Chapter One

Annika’s POV

In the chant of the black night, the stars were the choir. There were nights where they sang in an unusual pattern, singing a tone of death. A few minutes past ten, the once-cleared skies had transformed into a vast expanse of jet-black as the night laid down in a blanket of darkness.

I tilted my head skyward and she could see millions of stars beautifying the dark sky. The bright moon illuminates its light across the sky, down to earth. I wished I were a star, rather than a moon. I wished my life were so bright that it would illuminate that of others.

A lone tear dropped from my eyes as I held onto the can of beer in my hand. I raised it to the sky as if giving the sky cheers.

“If people do truly become stars when they die, let me become the brightest one.” I raised my palms and brought them together in a self-motivated prayer.

I smiled bitterly at my sad destiny. I wished things would’ve been different. I wished I hadn’t come back at the time I did. If I had stayed back a little bit, things would’ve been different. I picked up the last can of beer and gulped down the whole content without batting my eyes.

I thought if I changed my mind at the end, the alcohol would control it. I stood up from the edge of the bridge and held the railing tight as another bout of tears tore through my throat, and I had to swallow hard to stop myself from wailing.

TWO HOURS AGO

I walked out of my last class for the day as the first person. I didn’t want to mingle with others because I was shy. Still, I was smiling widely like almost every other student. I was glad that the professor had not turned up for the class, and I was ready to go home to meet my mother after she had been on a trip for months.

“Ann, don’t tell me you’re on your way home? We still have three hours to ourselves friend.” My best friend, Galina, hugged my shoulder as we got closer to the halls.

“You know my mom will finally be around after three months. I can’t wait to see her.” I grinned happily.

“Okay, mama’s girl. You should go see your lovely mom; I won’t stop you.” Galina threw her hand up in total surrender.

“I’ll tell her you called her lovely.”

“Maybe that’ll make her love me more, I guess. Since she doesn’t want to see me anywhere around you.”

“She’s just being protective of me,” I defended her mom.

“If you say so, Ann, but I hate to break it to you that you’ll be missing out a lot. I and Brad are going to the electrics today. The Electric Boys will be performing and budet veselo i potryasayushche.” (T: It’ll be fun and amazing.)

“Meeting my mother after such a long time is so much fun. I also have something important to tell her,” I explained.

Galina knew all of my secrets, both dark and funny. She knew what I was hinting at, and she had waited for so long for me to get justice.

“Call me as soon as possible; I want to see him locked behind bars. Okay, girl?” I nodded and we hugged, ready to depart.

“I’ll record some videos for you, especially that of VT; I know you love his face.” Galina winked at me before rushing away.

I watched as my childhood best friend ran off to meet her boyfriend. I smiled, thinking I was lucky to have a friend as amazing as Galina. I turned and began my journey towards home, towards the hurt that made me decide not to live anymore.

A wide smile made its way to my face as I saw her mom’s car parked right in front of our house. I hadn’t smiled that brightly in months, and I was glad my support system and my confidant were back in my life.

I had tried so hard to tell her about it on the phone, but I didn’t want my mother to get worried, so I kept it to myelf for months even though it happened more than twice. I endured, hoping my mother would get justice for me.

The front door was slightly opened, and I frowned at the careless action. Before I could open my mouth to caution my mother as I walked into the house, the mention of my name made me stop in my tracks just a step away from the kitchen door.

“Annika might tell you about it when she gets back. I heard her telling her friend on the phone the other night,” my stepfather informed my mother.

“If she had endured it for that long, I guess she would have enjoyed it. So, why wait for me to return before taking any actions?” My mother laughed, and my heartbeat increased rapidly. My fingers began shivering, and I hoped I didn’t hear what I had just heard.

“I don’t know, but what will you tell her once she informs you?”

“Don’t worry about that, honey. I’ll sort her out before she can open her filthy mouth to the police.”

“Talking of filthy, I kinda miss her mouth.”

“That should stop already. I only gave you access to my daughter so that she could fill my position for the time being, not for you to own her completely.”

I gasped as tears rolled down my face. I used my hand to cover my mouth so as not to let them notice the interruption.

I must have heard wrong! I kept on convincing myself.

“Annika.” The sudden call of my name made me raise my head from the floor, and with eyes widened, my mother was looking at me.

“Annika, what are you doing back home so early? Why are your eyes…Did you hear everything?”

“I heard everything you said—everything.”

Before my mother could say anything else, I ran out of the house. The first thing I did was throw my phone away. I had always contemplated suicide for the past three months, but I couldn’t because I always thought of my mother, but now, nothing else mattered. No one else mattered.

TWO HOURS LATER

I held the railings and leaped to the other edge of the bridge, without a partition to the large body of water. At the other end, I saw a figure; it wasn’t clear, but I could see it was a man dressed in black. I tried getting a better look, but I stopped myself and cautioned myself from getting distracted.

I felt something was watching me from behind, and when I turned, I saw it was a black vulture, perching on the railings. I could see its white eyes and red eye rings, rolling repeatedly.

I swallowed hard as fear gripped me to my bones.

“Shoo.” I tried chasing the vulture away. The vulture flapped his feathers and flew away as I wanted.

As I heaved a deep sigh of relief, a dark memory came to me, and for the last time, a lone tear dropped from my eye. I let go of the railings and jumped right into the water.

I wanted to be free! That was my only wish.