The Coup- Part 7

THE KEY TO IT ALL

The last rays of the sun kissed the skyscrapers before vanishing into the growing darkness. Soon the white light of the half moon would be casting shadows even in the darkest of streets. While the night life of the city started to awaken from it's slumber, a lonely figure observed the kaleidoscope of lights taking place across the city from her window.

Her jet black, shiny hair were tied in a pony, while two loose strands of them carelessly fell upon her dainty, gentle shoulders, kissing her neck from time to time. She was a tall girl, with a small scar on her right eyebrow. She was not your classic beauty but it was her confidence, her persona, the zeal she radiated and her never back down attitude in the face of difficulties that made her attractive. Her kohl rimmed eyes held a spark which one just couldn't ignore. A sweet innocent smile constantly played on her lips, cloaking the steely resolve she held within her and the sharp practical mind that decided a course of action in minutes. A girl of beauty, soul and substance.
She was the girl everyone had been talking about.
The person on whom the fate of the world depended upon.
Raul's human.

Archie.


-----


As soon as Aris flew from the garden of Eden he knew that time has also joined his list of adversaries. He flew as fast his wings could carry him. The moment Shreyaan would've told God of his intentions, the almighty would've passed the order of his death. Before his pawns could reach him, Aris needed to get to Archie.


-----


Archie smiled at the dog in the apartment across the road. She adored dogs. She remembered the overweight Labrador back home with her parents. Her parents. Brother. She missed all of them. If only her job hadn't brought her so far away from them, she would've surely spent every weekend with them.
'Well at least it gives me the chance to date', she thought,'which you don't' a voice inside her replied back. She started laughing at this point, looking lovingly at the pictures of her family and herself which adorned the walls. 'God, I miss them'.

A whooshing sound brought her back to her senses. A dark shadow was looming across the sky, coming towards her building.
'Too large for a bird, maybe a large bat?' she thought as she came closer to the window peering through the darkness to figure what it was. As it came towards her, she made out it was a bat. A large human sized bat.

SMAAASSHHHH !!!!!

The glass shattered into a thousand little pieces as the silent sound waves emitted by the bat struck it. It was a good thing the window was closed, else if the sound waves had struck directly, their sheer force would have burst every vein and capillary in Archie's body. But instead she only lost her balance and fell outside.

Her scream acted as a backdrop for the cacophony of the city behind her. Just as the reel of her life started rolling in front of her eyes, she found herself falling,upwards.She had closed her eyes due to the shock but she could feel two strong arms holding her and the whooshing sound much nearer this time.

'Wait here' she heard a voice as her feet found something solid beneath them. She slowly opened her eyes and found herself on the roof of her building. As the initial shock wore off she could make out a figure flying away from her and towards the bat.

Both of them collided with each other and she heard the breaking sounds of bones. The entangled figures hung in the air for some time still struggling and then suddenly dropped towards the earth.

Her mouth opened wide but no voice escaped her throat.

She slowly reached the ledge and peered down. A white winged figure hovered over the stirring body of the large bat. The wings of the bat were twisted backwards at an unnatural angel and blood oozed out of his mouth. She watched in horror as the winged figure reached out and broke the bat's neck in two.


-----


Arius glided back towards her. Her pale faced was flooded by the moonlight. Her eyes were filled with amazement, wonder, terror, and numerous questions.
'She can easily give all the fairies a run for their money' he thought.

'Hello Archie. My name is Aris and I'm your guardian angel.' He lied.

Archie looked back at him, swayed like a pendulum and fainted

The Coup- Part 6

REVELATIONS

Rebus glided nervously through the corridors, leaving a trail of foul smelling cigar smoke behind him which hung in the air. He wore a tunic today for the meeting. He kept one in his office for moments like these only. God had called for him urgently and something in his voice betrayed to Rebus that this wasn't going to be a happy conversation.

Nervously he tapped the door.

'Enter' a commanding voice boomed from within.

He was wearing his trademark white robes. He had shoulder length silver hair which enveloped his face while his neatly trimmed beard served as a nest for his pearly white teeth. The most striking feature of his was his deep blue eyes which missed nothing. They seemed like full of compassion and forgiveness from mirroring centuries of hardship of his creations but Rebus had seen those same very eyes change their colour to grey when he got angry.

He was the only man in front of which Rebus actually felt naked and inadequate.

The embers of last night fire still glimmered in the fireplace and threw a reddish glow around the room.

'Sit down Rebus, and stay calm'. One could fathom the reason why he was considered the supreme being just by listening to his deep powerful voice.

A sudden fire started in the fireplace which startled Rebus and before he could compose himself is eyes opened further wide in disbelief as Lucifer stepped out of it.


-----


'Welcome Lucifer.' said God.

In reply a bone chilling smile came to Satan's lips and he nodded. Rebus meanwhile was too stunned to react in any way. He forgot his smoking cigar, his nervousness, his nakedness and saw the exchange of pleasantries between the two arch enemies with bewilderment.

God turned to him and said,'Rebus you recently told me that Donovan has quit, is it not?'. Rebus nodded his head in affirmation.
'Hmmmm. What about an angel named Arius?'

For the first time a reaction originated from Rebus. 'Arius? Angel of Mercy? What about him?'

'Has he showed signs of turning rogue?'

'No my lord. He is hit by the loss of his love, the Archangel Raul during the Holy Strike' Rebus threw a disgusted look at Lucifer whose smile had broadened at its mention, 'but I guess it is because the wound is too new.'

'Alright Rebus. That would be all'


-----


The menacing persona of Lucifer vanished the moment Rebus left the room.
'What has been happening my lord?' he asked.

'A chain of events which we hadn't foreseen Lucifer.'

'The angel you killed had a lover. Somehow he knows everything that happened in the bowels of hell and that, that I've been sending the angels on holy strikes to get them killed. He is now bent on taking revenge. He talked to Shreyaan and you know how she helps everyone, only good thing is she tells the other party also what she has done, in this case me or else we would've been caught unawares.'

'But he is just an Angel my lord. What possible harm he can do?'

'Shreyaan told him about the supreme light source Lucifer. The source of everyones light. From where every entity in the world originates from and where the light that surrounds them go back to, after they are dead. He is going to project Raul's light on the source. Which will in turn suck in the light of the killer and the deceiver, in this case you and me, ultimately destroying both of us. She has told him the name of Raul's human. You know that when an Angel dies his light goes into his human instead of going to the source, with his memories also. I believe Aris's plan is to get her.'

'My lord even if he is able to get her, what good it would be? You know as well as I do that light would be fragmented inside her and he would need someone to amplify and project that light on the source. Aris has a selfish motive for taking this course thus he can't be the projector'

'That is where Donovan comes in, the Archangel of Vengeance. Due to Raul's death, a human died on earth. Donovan was to be his guardian angel but without him, he has no purpose left and no chance of moving on to the next level. Although indirectly, he is connected to the events and as you said he doesn't have any selfish motive in doing so. He percieves he has no purpose left and also doesn't care for anyone. The perfect candidate for being the 'projector'. I have no idea whether Aris has contacted him or not, or whether he would agree to be part of Aris' scheme but this one chance I can't take.'

'So the situation is grim my lord.' A steely resolve came on Lucifer's face. 'What are your orders then.'

'I will order Michael to take care of Donovan. He has already turned rogue and he is a short fuse so he won't be a problem. You just concentrate on Aris and Raul's human. Their coming together can be catastrophic for the universe.'
'The name of the Raul's human is Archie....'


-----


Outside the room, Rebus's jaw dropped as he heard the words being exchanged inside. He concluded that he needed to tell 'him' all of this as soon as possible.

The Coup- Part 5

SHREYAAN


Aris glided through the forest. The smell of the flowers and the trees intoxicated him and blurred his senses. The noise of the flowing river, the rustling of leaves and the songs of the birds and the bees, created an atmosphere of peace and tranquility. Aris could feel the calmness entering his soul and found himself relaxing.
He shook his head to break the spell. The last thing he needed was to find peace within himself. To find the feeling of tolerance and forgiveness in him. He owed Raul. He owed all the Angels that have been betrayed by the one man the whole universe trusted. And he was out to expose him, cause his downfall and if possible, his death. He owed that to himself.

Aris kept on flying deeper and deeper into the forest, fighting the emotions of love and compassion which tried to sweep over him. At last he reached the clearing where she waited for him.

Shreyaan was the first angel. The first of her kind. Her beauty and purity gave her a glow of a thousand suns. She was the only one who didn't had even an iota of black light within her. Her compassion, clarity, understanding, patience and above all her eternal love for everyone were the stuff of which folklore were made of.
It was said even Satan himself was scared to come in front of her lest he himself gets enveloped by her white light.
These were the reasons due to which God had given the actual heaven to her, the garden of Eden. Only those mortals who were as pure as her could come and reside there. Obviously since the start of the world no one had been able to meet the criteria. In fact, God himself was unable to enter until she gave him permission.

And today Shreyaan was sitting on the branch of a tree in the form of a White Peacock.

'Bless me mother', said Aris knealing down.

Shreyaan took flight from the tree top and settled in front of him.

'I expected you a long time back Angel of Mercy', she said.
'I sense a sadness in you son', she chirped 'and a deep hatred within. Even this place is unable to wash these negativities away from you. Look what has happened to your wings. You are changing.'

Aris looked at his formerly pearl white wings. They had become paler, the edges already turning grey.

'It is a bad omen son. changing of colours. More the black light gets a hold of your heart and soul, the paler your wings become'

'You know what happened Shreyaan. You always know what is happening around the world. Which secrets burden our souls and what thoughts raise storms in our mind. You knew it all along and still you didn't stop it.' Aris said changing the course of the discussion in the direction he wanted.

If Shreyaan was shocked about the straight forward confrontation, nothing on her persona showed it. 'It is a beautiful place, isn't it?' she sighed sadly.
'I knew about it Aris, but I also know the reason why God needs to do this.' she continued,' but you don't and neither you'll try to understand. Your reasons are different. You are driven by the love of one man. He needs to love many. You are driven by revenge. He by necessity'

'The reasons are not important now mother. I've chosen my path and have taken the oath to avenge my dead beloved. I need to be the Avenging angel. I can't turn back if I want to live peacefully for the rest of my life. You know what I need to know. Tell me the way.'

'You understand that son once I tell you everything I'll inform God what you plan to do? I can't choose between the two halves of myself.'

'I understand mother. You just tell me the name of the person whom Raul was a guardian angel of.'

'Here is what you want to know. The name of Raul's human is...'


-----


Donovan flew but this time he didn't let his mind wander. He was cautious for he expected another attack. Demons didn't attack Angels. They were happy preying on mortals, sucking the happiness and sanity out of them. He only knew one man who could've sent the monster after him. The one who brought heaps and heaps of troubles and miseries on both heaven and earth. He, who had caused the recent massacre of Angels.
'For centuries us angels have been unable to contain his influence or his powers but he has messed up big time when he took directly on Donovan, the Archangel of vengeance.' the thought ran through his mind, 'this time it will be the end of Lucifer.'

The Coup- Part 4

LAST STRIKE COUNTS


The Beast rose from the depths of the earth and saw the silhouette passing overhead. Standing close to 10 feet tall with legs as thick as tree trunks and bulging arms which almost touched the earth, he gave an impression of an overgrown gorilla. With his small beady eyes he focused on the passing figure and raised a bit of dirt with his plump fingers. He could almost smell the blood and the anticipation of the kill made a smile to leap onto his lips. His yellowed, jagged teeth saw the world for a while and with a grunt he threw the dirt towards the flying figure. As the distance between the dirt and the figure started decreasing, the dirt started to transform into a spear. The pointed end was tearing the air as it passed through the space and it accelerated at a speed of almost Mach 2. Thirsty for blood the spear made contact with the flying figure causing the Beast to emit a squeal of joy.


-----


Donovan felt the air rushing through his hair when suddenly pain shot through his left side. In a matter of seconds his training kicked in but it was too late for him to control the rush of blood which his heart had kicked into his body, causing him to loose focus and as a result altitude. Clouds, birds, stars rushed past him and the earth came at an alarming speed towards him to give him the kiss of death. In the last moments he composed his mind and pulled up. Three more spears rushed through the spot where he was a few seconds ago. Evasive manoeuvres kicked in automatically and he flew zig-zag in the anticipation of the next wave of attack. He wasn't disappointed when four more spears rushed past him. He finally saw the assailant. An earth demon, smiling every time he threw a new weapon at him.

The rage which was bottled up inside him since ages suddenly flared. With a snarl of fury he flew towards the demon dodging his spears. About 20 feet before reaching him he stopped, straightened up, extended his wings to their full span and flapped them with all the force his muscles would allow.


-----


The sudden gush of wind felt like breeze to the beast. He didn't even staggered but tried to rake his peanut size brains to understand what antics this bird was up to. Suddenly he understood the whole idea of changing the flow of wind towards him. The dirt he had thrown towards the bird was coming back right at him and changing into spears as he thought. He knew no weapon could penetrate his skin but wasn't too sure about the weapons created by his own light. He scooped an amount of earth by his hands, which would've given complex to any modern earth digger machine, and threw it in the path of the projectiles coming towards him.
A small sand storm erupted as a result of this chaos and momentarily he lost the sight of the winged figure he was sent to eliminate. Turning his head in utter disbelief he started looking around him to locate the figure again.

He should've had remembered that Donovan had wings.


-----


Donovan held one of the spears the demon had thrown at him and accelerated towards the figure on the ground, aiming for his head. The wound on his side left a streak of blood in the air behind him but right now the adrenaline rush subdued the pain. His whole focus was to kill this creature and find some outlet for his anger.
The words of his trainer kept echoing in his head.
'Last strike counts'.
In the dieing moments before the impact his anger ridden scream filled the sky.


-----

The demon looked up at the figure coming towards him. The last thing he heard was his own cry mixed with fear and pain. The last thing he saw was the tip of the spear millimeters away from his eyes.

The Coup- Part 3

FIRST MOVES

'I'm sorry Aris, you know that part is classified.' said Rebus, through the cloud of smoke that came out of his mouth as soon as he parted his pink lips. He tapped his cigar with his small chubby fingers to drop the ash into the already overflowing ashtray, but missed it by miles. He was a small, cherubic, naked, pink kid with two small pearly white wings. An ex-Cupid. A career guy who had survived in the corridors of power for so long by his sheer canniness and by masking his ambition from others. Girls would've gone all 'cutey-smoochy-pie' on him if he permanently didn't carry an expression as if someone has put dung under his nose and for good measures, shoved a 5 foot iron rod up his ass.

'Besides what good will that do? I know you loved him and all that crap...and I'm not being judgemental here...you can do it with a deer if you want to and I won't give a rat's ass, I've seen some strange shit on earth in my days' he said thinking about the past and making an expression as if the rod has doubled its size inside him,'but I can't help you here. You need to move on, at most I can get you a date with the Centaur.'

'I just wanted to be assigned to his human. So that I could be close to a part of his light you know' said Aris.

'I don't understand a ruddy thing but I'll see what I can do. Don't get your hopes up though. Rules are rules' said Rebus dismissing him.

'Love is a shitty thing' thought Rebus as Aris glided out. 'Screws your mind out of sanity. Hell a hangover from a cocktail of vodka and rum, with smack and LSD thrown in for good measures will be a better option. At least the effects are temporary.'

He forgot about the conversation and dived right into the paperwork weighing down his table.

If only he knew that something else was driving Aris.


-----


Three earth hours later Rebus was tapping in all of his reserves of patience and was at his diplomatic best trying to soothe down the raging storm in front of him which went by the name of Donovan.
'I know you are disappointed Donovan, but don't worry something good will come soon.' said Rebus, 'You are a friend, I'll look into this and do something for you as soon as something worthwhile comes up'.

'Your best isn't worth it Rebus and you know it.' snarled Donovan,' and don't you dare play me for a fool or else I'll tear those pretty little wings of yours and stuff one in your mouth while the other up your....'

'I'm still the head of the department Donovan. Remember that' snapped Rebus,' You might be the best there is but you fail to acknowledge or understand what is happening here'

Rebus took a deep breath to calm is already erupting anger down to simmering level and continued, 'Heaven is in disarray while the earth hasn't really been helpful. The failure of the Strike force and the death of 15 of our top angels have hit everyone hard. You know how many bad things happen on earth when a single angel dies and here it was a massacre.'
'Donovan I know you wanted to get out of this Archangel messenger stuff and do something. You were to be the guardian angel of Jack but he got killed because of these deaths. Shit happens.'

'Shit happens Rebus but you know the score with me. I don't take any one's shit back. Putting it right where it belongs is my mantra.'

'Donovan listen...'

"NO REBUS !!!! YOU FUCKING SHUT YOUR TRAP AND LISTEN. I'VE BEEN TAKING THIS CRAP FOR TOO LONG. YOU KNOW AND I DO, NO ONE CAN MATCH UP TO ME BUT I'VE BEEN WASTING AWAY MY LIFE FOR THE GOD IN WHOM I DO NOT BELIEVE IN AND FOR THE MORTALS WHO CAN FUCK THEMSELVES AND DIE FOR ALL I CARE.'

The silence between them amplified all the noises coming from the outside.
'I am done Rebus.' said Donovan at last.

Donovan walked out silently while Rebus tried to comprehend what to do.
Finally he picked the phone and dialled the number. 'Donovan just quit. I think he might create a problem.'

'I will deal with him' the voice on the other end said.


-----


The Grey vulture was just hovering outside the window and transmitting every syllable that was being exchanged inside the room.

'Now isn't that interesting.' thought the Grim Reaper as he heard the whole conversation in the confines of his cave.

The Coup- Part 2

TREMORS

Aris woke up with a start. The air was cool around him but he was perspiring like a can of Coke on a hot day. The words of Lucifer kept ringing in his head. His own God. Hands in gloves with Satan. Gifting him his angels like sheep to be slaughtered since countless centuries.

No one knew that in the dieing moments of Raul, Aris had broken protocol and made contact with him. He was the sole witness to the torture inflicted on Raul. His sweet, gentle Raul. His beautiful, strong companion. The only person he loved. How he had died with the hands of the Fire demon. Roasted alive. Two tears fell from Aris' eyes as he remembered Raul's last thought.

Someone has to pay for his death. But first he needed proof.


-----


Donovan was the Archangel of Vengeance. One of the best in the business but entangled so much in the bureaucratic maze of power that his chances of becoming a higher being were almost nil. Frustrated, angry and pissed off at everyone around him.
He stood in the middle of New Delhi with the downpour drenching his jet black wings. The first monsoon rain used to be a wonderful time to be here. With the smell of rain on the parched earth, cool breeze flowing through your hair taking away all the troubles with them and the ice cold water soaking your soul with its purity. But now all he saw was a world rushing past him at breakneck speed. Everyone in a hurry. Drivers screaming their head off at each other and the blazing horns eating away the sanity of one's mind. The uncaring, sweaty swarms of humans moving as the columns of the Spartan army. The bottlenecks on the roads and the smog that enveloped everything. The grandeur of the Taj Hotel striking a bleak contrast with the homeless living on the pavements. With the chance of the next terror strike just on the horizon, this place can give 'hell' a run for its money anytime.

'This is the world we are fighting for??' he wondered, 'These mortals fight each day to survive. Their life is a constant struggle, how can I expect them to be loving, compassionate and tolerant towards each other? How can anyone expect so much from them? For what purpose they were put on earth in the first place??'

A car suddenly banged the vehicle in front of it. A lady screamed as the two occupants got into a scuffle. Soon they were joined by a mob cheering them on.

Donovan shook his head. With hopelessness entering his heart, he wished his tenure will get over soon and he may get out of this job. Disillusioned with his kind and their work he soared into the sky. If only he had seen back once more he would have seen the lights of the city shining as a beacon of hope and might have felt reassured.

He might have also seen the Grey vulture following him.


-----


Jack was also running in a downpour through the streets of New York. But instead of musing on the the whole philosophy of his and his fellow beings existence, all his attention was focused on finding a cab. At 24, a recent Yale graduate with a looker of a girlfriend to sleep with every night, life was cruising according to 'the plan' for him. But like all the plans, this was destined to fail too.

And it started with his being shot dead by a mugger on the next street.


-----


'Every time an Angel dies, something bad happens on earth', thought God.

The Coup- Part 1

BETRAYAL

I started the long lonely walk towards the door behind which was the cause of all this destruction and the end of the road for me. I had no delusions, I wasn't going to survive this. The mission had 'Suicidal' written all over it from the day it was decided to be carried out. From the original party of 15, I was the only one who had survived to finish what we were sent to do. My comrades had laid their lives on the order of the greater being, sacrificed our selves to save the mortals. And the humans will never know.

The black mahogany door towered everything else around it. It might make a sound but after the fight the bodyguards had given us, maintaining silence became futile. The one behind the door must be alert by now. Just not enough was what I hoped for.
The door opened noiselessly and I stepped on a plush, wine red carpet. I scanned the room quickly for any movement and kept on walking. BIG MISTAKE.
Suddenly I sank into the carpet till my torso was above the ground. Chains, hot enough to burn my flesh came from nowhere tied my hands and wrapped around my neck. I noticed for the first time that the shadows I had so conveniently failed to notice, on account of my adrenaline rush, were creeping towards me, to send me down to the bottom of the pit where numbing agonies awaited me.

'Welcome my dear boy', a sharp, bone chilling voice traveled through the air, 'My guards didn't give you much trouble, did they?'

The target was right in front of me. All 6 foot 3 inches of his snake like body in front of me. He wore his trademark black with streaks of red with a violent smirk playing on his thin lips. His shiny, oily black hair were swept back and stuck to his scalp. He held in his hand a walking stick with a diamond of the size of a fist at the end.

And suddenly I understood why he was the second most powerful person since eternity.

I stopped struggling as it was a futile gesture now.

'Just give me one chance and I'll rip that smile off your face' I snarled.

'You are quite violent for an angel aren't you?' he laughed again.

'You might have survived me Lucifer but mark my words this won't end untill...'

'You want me to be scared of you, Son? Of you and your honey coated friends?? Me, the Lord of underworld scared of you who can only transform themselves into a Dove at the most?? God has a sense of humor I must agree. The supreme being of such pitiable servants.'

'He is greater than you, his message of love and peace is spreading everywhere. The one who is followed by millions on earth.'

'And the same beings kill each other on his different names? Cheat and kill their fellow beings. And you wonder why I call his servants pitiful. Tell me boy have you ever heard any one of my followers killing each other on the basis that I'm called Satan by some, Devil by others, and Mara and Asur by others?? NO. They follow my path. Follow my instructions to the letter.'

My brain refused to come up with a comeback.

'I don't ask them to perform complex rituals to please me. I don't need your Priests to spread my message. I just let them follow their basic animalistic nature. The nature YOUR God has given them. And THAT is the whole beauty of it son.'

His laugh raised a cold feeling of dread inside me, as if all of my insides had turned to ice. I looked around to find something to improve my present situation but every time a germ of a plan started to come to me my mind fogged. Aris's doing. Damn his protective nature.

'And you think your God to be so pure, so loving, so good??? Why do you think all my guards expected you?? Why do you think you witnessed a massacre on the way here?? Why only you have survived long enough to have an audience with me?? Why do you think God took away your wings so that you can't fly out of this quicksand??', his menacing laugh filled the room yet again.

'You poor naive fool. You were mine for the taking the moment you had agreed to come and assassinate me. Your God personally told me when to expect the 1003474388th holy strike to kill me.'

By now my jaw had welded shut by itself, all my neurons started fizzling out as his diabolical laugh entered my mind and wrapped itself around my soul. The fog in my mind had changed to a thick white wall by now and blocked all my abilities to think. I tried not to believe him, tried to have faith on my God but the seed of doubt had already been sown.

'It is nothing personal son, but every time an angel dies, my job on earth becomes much easier' he hissed.

Just Old Friends

At first sight the room seemed like any normal room of a feisty 16 year old girl. But whether one can notice the subtleties which defines the person residing in here, whether she'll allow yourself to become a part of her existence or not,
depends largely upon the wish of the mistress of the room.

I was part of her once. Till she moved towards him.

A razor sat on the table on which fresh drops of blood glistered. One corner had a stack of Domino's boxes. The ashtray was filled with butts of Rothman's finest. A half finished Smirnoff casted it's spell on anyone who dared to look at it. A bookmarked copy of 'Catcher in the Rye' and a dogeared diary were the only signs of any literacy pieces in the room.

Her Kohl rimmed eyes bored through me and automatically my eyes dropped in shame. If they held tears or pain I might've had made it alright. Instead a fire burned in them. A fire fuelled by passion, confidence, zeal. Her face was a beacon of hope and determination. Determination to succeed, to make her plans works, to achieve everything she desired for, to lay her demons to rest.
And more the positiveness radiated from her the more inadequate and incomplete I felt.

And then she sighed. It held all the pieces of broken trust, pain, unfulfilled desires and expectations of her warm caring heart and that drove me further into the pits of despair. She didn't complained and that drove the dagger of guilt further in. She didn't screamed and that made me wish that she would tear my chest with the razor and pull my heart out.

"You don't understand. You won't understand..." her words trailed on.
It wasn't as if I didn't want to. I just couldn't. her mood swings made it difficult, my lack of compassion made it impossible. So many times she had tried to reach to me for comfort and so many times I had turned away. Wasn't it natural that she moved towards the one who did tried to comprehend the turmoil in her mind and soul. Who always stood by her. Was her rock when she needed him to hold on to and her best friend when she wanted someone to listen.
Completely natural.

Her phone rang. Must be him again.
"You should better go"

I silently reached the door and looked back. She was smiling, laughing into the phone. I purred hoping she will take me in her arms but he had already transported her to his world.
My eyes lingered on the Smirnoff. How I wish I could drown my sorrows in it.

As I jumped down the stairs to get to my dinner bowl, I realised a cat only has milk as his companion in anguish.


--


I can't say it's an original. One thing inspired me. And another idea I tweaked according to my convenience for giving the whole treatment.

Inspiration: a fellow blogger Trillian's collage which she has used for her blog's header.

Treatment: a short story by Jeffery Archer 'Just Good Friends'. (The title itself is a tribute)