Chapter 2 : The begining after the end (1)
Nafees, A tired-looking young man in his early twenties, walked slowly by the side of the road. He had dark circles under his eyes and looked like he hadn't slept in days. His mind kept going back to what had happened just recently.
He remembered the small, gloomy house. So many people had gathered outside. Some were whispering, some just watched in silence. Police officers were coming out of the house, carrying a body covered in a white sheet.
Behind them was a young man in handcuffs. It was Rimon—the eldest son of the family.
Nafees, the youngest, was crying loudly. He held onto his big brother, refusing to let go. "Brother, don't go! You don't need to do this !" he cried.
He turned to the police, his voice shaking. "Officer, my brother is innocent! He didn't do anything!"
But the police pulled Rimon away without answering.
People in the crowd started talking.
"I heard he killed his own father."
"Such a monster… how could he?"
"Didn't their father drink and beat them all the time? Rimon was the one working and taking care of the family."
"What a tragic family… They used to live in a high-rise building. I heard their 11-year-old daughter fell from the balcony and died."
"Yes. After that, the mother couldn't take it. She hung herself a few weeks later."
"Truly heartbreaking. The father was never the same after that. He started drinking heavily. Lost himself."
"But still… even if the father beat them while drunk, isn't killing your own father truly cruel?"
one woman whispered, shaking her head. "That boy must be a psychopath."
No one really knew what had happened inside the house. But the crowd was quick to judge.
The officers forced the two brothers apart. Nafees clung to Rimon, crying, his fingers digging into his brother's shirt, but a firm hand pulled him back. Another officer shoved Rimon toward the police van.
As he was being led away, Rimon turned his head one last time. His face was battered, his hands cuffed, but somehow, he smiled and said
"The wind carries no malice. It moves on, while we stay behind, tangled in things long gone."
Time moves forward like the winds, but we trap ourselves in the past- hurt, memories, losses, while life keeps flowing, light and free.
His older brother urged him to find happiness, then softly added:
"Be free of this moment and live happily, my lovable young brother."
Hearing those words, Nafees broke down even more.
Tears streamed from his eyes, mucus from his nose, and drool from his mouth, leaving his face a complete mess.
The officers took the eldest son away in the police van, the heavy doors closing with a final thud. Nafees ran after the van with all his might, tears blurring his vision and heart breaking with every step.
But his legs couldn't keep up forever. Suddenly, he stumbled and fell face-first onto the rough ground, pain and helplessness crashing down on him as the van keeps getting away from him.
"If only I had controlled my anger… if only I had never been born… My big brother, who was my everything, wouldn't have had to sacrifice himself."
Nafees began murmuring these words to himself, broken and trembling.
Their home had always echoed with violence. Almost every night, their father would return drunk and angry, his fists and words fueled by rage. On that night, like so many others, he began beating Nafees the youngest of the house again. The blows came harder than usual, fueled by something darker.
Then, turning his fury toward Rimon- the eldest son, he shouted, "It's because of you that she had to die!" He meant their sister. the wound that never healed.
But this time was different. Their father didn't stop. He grabbed a kitchen knife, screaming curses, his eyes wild with intent to kill. As he lunged at Rimon, Nafees- the youngest son driven by terror, picked up another knife and tried to defend his brother. His hands shook, and the blade missed its mark.
That single act only enraged their father more.
Furious, he turned on Nafees and charged at him. Nafees fell back, clutching the knife, frozen in fear and regret. He sat there, stunned, his hand trembling around the handle, unable to move.
Just as the father raised his hand to strike again, Rimon bloodied but still conscious lunged and grabbed his leg. The sudden pull made their father stumble forward violently.
In that fateful instant, the blade in Nafees's hand pierced their father's neck.
There was silence.
The monster who tormented them lay still, and Rimon the protector, the shield took the blame. For Nafees. For peace. For love.
Tears streamed down his face.
"My big brother… he didn't deserve this. He took the fall for me… and I just let him..."
While Nafees was blaming himself, he heard it…
a deafening crash.
Crash!
The sound tore through his spiraling thoughts like a blade of lightning. Nafees snapped his head up.
Smoke.
Twisted metal.
The police van had shattered the side railing of the bridge just ahead.
Time held its breath.
The steel frame hung suspended for the briefest second—then dropped.
Splash.
A column of water exploded from the river as the van crashed into it, swallowed almost instantly by the depths.
"No... no no no no... Rimon!"
Nafees's heart slammed against his ribs. Adrenaline surged through him. The pain in his limbs vanished. He scrambled to his feet, stumbled, then broke into a full sprint toward the edge.
His shoes pounded against the pavement, breath sharp and ragged, each stride driven by a single, unshakable thought
'This can't be how it ends.'
Without hesitation, without a second of doubt, he ran straight to the edge and jumped.
For a moment, everything went quiet.
A violent plunge.
Icy. Suffocating. Absolute.
The water closed in around him like a fist, stealing the warmth from his body and the air from his lungs. But Nafees didn't falter.
He pushed deeper.
Blindly, desperately.
Because Rimon was somewhere beneath that surface.