1 Is this a punishment?

"Young master, please come out…the food has been served"

"Young master, there were medias outside who wanted to talk to you"

"Young master, please talk to your therapists"

CLANK!!

The set of paintbrushes fell from the wooden table beside the window. The lightning that was reflecting under the cloudy dark sky once again strike along with the thunder. The heavy rain deafened all of his surroundings.

In the middle of the room, there was a figure sitting on the wooden stool in front of the medium size canvas. The colors that were painted on the whiteboard were unexplainable. Dark and deep, mixed with each other.

Before he could realize, his hands had given up to do such art.

He stood up, his face was distorted. He groaned and grabbed his hair, then he kicked the canvas along with the chair he was sitting on for almost a minute. The man slid on the floor.

The lighting once again crossed the sky. As it penetrated its light to the glass window, it reflected through the frame beside the bed. There, in the picture; two figures holding each other can be seen. The man from the floor also traced the light until his cold eyes met the picture. He stood up and trudged towards the side of his bed.

He sat down, and his shaking hands slowly picked up the picture frame. He caressed the lady beside him there. He caressed her like he was longing for her warmth. The coldness in his eyes vanished as the sadness overtook his emotion.

Another knock was heard behind the door. "Liechael? Can you hear me? Please come out" the voice was pitiful and full of loneliness. It was like a mother taming his son.

It took him a minute to recognize the voice behind the doors. It wasn't a door for him; it was more like a thick wall he built to escape from the outside world. The man let go of the frame, putting it upside down on the desk, and stayed in his seat for a second, head fixated on the floor.

"Liechael?"

The call didn't even give him a jolt. Before thinking of another case, his legs move on their own, going to the drawers. There, he picked a key. He doesn't know how long he hasn't been able to drive. But if it will help him escape reality, he will do it.

Liechael didn't pick or change his clothes. His white shirt full of paint drops with his jeans ripped below the knees. Although it was raining, he didn't bother to pick up one of his hoodies.

The door creaked open. There was a woman in her middle-aged standing beside the entrance. She gasps upon seeing his son for the first time after a month. Her eyes reflected a sorrowful look as her lips turned downward.

Liechael spare a glance at her mother with an expressionless face. It only took a couple of minutes before he walked away.

The woman reached out her hand, trying to stop her son, but it was too late because the man was already meters away from her. She was trying to get her son back before his debut as a painter tomorrow. She already prepared different medications and therapy for her son, but the male refused all of them.

***

The car stopped in the middle of the rainy road. The chilly night once again blew with the crying sky. The rain has gotten heavier, and it became louder. Liechael, who just stepped out of the car, leaned on the long and cold steel ledge of the bridge. He closed his eyes and felt the pattering drops touching his face.

His chest tightened once again, and he felt his heart being squeezed for the last time. He didn't even know if he was also crying or if it was just the rain. He tried to hide his emotions for such a long time and now, he can finally release how heavy it was.

Liechael lowered his head and looked down. The strong current flow of the water meets his line of sight. This bridge was tall enough for the plan inside his mind. He was on the other side, with the ledge supporting his back and arms.

He will meet the river in a minute anyway.

He will end everything in a minute anyway.

Liechael closed his eyes and let the coldness touch his soul. He was now drenched from the waters continuously pouring down on him from the sky. He separated one of his hands away from the steel ledge. He knew Alaena would never like it, but what can he do? He can't blame himself.

The girl who was always standing by his side, loving him and cherishing him every day is now gone. If only he knew that it would happen that night, he shouldn't have let her go. But it's too late, it's too late for everything.

In his 24 years old of living, for the first time, he felt lifeless. The darkness inside him blinded Liechael. He wanted to end this if Alaena wasn't on his side. She was his life. It will just become a waste for him to continue living.

I'm always here for you…

How can you even say that if you're already gone? Unfair, isn't it?

Am I naïve?

Am I too dumb to understand such a thing you want?

You want me to continue living without you. Is this your punishment?

His hands turned icy, finally colliding and letting go the steel bars he was holding. As his body felt light and elevated. The memories he wanted to forget vividly played before his very eyes like a broken disc. If only he got the chance for the very last time, he will make a memory he will never forget.

He wanted to touch her cheeks more. He wanted to feel her warmth, just like before.

How can I ever do that if you already disappeared? You are so cruel, Alaena.

Maybe this is not a happy ending

This is a tragedy…

Let's meet again, in another life.

***

That night, the prodigy painter Liechael Greyson died.

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