Fatal Encounter

As the sun ray peeked through the window blind and on Gabriella’s face, her face squinted to adjust to the sudden intrusion into her eyes. She finally rises to her feet after bawling her eyes out for hours and falling asleep in the process. She thought to herself that the best way to make her father trust her again and allow her to meet her mother was by agreeing to the marriage.

She has made up her mind to die with the rumored wicked old man on the pretext of her curse.

Gabriella pulled the door open and stepped outside to meet her family still seated in that position having lunch as if nothing happened.

“Hopefully her curse kills her husband and then we can have his wealth”

She heard her stepmother say with a smile at the corner of her mouth.

Gabriella’s hands clenched into a fist as tears flickered in her big round eyes, threatening to fall.

She only moved from that spot when her father’s eyes met with hers.

“I will marry Mr.Luther, father” she announced.

Grace and her daughter smirked at Gabriella.

“Very good Gabriella, I’m proud of you” her father responded with glistening eyes.

It hurts Gabriella the more to see the happiness on her father’s face at the mention of another man’s wealth. And he complimented her for the first time over a wrong decision that might end her life for good.

Gabriella sniffles her tears and continues “Please Father, I’d like to return to work this morning and sort everything out. I doubt I’ll be allowed to work once I get married” she said.

Olive scoffed at her “Of course not, you’ll be far from ruined to even work” she muttered.

“That’s better, you should go and hand over your resignation letter” Grace, her stepmother said.

“It’s not an official job so a letter won’t be needed. You can just make a call right?” Her father proposed.

Gabriella fell to her knees in despair “Please Father, I won’t run away I promise. You know I can’t run at this point” she pleaded.

“Alright then. I will send word to Mr.Luther immediately”

~NIGHT~

Gabriella worked till night and then changed out of her work clothes, cleaned her space, and handed over her key to the director in charge.

Before leaving the hotel, she decided to visit the highest place for fresh air and the hotel’s rooftop is her favorite spot to clear her head. But as she takes each step, the reality of her future sinks into her head and she loses hope for some minutes.

“It’s better if I just die” she muttered.

In a drooping manner, Gabriella climbed the stairs with her eyes fixed on the ground. On reaching her destination, she shut the door and heaved a sigh of relief… an intake of breath that didn’t reach the peak of her throat due to the shock of the scene before her.

Right before her is a silhouette of a man standing on the edge of the rooftop, staring down at the ground with his hands in his pocket. It appears that someone is about to take her spot.

“Hello, young man! You can’t die here… that’s my spot” she shouted as she hurried towards the man.

She was forced to reach a screeching halt with a sudden turn of the young man.

“Excuse me?” The young man finally speaks.

Gabriella regained composure and began “I mean it, you can’t die here tonight and ruin my plan. This is my spot and it wouldn’t make sense for two people of opposite gender to commit suicide here in a night. They would misunderstand it as unrequited love or whatever it’s called! You should come back tomorrow”

She said firmly then climbed the elevated stairs to reach the edge where the man stands.

The man whose face was filled with sadness didn’t stop looking at Gabriella with interest.

He watched as she closed her eyes and tried her suicide jump multiple times but was unable to do it.

On her 10th attempt, she cried out and slapped her face with both of her palms but her careless movement made her miss her footings and she slipped.

A loud shrill scream escaped from her throat with her hands flying in the opposite direction. With the strange man’s frame now standing above her as she continued to fall down the floors, she closed her eyes to accept the truth.

Surprisingly, she felt caught by a warm but strong body.

“I don’t want suicide to turn into accidental death, it’s not fun trust me”

Gabriella heard a deep voice which made her open her eyes carefully. She realizes that the suicidal man has just saved her and she can’t say a word, instead, she burst into tears.

The young man dropped her off like a dirtbag and then proceeded to the edge again. “Since you’re not up to it, I can use the spot now right?”

The man shook his head pitifully at Gabriella and jumped off the roof… but only to be caught by Gabriella who was quick to grab his jacket with all of her strength hence putting him in an uncomfortable position.

“Who the hell is this parasite?! Let go of me” the man commanded.

“No! You saved me so I should save you in return” Gabriella grunted getting tired by the weight of the man.

“Ring Ring” a phone started ringing out of nowhere.

The young man sighed and brought out a phone from his pocket. Seeing who the caller ID was, he bit his lips and looked up at Gabriella struggling to save him.

And with one swift movement, he flipped over and stood upright behind Gabriella.

“Oh my goodness!” She gasped.

“You’ve just ruined my only chance and bought time for the devil, so you must pay for it” he uttered.

Then, Gabriella’s phone vibrated, it was a text from her father asking her to return home at once.

“Oh no! I have to go now” she said.

Gabriella grabbed her belongings to make a run for it but the man appeared swiftly before her.

“I will make a report downstairs if you don’t leave in 5 minutes. Don’t you dare die here” she said.

“Then you must live so we can meet again!”

“Why would we meet?” she muttered batting her eyes.

“I mean it. Since you’ve deprived me of death, I will chase it far away from you.

Gabriella didn’t bother to hear more and she scurried away.

The young man’s phone rang again and he picked it up.

“Stop trying to kill yourself, Koel, 100 years is enough evidence that it won’t happen” a voice came.

Koel, the young man squeezed his phone tightly in his hands “At least we have this day to always try our luck… a day we remain neutral and weaker than humans” he said painfully.

“Yet we never die” he added in a disappointing tone.

“I found the RENA!” Cyrus said from the other end of the phone.

“You did what? Are you sure?!” Koel asked with impatience.

“She showed up when my car crashed tonight”

“Did you try to kill yourself too?” Koel questioned.

“It was an accident!” He snapped at him.

“Then we should get our third brother… heard he’s marrying his 58th bride tomorrow,” Koel said.

“Get in touch with that damned soul as soon as possible”