Chapter 31: lovers go to hell

A teacher asked her students, "What is a novel?" The teacher roam her eyes around the four corners of the room. Most of the student's head are down looking at the floor and some are trying to avoid eye contact with the teacher when Fuyumi and Kazumi raised their hands at the same time. The teacher struggle a bit and think a little who she will call from those two smart students when Hitoshi suddenly raised his hand. The two smart students' eyes enlarged seeing for the first time that Hitoshi volunteered in a recitation.

So instead of choosing one from those who have high I.Q., the teacher called him instead. "A novel is a fictitious prose narrative of book length, typically representing character and action with some degree of realism", Hitoshi answered and take his sit. Kazumi faced him from the front to ask if he really is the Hitoshi he know. Hitoshi giggled while saying. "What is the big deal? I have an idea about the topic so I shared it with everybody" "That was the deal. The Hitoshi I know doesn't recite or talk during class hours and doesn't even participate or listen when the teacher is talking", Kazumi whispered. "Don't act like you know me very well just because we are classmates and we are neighbors", from a funny face, his turned into a serious one looking straight into Kazumi's eyes. "You are changing and getting weirder and weirder. I shouldn't have asked you", said Kazumi as he fixed himself and go back in listening to the teacher discussing the topic.

After the teacher finished her discussion, she group the class to create a short novel themselves. Kazumi, Fuyumi and Hitoshi stared at each other as Kota approached their group with full energy, smiling unto his ears. He sit at the center of Kazumi and Hitoshi while greeting them one by one. When no one is answering him back, he closed his mouth and keep still while trying to touch the feeling around these three. The feeling is intense surrounding with these beautiful and brainy creatures without blinking their eyes. "W…what is happening guys. Are we not going to start yet?" asked Kota. Fuyumi took a deep breath and fixed herself braking the ice in the group saying, "Okay, let us start. If you have an idea, feel free to tell us", she said while bringing her paper and pencil out. If you are going to look around, they are the only group who didn't start yet and the only quiet group in the class.

"Let us discuss first our genre. What genre do you like?" asked Kazumi. "Have you guys even read a novel or two?" asked Hitoshi. "I read a novel from one of the famous writers", answered Fuyumi. "How about you?" asked Hitoshi again looking at Kota. "Me?! I am not really a fan of reading novels. I much prefer comics and manga", said Kota. "So it is decided. We are going to have science fiction as our genre", said Hitoshi. "Huh?! We didn't discuss it yet", said Fuyumi. "Yeah, don't go deciding it yourself", Kota agreed. "Okay then, what do you want to be our genre?" "Horror?!" answered Kazumi. "Horror! Our lives are already full of scary stuffs, people are keep on dying. Our life story is enough for us to be scared like we are in a horror series in the TV. and you still like to write a horror novel?", said Fuyumi. "So what genre do you like?" "Comedy", said Kota smiling at them with his big teeth out. Kota wait for the response but it seems that no one from the group is listening to him. "Romance", Fuyumi suggested. "Ro…romance?!" "Yeah, with lot of things happening around us, we should keep an inspiration and fall in love. With these, at least even a little, we can forget all the horror happened in our class and think of happy things" "If you want to be happy, then why don't we have a comedy" "Romance would be good, and that is what the kids nowadays want to read", said Hitoshi. In the end, Kota's suggestion is been scratched and the group went to Romance.

"So how are we going to start the story?" "Have you guys even read a romantic novel? Or watched a romantic movie or series. I know you guys already have an idea in your mind, maybe it came from your own thoughts, a story you read or a movie you watched or even from your own experience, especially you Hitoshi", said Fuyumi as she turned to Hitoshi's direction. "Huh?! Why me?" "Duh, we all know that you are the only man here who have a lot of experience with girls and know how to be romantic" "I don't know what you are talking about" Fuyumi smirked. "I will pretend that I didn't hear that"

"Before coming up with the story, let us first think of a title", Kazumi suggested. "Love at First Sight, Ideal Girl, Ideal Boy, Till We Meet Again, I Love You from the Start, Love You to the Stars and Back", Kota suggested. "Any idea?" asked Kazumi ignoring the titles Kota had suggested. "The Flower Bloomed in the Snow?", Fuyumi suggested. "The Flower Bloomed in the Snow…that would be nice but let us think first of any other titles and choose the best from those" "Lover's Quarrel, I will Love You until the End", "Lovers Go to Hell", Kazumi whispered to himself. "Lovers Go to Hell, which would be great. I already have an idea of what story we will do", Hitoshi said. "So it is settled, that would be our title", said Fuyumi. "Huh?! Are you serious? I just whispered it to myself" "Whether you shout or whispered, we still heard it and that would be the title of our short novel" "But—""Don't worry Kazumi, we will going to make a world-class short novel", Hitoshi whispered to him, they almost forgot that they argued during the class hour.

The sun is heating directly at the skin early in the Saturday morning. The group has gathered at the living room in Kota's house. "Our story will going to be exciting. I already think of a concept how we will keep the story going on. A two or three characters would be enough and the story will go like this:

A woman in her late twenties or maybe thirties is hiding in a corner of the house trying to stop her sob and her tears never stop flowing that it is already enough to wash her whole face. She covers her mouth without moving hearing those noises and moans coming from inside her house. She already know from the start what is happening yet she chose to turn a blind eyes and cover her ears and not talking because she convinced herself that even how many woman that his man will sleep with, in the end of the day, he still go home where she is. She convinced herself that the man love her so much that he can't leave her in that small nipa hut.

She woke up early in the morning to work and going home late at night. She want to breathe a fresh air and spend a time with herself to think. After work, even it is a few meters away and the surrounding is already dark that the only light she's using is the light coming from the full moon that follows her. She knew that the man standing under the tree in front of her house is hers with the woman beside him kissing his lips gently under the moon that brightens his betrayal.

She walks slowly without removing her eyes to them. When the man feel her presence, he stopped from licking the girl's lips and stand tall facing her while the other girl is still catching her breath. Her knees got weakened that she almost fall from the grass yet her feet is not moving like it was already nailed from the ground. And what breaks her more is what the man says next, "It was a good thing you already caught us yourself so I don't have to find a reason or explain anything. The truth is, I don't love you anymore. I was just sticking beside you because you are giving me food, shelter and money that I want without me working. However, I am already tired of this kind of relationship, I'm already tired of you. This girl—"as he pull the girl's waist closer to him. "She is the woman I truly love and she is also rich so I don't have to worry about money anymore. You can have all the space in that small nipa hut and all the money you earned, I already don't care about you anymore" After saying what he wants to say, the man leave with the girl. She was left all alone hardly breathing, crying out loud.

He is the first man she loves all her life, and she thought that he will be the last. She is a beautiful girl looked up by everyone having a lot of suitors since college. Even how many man tries to touch her heart, her eyes was stuck to the only one person. He is a one in a million kind of man that she ever met all her life. Ever since that man lay an eyes on her, he knew that she already captured his heart that he threatened her that he will kill himself if she didn't accept him standing at the edge in the terrace of the school building. Because she's afraid that someone might die because of her, she closed her eyes and accept the man as his lover. Just like any other couples, at the start of their relationship, the man is very sweet and protective. He never fail to make her heart pound and always had surprises. They sleep late at night talking to each other in the phone and woke up every morning with sweet messages with kiss and hugs from the phone still. Slowly, she develop a feelings toward that man. She thought that she already found the one that she will spend the rest of her life with. A man that every woman could wish for. A man she knew that will treasure her like a precious jewel.

Their love bear fruit and when she went to tell him about it. The man seems so shock and forced her to abort the child. At first, she don't want to kill an innocent life but the man insist and he even brought her underground where the illegal things happened. She entered in an empty room living the man outside then suddenly she heard him talking to somebody then after a while, a woman in her late fifties entered the room wearing a white hospital gown and a gloves. After a while, her scream echoes the whole place. A scream with teary eyes like she was in a death's door. After a moment, the woman in a white hospital gown came out of the room to tell him that the operation is a success.

She was traumatized of what happened that she even stopped from her studies and the man brought her from a small nipa hut to live with him. She thought that when the man invited her to live with him, everything will go back on how things it should be but she's wrong, the man she truly adores with all her heart changed slowly. Slowly and slowly that she's like groping in the dark. This is not what she dreamed about being in love, this is not what she wanted. The man she admired has changed like she don't know him anymore."

"Wait, where this story is coming from? Where did you get all this idea Hitoshi?", asked Kazumi that stopped Hitoshi from telling the story. "I think about this story overnight" "You should make sure, if we found out that this is written in a book somewhere—you know what will happen to you" "Trust me Kazumi, it all came from my own" "Don't you think the story is so bitter?", asked Fuyumi. "But close to reality", answered Hitoshi. "So what will happen to the girl? Will someone came in a white horse and rescue her in that situation like a knight in shining armor and they will live happily ever after?", asked Kazumi. "Do you want to end the story like that? Someone will appear as her knight in shining armor that will truly love her to the end?" "Noooooooooo!!!" The three boys are shocked when Fuyumi scream all of a sudden. "Huh, what happened?" "Is there a fire?" "Fuyumi, why?" "You said that the story is close to reality right?", asked Fuyumi "Y…yeah…why?" "If the story is close to reality then why are you going to put a stupid knight in shining armor in the story? In real life, there is no such thing as knight in shining armor that rides in a white horse then they will live happily ever after. Yes, our story is Romance but it doesn't mean that we should put something like that, we are not in a world of fantasy. People don't live like Cinderella or Snow White. In real life, no one will save you, no one can save you but yourself. Even how much you scream, call for help, or run, no one will still help. You will struggle alone and you are the one who will end your own misery. There are a lot of time that I want someone to help, I want a hand to hold, I want someone to raise me from the pit, but in the end, it is just me who can comfort myself. In the end, no one really cares, you will still cry alone at night having no one to share your pain. That was the truth in the reality, sad truth. You want to cry, you want to scream, you want to fight back and act strong like nothing happened but all you can do is to cry alone thinking that it was just a nightmare and woke up the next day like nothing happened. If knight in shining armor truly exist then where he is when I need him, where he was when I am soaking wet from the rain running from hell, where he is until this moment. That is why life is so much unfair, if knight in shining armor exist to anyone then why not to everyone. There is a saying that 'No man is an island' but how come that some people end being alone. Everyone also want to be saved but not everyone will have a happy ending", little did she know that her tears are flowing slowly from her eyes. The boys remain freezing staring at her. "A…are you okay?" She covered her face with her both hands. Kazumi call her name but she stand and went to the bathroom without looking back at them.

Fuyumi washed her face looking at her reflection in the mirror whispering to herself that it is okay, everything will be okay. She's okay.

"The girl stopped going from work and spend all her time inside that small nipa hut and every afternoon, she walked outside until to the park where they used to date when they are still in college. Until one Saturday afternoon, she walked unconsciously around the park when a bell from the nearby church rang. Without thinking or without knowing it why, her feet dragged her in front of that church. She admit that she envy those couple who is going to get married seeing those people in front wearing formal white dresses that they all look like an angels without wings. She walk closely to see the whole place, the church is well arranged with flowers all over and people are smiling like that smiles never fade on their faces. A luxurious car stopped in front of the church where it vomit a beautiful girl in white wearing long white gown that makes her more beautiful and stunning. She once dreamed to wear that kind of clothes while walking on the aisle looking straight to the eyes of the man she will spend all her life flashing a smile as tears flow into her eyes that brakes her make-up that is been prepared for a couple of hours. She stopped for a while thinking that the bride seems to be familiar like she saw her somewhere but she can't remember where and when. A familiar voice came from her back that makes her remember everything. She turned her back slowly and saw the guy she once fell in love with. Both of them are in shock when they saw each other. The bride ran beside him and asked what is wrong. The groom asked her to enter to the church first staring at her evilly. "What are you doing here? I thought I already make myself clear. I don't like you anymore and if you are here to destroy my wedding then you will pay it with your life", he says as he turned his back again to him and entered to the church" He leave her speechless standing in front of the huge door as the people start clapping for the arrival of the bride.

"Fuyumi, are you okay now?", Kazumi asked mark on his face that he is worried about her watching her walking towards them from the bathroom. "Uh…I'm fine", she said as she sit where she was sitting a while ago and hid her face in her arms leaning in the table. "Fuyumi—" Kazumi stopped Hitoshi holding his right arm shaking his head looking at him signing that he should not ask Fuyumi anything about what she had said earlier or they should not interrogate her more because he know that Fuyumi doesn't want to talk about it.

Cars and trucks are keep on blowing their horns to the woman standing in the middle of the road without moving a muscle. The drivers are shouting at her to get out of the road and yet, she don't listen and stand there still staring at the road without blinking when the rain start to pour. She was already soaking wet standing there like a crazy woman. A man who is a bus driver shout at her for causing a traffic. She moved her feet forward then her body fall on the ground. The last thing she heard is the scream of the passengers of that bus before she lost her consciousness.