deaths, two lives lost while he lived.
Whenever he stood there, the memories would come flooding back–how helpless and desperate I had been when I leaped with our child.
Keith locked himself away at home, pulling the curtains shut day and night, plunging the place into darkness.
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+25 BONUS
Chapter 10
I watched as he withered away. He neglected his home, letting the garbage pile up and cockroaches scuttling everywhere.
Neighbors whispered that he had gone mad. The once–ambitious young man had transformed into a disheveled figure.
My spirit floated among the gossiping women, listening to their chatter about Keith.
“You know, he had a fiancée once but she was killed by his little lover. Then he went mad. Refuses to go out in public.”
“So how does he get his meals?” one asked.
“He sneaks out through the windows, scavenging for leftover food on the ground in the evening. I ran into him once. His beard was so unkempt I thought I was seeing a ghost.”
The women chatted animatedly, their words vivid and expressive, but I smiled faintly and walked away.
I felt the weight of my grievances lift. It was time to leave this sorrowful world behind.
For the last time, I appeared at Keith’s window.
Surprisingly, he hadn’t drawn the curtains that day.
His beard had grown wild. I barely recognized him. His eyes, once vibrant, now looked hollow and lost, yet it seemed he could sense my presence.
He stood by the window, dazed and unhinged.
Then he spoke.
“I love you so much, Astrid.”
I felt no longing in my heart as I turned and drifted away.
-I no longer love you, Keith.
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