Do Not Die

"Who. . .who are you?" May trembled as she looked at the three masked men who had just intruded her home. She could tell from their masks that these men were dangerous. The weapons with them were enough for her to know they were here to kill her, someone had sent them to kill her. The thoughts that she would be killed in this secluded villa caused her feet to wobble in fear as she fell down on the floor, her little puppy ran to where she was making soft growls to scare the intruders.

   May Edwards was a famous singer, she was nicknamed as the nation's first love because she was loved and respected by many for her unique and melodious voice. She rose to fame at the age of eighteen after leaving her father's house for her stepmother and stepsiblings who tried to make life a living hell for her. After the death of her father, her stepmother had always maltreated her and she could not stand her stepmother's ill treatments towards her so she left the house for them. She practiced and trained hard to become who she was today; a famous superstar. 

  Now she was 26,she worked so hard without resting to retain her position as the number one top star. Finally getting tired of the fame and glory, she decided to take a break for a year. A break to be away from her fans and this reputation she had built for herself. She wanted to spend this one year as herself and not as the top star May Edwards which she was known for. That was why she came to this villa she had secretly built, not even her manager knew she had this private villa situated in a secluded area. But who would have thought that this villa would be the place of her death? Who would have thought that she would get killed on her first night in this villa? 

  "Get her!" One of the masked men who seemed to be their leader instructed the others. 

   May clenched her fists, she was not going to die this way, no, she did not want to be killed by them, she would not let them end her life, not now that life have been going smoothly for her. She instinctively rose to her feet and started running as fast as she could as she got to the exit. She heard them curse and started chasing after her like mad dogs chasing after its prey. 

   She successfully ran out of the villa, running anywhere her legs could take her. It was still dark outside but she could see clearly thanks to the street lamps. There was not even a single soul outside and the area was as silent as a graveyard that she could even hear her own footsteps and her heart pounding because she was afraid of being caught by those masked men. 

  As she was slowly getting towards the bridge which would lead her out of this secluded area, she saw a young man who seemed to be in his late twenties standing at the side of the road staring out of space as though he was lost in his own thoughts. He was wearing a weird cloth which looked like an ancient dress but May didn't have the time to start thinking or wondering about his strange dressing. She was grateful she was able to find him there, she was thankful she was able to find someone who would help her. She stopped running and decided to ask for help. 

  "Mister..... please help me..... please." She managed to speak as she was gasping for breath after running all the way to this place. "There are some masked men.... chasing after me..... please help me." She forced herself to speak but then she noticed something unusual. She noticed the man in weird dressing didn't even spare her a glance, it was as though she was talking to herself.

  Disappointed at how she was snubbed, she cursed inaudibly when she heard footsteps approaching them, she continue running as fast as she could to get to the bridge subconsciously telling herself that she must not get caught, no matter what happened to her, she must not get caught by them, she must not get killed by them. 

   As she got to the bridge, her instinct kicked in making her run faster than she had ever ran. However, she suddenly halted the moment she saw two masked men on the bridge waiting for her.The masked men smiled mockingly when they saw her at the bridge. She must have thought she had escaped from them, such a fool. She was not aware that there was a secret shortcut to get to the bridge and they had followed that path because they predicted that she would come here, afterall, this was the only way to leave this area. 

   May subconsciously turned back, there she saw the last masked man approaching, wearing a weird grin on his face. She was cornered, how was that possible? She was so sure she was way ahead of them, how could they have gotten here before her? Could there have been a secret path to the bridge? Was it too last for her to save herself? Her eyes misted as she watched them walking closer to where she was standing. 

   "We wanted to give you a painless death but you've just complicated things, huh? Where do you think you are running to?" The last one approaching behind her spoke in a terrifying manner causing her to quiver as she subconsciously moved to the bridge railing. 

   "Who.... who sent you to kill me? My stepmother?" She asked as the only one she could think of was Miranda, her wicked stepmother, only her was capable of hiring these masked men to kill her. May knew her stepmother held grudges against her because after when she rose to fame, she paid back all the ill treatments she had received from her stepmother and stepsiblings, she even tarnished their image making them the most hated people in the country. Her stepmother must have sent this people to kill her so as to take revenge on her, that wicked woman. However, no matter how hard she thought about it, she could not help but wonder how they knew she was at her private villa. She didn't even inform anyone that she would be staying there for a while, how then did these men know about her villa? Have they been secretly watching her? Have they been waiting patiently for this day to come? So many questions clouded her mind. 

  "It's time for you to die." The masked man said as he closed the distance between them. 

  "Don't come closer, don't come closer!" She let out a loud, doleful wail as painful tears in her eyes fell down her beautiful face. 

  And the moment he aggressively pushed her, she fell over the railing. May felt her body flying, getting ready to sink into the river. Was this end? Was this the end for her? Was this really the end? The realization that she was going to die caused her heart to break into pieces. The tears in her eyes kept falling like raindrops and her lips trembled as they curled up, flashing a beautiful yet bitter and sorrowful smile. 

  The moments of her life began flashing like a fast forwarded movie, how she had lived her life for the past twenty-six years came replaying in her head. May realised she had spent most of her years training and practicing hard to be the best, she had worked nonstop that she never had time for herself. She had enslaved herself in this fame and glorious reputation she had built for herself that she had long forgotten that there was more to life than that, she was so focused in being at the top, being the best that she had forgotten the good things in life, she had forgotten that all those fame were all vanity. It was already late for her, if only she could turn back time then she probably wouldn't have lived her life that way, she probably wouldn't have enslaved herself in this fame that even remembering how she lived her life for the past twenty-six years, she realised she didn't even have any happy memories of herself,she didn't even have anyone who she could call her family. 'Why did you live that way?' She questioned herself even when she knew it was pointless, she was going to die, this was going to be the end of the number one top star May Edwards, this was the end of the nation's first love. 

And even at that moment that it was evident that this was the end for her, she kept hearing a soft voice in her head telling her not to die. 

   "Do not die, do not die." The voice in her head kept repeating the same words until her body hit the river.