Twisted Destiny

I can't move.

I think my rib is broken. The pain is killing me and there's so much blood pouring from my head. My fingers are cold. There's no one around me. No one to help me.

Is this the end for me? What did I do wrong? Is it my fault that I wasn't born into a good family? Or was it my fault that I fell in love with him?

What did I even do that was so wrong? I just wanted him...

I never thought I would end up like this.

--- One Year Ago ---

It was fall.

Golden leaves were blowing everywhere in the wind, hitting our faces.

My best friend Mia and I were on our way to the city. I kept pressing my forehead against the cold train window. I didn't want to blink. It was the first time I'd ever left our small town.

"Mia, what are you gonna buy?" I asked.

Mia grabbed my hand and squeezed it tight.

"I'm gonna buy the cutest clothes and jewelry, and a bunch of makeup too. What about you?"

My smile faded a little. I looked down at my old bag.

"I'm probably just gonna get some jewelry. I don't have a lot of money. I saved this with so much difficulty because whatever I earn, I give it all at home."

Mia's grip on my hand tightened. Her eyebrows came together.

"Why don't you ever say anything to them? It's not your responsibility to give them money at home. I don't get it — is your uncle supposed to be taking care of you, or are you supposed to be taking care of him?"

I quickly looked away. My throat felt tight.

"Mia, you know how my uncle is. If I don't listen to him, he's gonna get upset and I don't want that. After my parents died, my uncle raised me like his own daughter, so I can't argue with him and break his heart."

The train stopped with a loud jerk.

"Mia, look, we made it to the city! Come on, let's go."

I grabbed Mia's hand and started heading for the exit. I was in such a hurry that my foot twisted.

I fell right on top of a guy sitting nearby. He was reading a book, and the book slipped out of his hand and hit the floor with a thud.

"Oh, sorry!" I said.

My hands were shaking. I picked up the book and started rubbing the cover with my sleeve.

"Sorry for getting your book dirty. Here, I cleaned it."

The guy didn't say a word. He just stared at me.

His shirt was made of silk that caught the light every time he moved. The ring on his finger sparkled so bright I had to look away. Even his shoes didn't have a single speck of dust on them.

Next to him, my old dress suddenly felt too cheap.

Mia put her hand on my shoulder.

"Come on, we're getting late."

"Oh yeah, let's go."

We both got off the train. There was a huge crowd around us and voices echoing everywhere.

We went toward the market. There were so many shops, selling beautiful, sparkly things. My eyes kept jumping from one shop to another. I wanted to touch everything.

"Excuse me, how much is this bracelet?" I asked.

"This one is three hundred bucks and the thin one is a hundred," the shopkeeper said.

My mouth fell open.

"Whoa, sir, that's so expensive! I really like it, though. Can you lower the price a little?"

"No, I can't."

Mia stepped in front of me, her hands on her hips.

"What do you mean? You gotta lower it a little. We're gonna buy a lot more stuff anyway."

Mia started haggling with the shopkeeper. I was just standing there, looking around.

That's when I saw him again. The same guy from the train.

He was standing near a clothing rack, looking right at us. The second our eyes met, he quickly turned his face away.

Mia bought a ton of things.

"Ava, look at these earrings! Do you think they'd look good on me?"

I took the earrings in my hand. They felt cold and light.

"Oh, this is so pretty! If you say so, I'll get it too."

Mia paid for everything and threw it all in the bag.

"Look, Ava, I also got the bracelet you liked. I put it in with my stuff."

"Yeah, okay, now let's go to the clothing store. I'll pay you back for the bracelet there."

Then we started to leave.

While we were walking, I saw that guy again. He was standing off to the side, watching us. And wherever we went, he started walking too.

My palms started sweating.

I leaned close to Mia and whispered, my voice barely coming out,

"Listen, Mia, that guy is following us. Do you think he's still mad about what happened on the train? What if he has us locked up and punishes us?"

Mia started laughing.

"What are you even saying? Why would he lock us up? Do you think you get the death penalty for dropping a book?"

I clutched her sleeve. My chest felt tight.

"Don't laugh at me like that. Rich people are just like that. They think we poor people are nothing. We're just their slaves to them."

My mind went to our neighbors.

"Do you remember what happened to our neighbors? That old man next door accidentally ruined someone's clothes and they were really expensive, and those people were asking the old man for money, and because he couldn't pay, he had to sell his daughter."

My voice started shaking.

"Remembering all of that is scaring me. What if the same thing happens to us? So it would be better if I apologize to him again."

I walked up to the guy. My head was down and I couldn't look him in the eye.

"I'm so sorry. If you're still mad about what happened on the train, I'm really sorry. I should have been more careful."

He said in a shaky voice, "What are you doing?"

My voice was so low I could barely hear myself.

"I'm sorry for what I did."

He stared at me, confused.

"Sorry? For what?"

"For dropping your book."

"For just that? Why do you need to bow your head and apologize like that? You already said sorry to me back then."

"So you forgive me? So you're not going to punish me?"

He looked baffled.

"What? Punish? Why would you think I was going to punish you?"

"You were following me, so that's why I thought that."

He suddenly got serious and his smile faded.

"There could be another reason for following someone."

My breath caught.

"W-what other reason could there be?"

He burst out laughing. A loud, surprised laugh.

"What? Rich legacy? Me? I wish that was true, but sadly it's not. And as for these clothes, they're not even mine. I came here to meet someone, so I'm wearing my friend's clothes."

Mia came over, looking him up and down.

"Are you telling the truth? But you have a face like a prince. By the way, what do you do?"

"Oh, I'm my friend's manager."

Mia lightly poked his arm.

"Ooo, that's why you're so handsome."

He laughed and gently pushed her hand away.

Then he looked at me. His eyes softened.

"What's your name?"

I couldn't look up. I stared at my shoes.

"My name is Ava, and what's yours?"

"My name is Noah. By the way, you were asking why I was following you, right?"

I nodded, still looking down.

"Hmm."

"Because I wanted to know about you."

My head snapped up.

"I want to know where you live, what you do, what you like — I want to know everything about you."

My cheeks felt hot. I quickly looked down again.

"But why do you want to know all that?"

He smiled a little.

"Because I want to be friends with you."

Mia burst out laughing.

"What did you say? You want to be friends? Do you just want to be friends or are you using friendship as an excuse to get close to her?"

Noah smiled, but he was still looking at me.

"Take it however you want. Whether you take it as friendship or something else."

My face was burning. I could feel my ears turning red. I couldn't listen anymore.

I grabbed Mia's hand tightly.

"Enough, let's get out of here."

As I was leaving, I looked back once and then quickly turned my face away.

Noah was still looking right at us. His hands were in his pockets and he didn't move.

I don't know why, but my heart was pounding so loud I thought Mia could hear it. My hands wouldn't stop trembling.

We got back on the train and sat in our seats.

"Ava, look, this clip is so cute! It would look so good on you, too. Try one on."

Mia went to put the clip in my hair.

"Hey, where did that clip go that you were wearing?"

I touched my hair. It felt empty.

I started looking around on the floor.

"It must have fallen somewhere on the way," I said.

After the trip ended, we started heading home. The wind was blowing and the rustling of the grass was echoing in our ears.

Just then, a soft, sweet voice came from behind,

"Miss Ava, wait!"

I turned around.