Nara's Dilemma by Alya Khalisah

Nara woke up because the sunlight penetrated her bedroom window that had been open for who knows when. For a moment, she just stared at the ceiling. Her eyes still felt swollen, left over from crying last night.

Then, Nara woke up and sat on the side of her small bed. The girl looked around the room, and suddenly, the sound of breaking glass was heard from outside.

Nara covered her ears tightly, refusing to hear anything. A drop of clear tears rolled down her cheeks. Her face was buried in her weak palms. She felt like she could no longer live in a situation like this. She couldn't live in a circle of sadness that was driving her towards madness.

Nara walked slowly out of the house, among the quiet streets while lowering her head as if ashamed of the world seeing her. She stared at her black silhouette among the shadows of the trees and houses. Nara stopped walking when someone blocked her shadow.

"I have something to tell you." The person started talking to her.

Nara looked up. Her face felt familiar.

"Why?" The girl asked with a flat face, but Nara just kept quiet. "WHY DID YOU HAVE TO BE BORN IN THIS WORLD?!" She started to shout.

The girl swung her palm at Nara's cheek. "GET AWAY!"

Nara couldn't look at her conversation partner. She only held her cheek which felt sore from the slap just now. Disappear from this world, you destroyer of people's families! the girl snapped. Nara sobbed accompanied by the sound of the girl's screams in her ears. Clear drops melted, crawling down the corners of her face.

Nara was an ordinary girl who lived with complete love from her parents. She lived a comfortable life, even more. At first, she thought she lived in a zone of perfection. But it turned out, all that was just nonsense. Her father, it turned out, was a man who had a family. That's when she realized, her mother was her father's second wife.

Her family was unwanted by everyone. Her mother was considered a woman who had no self-esteem. No one was willing to share their breath and place with Nara's family. They never wanted to know how severe the mental damage was that hit the person they were mocking.

Nara's father's first wife was Nara's mother's close friend. Close friends who had made promises to each other since they were in school not to betray each other. Once her father's first wife found out what had happened, she was certainly in deep shock. The husband she loved turned away from her. The best friend she trusted betrayed her at the same time.

Nina, the daughter of her father's first wife, couldn't believe it either. She almost fainted when her father revealed it himself. Furthermore, terror began to come as a sign of revenge. Starting from the breaking of the windows in the house, to throwing fire at her house.

Na?" Nara's daydream stopped. The girl remained silent, staring blankly.

"Nara? Honey, are you in there, right?" The call did not make Nara move from her comfortable position. Then, knocks after unspoken knocks began to be heard from behind the door.

"Nara, open the door, honey. Mother wants to talk about our move,"

Indeed, her family planned to move. Moving to an area far enough away to bury the darkness of the past and move on with life. But for her, moving house was just a form of escape. Her body would not be abused anymore. However, her soul and mind had become one with the prolonged frustration that Nara had suffered all this time. He still wouldn't live in peace like before.

Nara didn't move. In his confused mind, he remembered Nina. That girl wanted him to disappear from this world. She wanted Nara to be destroyed. Nara knew what that meant.

Nara looked at his stiff body that was covered in tears and regrets from his father and mother. He was stunned and remembered the incident that felt so fast.

Initially, he intended to cut the veins in his left hand with his favorite green scissors. Initially, he didn't want to see his parents cry so hard while hugging him. Initially, he wanted to feel the pain that afflicted his soul for longer. However, when he closed his eyes and strengthened himself for all the risks of his actions later, a ray of white light shone on him. For a moment, he thought the light only came from the overflow of his fantasy when he had successfully died. Then Nara knew, his death would bring everything to change for the better. This is what everyone wants.

Nara smiled. Not even the slightest bit, he felt sadness. He only felt the echo of freedom and peace buzzing in his mind. Now, he no longer needed to accept various forms of mental violence from the people around him. She was free and living in the peace she had longed for.

Nara closed her eyes, feeling all the sensations and pleasures of peace flowing throughout her body. The rays of light came back and shone on her body, guiding the little girl to another dimension. A dimension that would take her to eternity.