The Monstrous Being

Stop it, Ozor. Rest now. It is time.

You don’t have to be in pain anymore.

Don’t you understand yet, you don’t have to make all these efforts anymore.

All those loneliness and suffering, you can finally let go.

Thank you for doing what you did, to the end.

Loving you was inevitable like the sun’s journey, setting each evening only to rise again each morning.

There is no need for you to worry anymore so forgive me already. .

It is over now.

Go sleep. Sweet dreams.

*************

She didn’t know if she was supposed to meet him, but they met anyway, and everything changed.

For the first time in her life, Ashley truly understood the meaning of the expression “never judge a book by its cover, ”

Who would have thought it was so misleading? Or maybe she knew, but she was too narrow-minded and ignorant to accept it. Who knows.

But in any case, she knows it now.

Ashley sighed as she ran her slender, white hand over her weary face.

The trip had been going on for hours, almost a whole day. She was on the bus that was supposed to take her to the North Sea coast, to a small village famous for several reasons.

The young woman had deliberately chosen the last row and the seat by the right-hand window.

Her goal was to be left alone, but of course that was impossible. With her dreamy figure and sublime beauty that nothing could hide—not even her simple, casual outfit: tight jeans, a loose white T-shirt with a colorful design, and a wide-brimmed hat. She attracted plenty of stares just on the bus—a little too many, even. Which darkened her mood even further. Beyond the length and exhaustion of this endless journey, there was this event that had prompted this trip—or rather, this sudden escape.

Yes, oh yes. She would never forget that moment, that evening, that scene.

At twenty, the gorgeous Ashley was still a virgin—a rarity in these modern times—but she didn’t worry about it too much since, in her young and romantic mind, she had already found the love of her life, the one with whom she wanted to share her life. Alas, that wasn’t the case—not for Craig, at least, and later, not for her either. They met at a neighborhood party. The weather was perfect, pleasantly cool, and the food and drinks were delicious and plentiful. Ashley had felt his gaze and instinctively turned to see this tall, blond young man with tiger-like eyes staring intently at her. To be perfectly honest, many people—men and women—had stared at her, but only his gaze had truly touched her. And she was right, at least at that moment.

He let her approach him and introduce herself. Everything unfolded as if it were the most natural thing in the world, as if it were simply meant to be.

They spent the rest of the evening together, leaving their families and friends behind to devote themselves to each other, chatting about everything and nothing, and making plans to meet again the very next day.

Everything was perfect. Love at first sight existed, and Ashley had courageously decided to give herself over to it, no matter what the future held.

She’ll never know if she should regret it or not. Probably not, because in the end, all of that was just the prelude to the second encounter—the one that mattered most, the one that was crucial and would change everything, reveal everything.

That was probably why, in the end, Ashley didn’t hold a grudge against Craig, because he was never the one; as deep as her love for him was, that handsome young man never stood a chance.

The cliché of first love doomed not to last.

For as hurtful as his betrayal was, with time—and more precisely, after the encounter she was about to have with that person—it would have been she who had cheated on him.

Oh, she would have left him, but perhaps not before giving herself to him, as she was inescapably destined to do. It was a choice and a destiny.

Craig was bad, but Ashley—she was even worse.

“Look, Mom, that girl is so beautiful. Will I be as beautiful as her when I grow up?”

It was a question a young brunette with a long ponytail asked her mother while staring at Ashley with a bright gaze filled with admiration and envy.

Her mother grimaced, unsure whether to be honest with her daughter or not, because since they looked so much alike, it was certain that instead of becoming like the young woman, the admiring little girl would instead become like her mother, and outward beauty would not be one of her assets, and only magic could fix that problem, if it was one. So far, neither of them seemed to have resorted to it to achieve that.

The young woman didn’t know if that was a good thing or a bad thing. And frankly, she didn’t care.

What she took away most from that brief exchange was the word “beautiful.”

A word that brought her back to another memory, one with Craig.

“You’re so beautiful, Ashley. So beautiful,” whispered her first love as he kissed her cheek, then slid down to her ears, nibbling her earlobe and moving down to her white, delicate neck.

“You’re so beautiful I can’t control myself anymore. I want you.” ”

The young girl tensed involuntarily and bit her lip. Her boyfriend stepped back to see her expression.

“So what do you think?”

She hesitated, then gave the only answer she could offer at that moment, which, of course, made her boyfriend angry.

“What? But why?”

“Craig, I’m not ready.”

“Ready? You’re not ready to have sex! What kind of nonsense is that! Let me tell you, it’s something totally natural between lovers! It’s even natural for minors, so for us…”

“I know, but…”

Ashley apologized and tried to reason with Craig, but he was so angry that he eventually left. Ashley felt hurt, but she did nothing to stop him; in fact, she felt confident. She was afraid of having sex, of course—a first time is always important and terrifying—but the real reason for her refusal was that she wanted to give herself to him on his birthday. A priceless gift for her first love. He would be the first, and with a little luck, the last as well. She hoped for it with all her heart. An unforgettable moment they would share on such a symbolic day—the celebration of her love’s birthday. An extraordinary significance, like a second birth, for both of them.

That day, the weather was cooler than usual, which reassured Ashley because she wanted everything to be special, everything to be memorable, and it was—but not as she had imagined.

Craig took his time to forgive her. And when he finally did, everything went back to normal, but he became very distant. He refused tight hugs and deep kisses, which frustrated both of them, and above all, he never asked her to sleep with him again; however, Ashley kept her faith.

There was only one week left before the fateful day.

When Ashley asked her boyfriend about his plans, the young man told her he was going to spend the evening with his parents—who were very wealthy and to whom he hadn’t yet introduced her—and that he probably wouldn’t be coming back to his villa, but that he would see her the next day, and that he would celebrate the occasion alone, just the two of them. The young woman accepted enthusiastically. She had intended to wait until the next day, but unable to hold back any longer, she set off for Craig’s house, deciding to stay the night so she could surprise him when he returned.

But when she arrived in front of the huge mansion, the surprise she had planned for her lover turned out to be one she experienced herself—though it was no wonderful surprise, oh no, far from it.

She saw his luxurious car parked right in front of his house, and all the outdoor lights illuminated the interior.

She smiled and approached quietly.