should not have died!” I formed my hands into fists.
The sky turned shades of pink and purple.
Silent, Pavel reached out and placed his hand on my shoulder. It was a simple gesture that conveyed more than any words could.
Even though this was dream. . .I could feel the warmth of his love seeping into me, reminding me that I was not alone in my grief.
Sadness washed over me. “Olga. . .she was not a part of this life.”