DEAD END.

He had never meant to go prying into her personal life. She had made it pretty clear what they had was nothing more than a bedroom affair. That said, he had upheld his end of the bargain. He had kept to his limits. Is it his fault, then, that curiosity took the better part of him? Was he to blame for what had been the outcome of momentary lapse of judgement?

He dug deeper and deeper with each revelation that sprung with his search. His heart shattered each time he learnt something more of her past. A past even he dreaded though it wasn’t his to begin with. Nothing could explain why he kept going. But somehow you can understand. If something is held back from you for so long a while, when at last you get your hands on it, wouldn’t you devour it? Even lions having gone hungry for more than a couple of days strip the flesh off their prey rigorously.

So on and on he went. Until he couldn’t go anymore. And when he was done, the nightmare began. Day and night he pondered upon what he’d seen. Somehow the memories made their way into his dreams. He became scared. Never even got the chance to sleep even an ounce. His eyes were bloodshot; energy drinks his only solace from a restless night. ” You are slacking in your job Paul. The losses are too much. You are fired.”

In dire search to make a living, he signed up as a truck driver. His employer looked at him in disbelief. How could a man of his stature and qualifications agree to something like this? Not even his co-workers could fathom. They simply let it be. He wished he would have done that too. Had I not wanted answers…had I not wanted to look up her past…had I not fallen in love with her…

The new job seemed to take his mind off her, even though it was but for a flash of a second. Then it was a minute, an hour, a day…he could even go for weeks without instantaneous thinking of her. He became lively. Actually, he was a fun person to be around. He was getting his life back on track. Or so he thought… What do they say, the funniest people harbor the worst scars.

And so it came to be. On one of his late night drives it crossed his mind; What if it happens I come across her tonight. He never knew why it had come on that day at that time. He had cut all contact with her without even explaining why. How could he have told her. He certainly had no intentions to break her heart. He never meant to judge her. But he did. And could not get himself to get past it. No more could he hang around her calibre, however cruel that sounded.

The sudden lights.
The hooting of a car.
Him suddenly realizing and swerving the truck.
A loud crash.
Shattering of glass.
And blood.

Who would have known that on that fateful night, among the passengers that died from the 14 seater matatu bound for the big city, she would be there?