Match

 Match

The story of a woman who was deprived of her life, and suffered from the vicissitudes of life.

His lips were shaking slowly. He wanted to say something but could not. Anna had a feeling that she knew what Conrad was going to say. Every woman knows what men say on such occasions.

 This had happened to Anna many times before. Every time she heard the sound of the call bell, she was poorly startled. This was because the bell was installed near the sink in the kitchen. Therefore, whenever she was near the sink and someone pressed a finger on the bell button, the loud sound would startle Anna badly. And that's why neither her husband nor her family used this bell. They knew what kind of condition Anna got after hearing the sound of this bell. She was busy preparing food for the family when the loud sound of the bell startled her. This time the voice was a little louder, so Anna was startled a little more accordingly.

  She kept the knife aside and walked fast to the door. Two policemen were standing outside the door. She looked at both of them in surprise while they were both looking at her hesitantly. And Anna waited for them to say something. But they both stood as quietly as if someone had placed the wax figures at her door as a joke. Both of them kept their helmets in their hands and bowed their heads slightly. Finally, when Anna could not tolerate their silence, she asked.

  "What's the matter? Why are you guys here?"

  They were both young and healthy. Both of them had their full uniforms on. And their magnificent motorcycles were parked at some distance from the stairs. Then one of the two policemen, who was tall, changed his side and addressed Anna.

Are you Mrs. Cooper, lady?

  "Yes, I'm Mrs. Cooper." Anna shook her neck.

"Why! What's the matter?"

  "We've come to tell you this, Mrs. Cooper." The policeman wanted to speak and then became silent.

  Anna looked at him attentively. The policeman had not said anything yet. But it was as if an earthquake had occurred inside her. This earthquake encompassed her entire existence, she had never felt such a situation before.

  "Yes. Tell me what's the matter?" She asked again, leaning against the wall.

  "The thing is. The thing is, your husband had an accident near Hudson Park this morning. He died in the ambulance on the way to the hospital."

  The policeman who had told this news took out a crocodile skin wallet from his pocket and handed it to Anna. She recognized that purse. She had given this purse to Cooper as a gift two years ago on the occasion of their twentieth wedding anniversary.

Taking the wallet from the policeman, she felt as if it still contained the warmth of her husband's body.

  "Tell us what we can do for you. The same policeman asked in a very gentle tone. Do you want to call someone, or give information to someone?

Anna felt as if the policeman's voice was coming from far away. There was a gap in her mind. Suddenly, as if the ground is gone under the feet. Then at the same time, she started screaming loudly. She had endured until now. But now the endurance phase was over. Her condition was deteriorating. She started banging her head against the door in a frenzy. Those two policemen took her inside with great difficulty. One of them called the doctor at the same time.

The doctor did not take long to come. As soon as he arrived, Anna was forcibly given an injection and she became unconscious. She could not recover for several days. She would start crying whenever she regained consciousness. She started calling Cooper loudly. It seems as if life without Cooper is impossible to imagine. She started banging her head against the walls like crazy.

Calling loudly, saying, Cooper, wait for me, I am coming. I can't live without you. Everything was removed from her room with the help of which she could have attempted suicide. This frenzy of Her was surprising the viewers. But only Anna's heart knew how bad fortune had deprived her of such a good companion. Cooper was no ordinary man to her.

  At the time of marriage, both of them were eighteen years old.

And now twenty years of their marriage had passed and their love was increasing each passing day. Both of them were surprised at this. Such immense and intense love will happen very rarely between husband and wife. Every coming day their love was increasing. They could not live without each other. And by the end of the day, Anna was starting to find it difficult to even go to Cooper's office. 

The same was the case with Cooper. He did not know how he spent his time in the office. And when he returned home in the evening, his indecisiveness would have been noticeable. He wanted Anna to be the first thing he saw when he returned from office. Anna would run whenever she heard the sound of his car no matter where she was doing. 

The meeting of both of them was as if they were meeting for the first time. Seeing each other, the colors of happiness started to burst out of their eyes. Their faces would open up and when such a loving husband suddenly separated, it could be the same as Anna's. She never imagined that she could survive without Cooper. How could she live in a world where her husband did not exist?

  Her three children took great care of her during this time. Angela was the eldest who was twenty years old and Mary and Bailey were the youngest. These children knew how much love there was between their parents. 

They knew what the mother's mental state could be after the death of the father. So he took great care of Anna. They did not leave her alone. They knew that Anna would probably commit suicide if she got the chance. They explained a lot to Anna. Made Her realize that life is the name of living amidst such harsh realities. The journey of life goes on like this. People meet to separate. How can the bitter and sweet realities be understood if this is not the case?

  Anna also knew all this. She knew that life goes like this. But how did she explain her heart? On the other hand, she also knew that if she did not take care of herself, what would happen to her children? Millions of billions of people have died even before Cooper. Even those who are left without them have somehow compromised with the situation. So she cannot compromise her life for her children! Thinking about all this, she somehow controlled herself and participated in the upheavals of life, albeit with helplessness. Time continued its journey.

But for Anna, there were still many arrows left in the quiver of time and this also happens. It was not yet spring that Angela married a man from Rhode Island and went to live with him. Anna compromised this time too.

  After that, it was Mary's turn. She also married a young man from Sini Soma and left Anna's life forever. Now she was left with only Bailey in such a big house. Bailey whom she trusted so much. He too could not support her for long. And went to another city to study.

  Anna felt that as long as Cooper was alive, the house was like a green tree with birds nesting on its branches. But Cooper's death has turned this tree into a frozen tree. And the birds that settled on it were flying one by one. She was radiant just by having Cooper around. And after Cooper left, Anna was all alone. She had no one in such a big house. 

She did not understand what she would do now. Waking up alone in the morning, having breakfast on the table, then thinking about how to spend the rest of the day. She didn't have anyone. Is life so bitter? The room that heard laughter. Where every day there was some kind of ceremony. Where children's and wedding anniversaries were held, gifts were given, and music played. Now it was completely silent, undisturbed, and cold.

  The weather was similar. There was no reduction in the manifestations of nature. Night and day would alternate in the same way. Spring used to come and go like this. In the fall, the galling process continued as before, but for Anna, everything had changed. The clock on the wall had been closed for some time now and there was no one to key it.

 Now small things started to attract attention, which in the hustle and bustle of life, one never gets time to pay attention to. Even the familiar walls of this house were starting to feel unfamiliar to her. Earlier she used to feel safe and sheltered between these walls. But now these walls rush to cut. 

She had learned that all the seasons happen within a person. They do not exist outside. If a man is happy and his heart is calm, even the scorching sun looks good. Otherwise, even the pleasant weather starts to feel like punishment.

It was her routine in Cooper's life that after Cooper went to the office, she would sit by the phone with a cup of coffee and talk to her acquaintances and friends for hours. They were also waiting for her call. But now it seemed that neither of them had time. Everyone was so busy that they could not talk to Anna and anyway, who had so much free time to entertain a lonely woman? A man has hundreds of things to do. Anna was not important to them.

  Frustrated by friends and acquaintances, she started calling her two daughters in turn. They were also very happy to talk to her. Inquiring about her well-being. Explain their situation. But after a few days, their engagements also increased. Although neither of them had said anything to Anna. But she had realized that like friends and acquaintances, her daughters also had no time. They were now in their own homes with their respective husbands. Where did they have the leisure to talk to their old and lonely mother? They had to do hundreds of tasks throughout the day.

  And in such a case how long could they talk to their mother and take care of her? Anna was very shocked but she also endured it. Angela and Mary were right. After all, they have their own lives. And what right does Anna have to poison her bad luck in their life full of happiness?

  Only Dr. Jacob was left among Anna's sympathizers. With whom she could talk from the heart. He also listened to her very carefully and gave her useful advice. For the past few days, she felt that the topic of Dr. Jacob's conversation has become somewhat different. He would now try to make Anna realize how difficult it is for a woman to live alone. Human nature also has some requirements. And when misfortune leaves one alone, one should not despair. Rather, maintain contact with this world.

Anna was not stupid. She understood the purpose of the doctor's words. Why does he say such things? ! The doctor advised her for a second marriage in subdued words and gestures, and she herself knew how impossible this task was for her. She couldn't imagine anyone but Cooper. He was still alive for it.

  She still managed Cooper's belongings. She kept looking carefully at his shoes in her hands. Once she found Cooper's torn socks. While sewing these socks, she had also forgotten that Cooper was no longer in this world. She was feeling so happy in this work that she would have got such happiness after many days. She would still wake up in the morning and take out Cooper's suit and tie and put it on the bed as if Cooper was in the bathroom. And go out to wear a dress and go to the office, then when she remembers that the person who used this dress is no more, her eyes fill with tears.

  At that time she remembered her promise to Cooper. She had said that she would not survive without him. And now life was being lived without him. The only way she could meet Cooper was to commit suicide. She also had sleeping pills. She had counted the pills several times. But she was only afraid that her attempt might fail. She was only afraid of her failure and did not have the courage to face the doctors and hospitals in case of failure. Sleeping pills usually failed suicides.

  Another method after sleeping pills was to use a blade. But this method was painful and had a high failure rate. The condition was that the blade should be used exactly right. Blade suicide was generally ineffective. The injured were brought to the hospital and bandaged. Because the blade wound didn't seem deep. 

Apart from this, there was a lot of pain in this procedure. But Anna didn't care about the pain. After Cooper, the feeling of sadness and happiness was gone. She just had to get to Cooper, she knew he would be sad without her. If God didn't kill her with Cooper, then she had to arrange her own death. What was necessary was a long period of waiting for a natural death to be spent without Cooper.

She went into the bathroom looking for a blade. Here, Cooper's shaving equipment was stocked. But despite searching, she could not find any blade. She was surprised, then it occurred to her that such things must have been removed from the house during the days of her madness. 

These people had eliminated her chances of suicide by their own calculations. But Anna still had many other options. Her hands and feet were not paralyzed yet. She could have gone to the market herself to get a pack of blades. And now there was no one else in that house except her, so no one could stop her from committing suicide.

  She came out of the bathroom and entered the room. There was a calendar on the wall. She fixed her gaze on the calendar. It was a strange experience for her that the day of death was in her control. She could smile at the date she wanted to die. 

Then she chose the twenty-third of December as the date of her death because it was Cooper's birthday and she wanted to reach him right on his birthday. She chose a date two weeks later for another reason. She still had a lot of work to do and she hoped to complete all her work in these two weeks.

  She did not want to die leaving any work unfinished. There were a lot of bills to pay. The things scattered in the house had to be kept in order. A new will was to be drawn up and letters were to be written to Angela, Mary, and Bailey. To arrange Bailey's education expenses for the next four years, to write letters to her and Cooper's mother. After that, she had to die. With great silence without telling anyone. It was her and Cooper's case. They both were going to meet very soon. And she did not want anyone to know the secret of this meeting.

  Now the waiting for counting the days has started. She felt as if a child had been promised chocolates and toys on a certain date. And that child is waiting for the day to pass with great eagerness and anxiety. In Cooper's life, she was always complaining that time passes very quickly. But now time had reduced its speed very much, time was passing very slowly and imperceptibly.

 She would get up every morning and stand in front of the calendar. And when she would realize that there are still a few days left on the twenty-third date, her eyes would go blank.

  Then one morning her friend Lizzy came to her. Only six days were left on the twenty-third date. She entered the house calling her. Anna was preparing coffee in the kitchen at that time when the call bell rang with full force and she was shocked by the sound. Her heart was beating loudly. Such a bell had rung once before. And her peaceful life had been revolutionized and even today that bell was ringing in the same way.

  Anna had covered the distance from the kitchen while running. Lizzy entered as soon as she opened the door. She was used to talking without stopping. And that morning too, she started talking as soon as she saw Anna.

  "Here, my dear sister, how can I tell you what trouble I'm in? The whole office has got the flu these days. Everyone is sick. And I need your help. You have to come with me. And I'm not ready to listen to any excuses. I know you type very well. And I also know you have nothing to do these days but stay at home all day. sitting sad

Now quickly pick up your hat and purse. And come with me, I'm late anyway."

  "No Lizzy, it's too hard," Anna said. "You leave me alone. Go find someone else."

  "Don't talk crazy. Lizzy said.

 “I can't go with you now. I've come too far. Don't try to bring me back." said Anna.

   "I said you have to come with me. And there is a limit to being sad. As long as a man lives, he has to meet the demands of life. That's why you have to come with me now. Days of your sadness and loneliness passed. Now I will drag you to life.”

 Anna refused a lot but Lizzy did not agree. Finally, Anna agreed to go with her but with the condition that she will return after a few hours.

 Lizzy was the superintendent of a welfare organization. This institution used to provide children to the childless and homeless children who were brought up here.

  "I'm taking you with me because I need your help," Lizzy said on the way.

  "Otherwise, I know that this job is completely new to you. And you will also have a little trouble."

  After coming to her office, Anna realized how busy it is. People come and go. Constantly ringing the telephone, girls sitting in the waiting room. Among other things, Lizzy asked her to type the data of these girls. No one actually came to that office that day. Everyone went on vacation together, and Lizzy had brought Anna with her because of that. The experience of talking to these girls was also new and strange for Anna.

  "Your father's name."

  "I do not know ." Answered.

  "Don't you have any idea?"

  "I don't understand what the father's name has to do with this matter?"

  "The connection is that by collecting data like this, we can find out the family background. And we know which people we are giving children to raise.

  That was one aspect. Apart from this, there are thousands of such things that are asked. Anna felt that the girl must have really lost her mind. At noon someone brought sandwiches but she didn't have enough time to eat them. This work continued till nine o'clock at night. The work was finished when she passed out at nine o'clock at night, exhausted. Lizzy had brought her back and told her that night that she would be there at eight-thirty the next morning to collect her, and Anna was urged to be ready.

  After that, it became a daily routine. Lizzy would come to pick her up every morning and Anna would get busy as soon as she went to the office. There used to be heaps of problems with her which she used to solve. These problems were not hers but those of others and during these engagements, she realized that time had passed very quickly and December 23rd had passed and she was still alive.

h the condition that she would return after a few hours.

This feeling created a wave of happiness within her. Life was indeed a very good thing. The only condition is that it should be lived decently. Ending one's own life was nothing but foolishness. And these office engagements saved her from this folly.

  Life was starting to look as attractive as before, now even the memory of Cooper was like looking through the mists. His memories were beginning to fade. Now when she saw a picture of him, tears would not come to her eyes, but a slight feeling of pain would be felt, and that too for some time, then this feeling would also disappear. And she would get busy with household chores. She also sewed new clothes. And now she started using lipstick too. She used to decorate her hair too. Life had drawn her with great force. And now she had turned back on her way to death.

  The situation was that a married couple had adopted a child from Lizzy's agency. Then these people went to New York. And now after a few months, this institution received a letter from that woman. She had written that those people could not accept the responsibility of sustenance of that child. Because these people came to Texas from New York and the husband died soon after coming here. After the death of her husband, this woman got married again. And that new husband was not ready to have this child with him. It was a delicate situation and there could be legal complications. That's why Lizzy decided to send Anna there immediately.

  Anna's flight arrived in Dallas early in the morning. After coming to her hotel, she took a bath, had breakfast, and left to meet the concerned people. Eight hours were spent on this matter. She did as much work as she could in those eight hours and then returned to her hotel. After coming to the hotel, she called Lizzy and informed her about the situation of the day. Then take a bath and lie on the bed.

Her efforts in this child's case were in vain. The two lawyers who were appointed by these people seemed to be people of such low and cheap nature. Anna was getting annoyed with them. One of them was very impolitely keeping one foot on a table while talking to Anna. While the other was constantly moving his belly. Anna had never seen so many rude people in her life. And the unfortunate thing was that both of them were lawyers.

  Anna had been to Texas many times before. But she never came alone. Cooper used to be with her and his presence always made her feel safe. She knew that the people living here were rude and ill-tempered. These are the people who did not know how to respect women. But at that time she did not feel any fear of these people. Because Cooper was with her. And their rude behavior was not only with Anna. Rather, their mood was like that.

  "I don't understand why these people do this.

She used to ask Cooper.

  "That's because these people are still children mentally," Cooper would reply. "But such dangerous children who go to great lengths to imitate adults.

   And she was alone in a city of such dangerous children. She didn't even have Cooper with her to encourage her. She lay on the bed thinking for a long time and then came and stood near the window. Her room was on the twenty-second floor of the hotel. And from here the whole city seemed to be spread like a carpet in front of her eyes. The road was passing below. Thousands of vehicles were running on it. Thousands of people were coming from here and there. And even though she was so crowded, she was feeling immense loneliness. Her heart was wishing that someone was with her at that time. Someone she could talk to. She was wishing there was a home she could go to right now where there was peace. There are children. There is a husband. There are joys. Her husband was looking at her with loving eyes and praising her. The children were playing in the other room, making noise. Then suddenly there was a flash in Anna's mind. Someone was missed. Conard.

Anna's classmate lived in the same city. This is a matter of time before Anna was seventeen years old and Conard will be about eighteen. And at that time, Conard was very important to Anna.

He was an idol, he was the love of her, Her thought, and they both swore to live together. From each other, there were vows that could go in such an emotional age.

 And then Cooper entered Anna's life

And with the arrival of Cooper, her romance with Conrad ended. Cooper had alienated her from everyone. But this accident did not have a bad effect on Conrad. Life continues to travel in the same way. After a few days, he befriended another girl who was studying in his class.

  And now Anna could not remember the name of this girl. It was a strange name. Well, she was a healthy and energetic girl. Her hair was dark red and her name was Arminsti. It was a strange name but Anna called her Armina for her convenience. Within a year, Conrad had married Armina and they had moved from New York to Dallas. She picked up the telephone directory from her bedside. She had no trouble finding Conard's number. He had now become a doctor. He always said that his desire is to become a doctor. And he had become a doctor. The directory listed numbers for both his clinic and his home.

  Should she call Conrad? why not! Why did she miss Conard after all? ! Because she was feeling lonely. She looked at the clock. At that time it was half past five in the evening. She dialled the number of Conard's clinic and a girl's voice came from the other end.

   "Hello, this is Dr. Conard's clinic. What can I do for you?"

  "Is the doctor there?" Anna asked.

  "Yes, but he is very busy at the moment." May I ask your name?"

  "Can you tell the doctor that Anna Greenwood has called," Anna asked.

  "You tell me your number. I will tell him."

  Anna put the receiver back and lay down on the bed again. At that time she was thinking of Conard. How has he become in such long years? Time puts so much dust on the shining faces that the faces are not recognized. She remembered that Conrad used to be handsome like a Greek god in those days. His personality captivated the viewers.

At the same time, he was an extremely polite, sophisticated, and decent human being. He had never tried to go beyond the limit in his relationship with Anna. Always kept a distance. And that's why he was still remembered by Anna. She could not forget him. Reasonable and civilized people are remembered at every turn of life.

  She was thinking about Conrad when the phone rang. She quickly picked up the receiver. On the other hand was Conard. She recognized his voice immediately.

  "Anna, what a pleasure to have you in our town at this time," Conard said.

His voice was also shaking with happiness.

  "God's refuge, how many years has it been?"

  "Yes – it's been a long time, Conrad," Anna spoke.

  "And how many revolutions have taken place in the meantime? Well, I have only been here till yesterday. I came for work. And now I am going back. After Cooper's death, I devoted myself to social work." 

  "Armina is fine. We only have one son. And yours."

  "Three children," Anna replied. "Two girls and a boy."

  "Look, Anna, there's one last patient left in my clinic. I've dealt with it on my way to you. You do that, come down to the bar and sit down. I'll be back in half an hour."

  After hanging up the phone, Anna entered the bathroom. She wanted to freshen up and meet her old friend. After bathing, she started changing her clothes. Then she got the idea of Dr. Jacob. Who always advised him to return to life. If Dr. Jacob found out that she had met an old friend, afraid of loneliness, he might even start congratulating her. Because according to him, the meaning of a healthy life was that a man should be attracted to his opposite sex. He believed that after becoming a widow, a woman should mentally prepare herself for remarriage. He used to say the same about men. He believed that there are certain strong emotions in the human body that if they are tried to be suppressed, can prove to be very harmful to the mind and health.

The idea of Dr. Jacob came to Conard again. He asked to get it within half an hour. And now it was about half an hour. She wore clothes quickly, reviewed herself in the mirror, and reached the hotel bar. Where the Conard was already. His eyes were on the elevator. They both moved toward each other and stepped closer to each other. Both had smiles on their lips. But Anna felt that there was no spontaneity in the Conard style. In fact, there was a formal style. He shook Anna's hand in his hand and shook loudly and spoke in a lost voice.

  "Very happy to meet you. Come on."

   They both came around a table and sat down. After a long meeting, each other feels like a stranger. Anna looked around. The barroom of this hotel was the same as the barroom of every hotel. Slowly slow light, cushions with the walls, the waiters coming around, both were just looking at each other. Meanwhile, a waiter approached the table and stood up.

Conard ordered the waiter to bring drinks, knowing Anna's choice. Then he looked at Anna and said,

  "Anna, you are as charming as before today." There was nothing special in this phrase. It was not an expression of any sentiment. It was just a common thing.

  "And you are like before." Anna also said. Anna's voice was also flat.

But she could not live without appreciating Conard's personality in her heart. Time did not treat him badly. His Skin was the same. His eyes were as bright as before. And his beauty had not changed.

They both talked for a long time. Conard described himself as one of the best-known doctors in the city these days. Anna was delighted to hear of his success. Then the waiter arranged the desired drinks on a tray and placed it on their table. Conard said to Anna after the waiter left.

  "Will you take my advice?"

  "Why not. You are my friend, tell me."

  "You stop drinking this gin," he said.

  "Why ?"

  "This wine is not suitable for women," he said. "It creates a lot of complications. It has a significant impact on internal systems.

  Anna slowly smiled. She had been consuming the same liquor for the past twenty years. She asked Armina to change the subject.

  "We are both divorced," Conard said.

  "What?" Anna was surprised to hear this.

  "What are you saying? She was a very beautiful girl. What happened?"

  "A lot had happened," Conard replied.

  "Our marriage only lasted two years. Then we separated. We have a son. She took him back to New York with her. He's twenty now. And he only visits me once a year. "This is my life."

  "What kind of boy is he?" Anna asked. "I mean his temperament and so on."

  "Very good-natured. But how ironic it is that I know so little about him. Although he is my child. Nevertheless, after my separation from Armina, I never married again. And now I am alone till now. Now I have told you everything about myself, now you tell me.

   Then very slowly Anna also told him everything about herself. All the circumstances since Cooper's death. Her state of mind when she thought of suicide. She told everything from using sleeping pills to the idea of killing herself with a blade.

She had not hidden anything from Conard. And it seemed so good to tell Conard all this. The frozen ice between them was now melting. There was a sparkle in the eyes of both of them. Both of them were sharing in each other's pain.

  After Anna had fallen silent, Conard looked at her with deep eyes for a while before he said slowly.

  "Your misfortune is from nature. These circumstances have made you like this. But it is your responsibility to destroy me."

   Anna looked at him in surprise. "What are you saying?"

  "Yes. You can imagine how much I loved you. I dreamed of a better life with you. I thought you would become my wife. But what happened? You married someone else. And I was broken. I didn't express my condition before but my nerves were destroyed. In that mental disturbance, I married a girl like Armina. The result was this. That today I am left in a state of despair. And all this has happened because of your mistake, Ana."

  "But Conrad, you think that was the time of our childhood. At that time, consciousness was not so mature. It is an emotional age. But it is not necessary to marry the one with whom one dreams. And now anyway this story is over."

  "I am sorry, Anna, that I have said all this. Please forgive me for my insanity.

  An imperceptible wall of silence was established between the two of them. Many men came to this barroom. Many tables were filled and the low whispers of people turned into noise. Anna's mind was thinking a lot at that time. Maybe she shouldn't have met Conard. This person was telling the story of his love after so many years. While Anna had loved only one person in her entire life and that was her husband Cooper. She did not know anyone except Cooper.

All of her grandeur, all of her happiness, all of her warmth, were dedicated to Cooper alone. He was a person who lived in her solitude.

Who had brought her close to him thousands of times. And now what was Conard thinking, telling her his story? After all, how could she rate this person as a Cooper? How could she hold him close to her the way she had held her husband Cooper close to her?

  Once Dr. Jacob had said this while advising her to lead a healthy life. He said that the natural demands should not be suppressed. Rather, they should be respected and their physical requirements should be met in a healthy manner. Because the real secret of health is hidden in these things. And if this is not done, conflict arises between the mind and the heart. And this conflict destroys the nerves. The mind becomes scattered. And the ability to think and understand is lost.

  "What are you thinking?" Conard addressed her.

  "nothing ." Anna was shocked.

  "It's the same when I drink too much. I'm getting dizzy now too.

  "Oh." Conard pursed his lips.

  "Then let's go. Let me take you to your room."

   Anna remained silent. Conard paid the bill and held Anna's arm to support her. She was staggering while walking. She felt as if the whole hotel was floating before her eyes. What a strange feeling. Such a situation had never happened before, perhaps it was the effect of Conard's closeness. Or anything else, however, she could not explain her condition. Conard carried her to the elevator. Inside the elevator, they both became closer to each other. Anna felt as if a volcano had erupted inside her. What a feeling it was. Dr. Jacob was right. Are there really some demands of human emotions that do not diminish even with the passage of time?

  Conrad brought her to her room. After reaching the room, he closed the door. He brought Anna to the bed and sat on a chair in front of her.

Anna was feeling great at the moment. But she could not say that this condition was happening only by seeing Conard. Or so it happens to every man. Is a man indispensable to a woman? Whoever it is. Be it her husband or her lost lover or someone whom she has never seen. Do all relationships revolve around this one passion?

  Whatever happened, Conard was sitting in front of her and he was looking very nice. And he was the most handsome man anyway. Beautiful like a Greek god. She felt that Conard's eyes were fixed on her as if she were not a human but a wolf. A wolf who has seen his prey in front of him. His lips were shaking slowly. He wanted to say something. But he didn't say it, and for some reason, Anna felt like she knew what Conard was going to say. Every woman knows what men say on such occasions.

  Then Conard came and sat on her bed. He took her hand in his. His heat was melting Anna.

  "You're still so beautiful Anna," Conard said. what Anna had been waiting for.

   She took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

  "You're still so beautiful Anna." This sentence was heard again but this sentence was not played by Conard. Rather, it echoed in Anna's mind, and that voice was that of her husband, her lover, her god Cooper. He used to say the same thing to Anna.

  "Cooper." She called out to him in her heart. Where are you? I need you right now, Cooper! I am looking for you.

  "Anna .” Conard addressed her. Now, what are you thinking about coming here? Just close your eyes."

  Anna opened her eyes. A stranger was now sitting in front of her. A complete stranger who also wanted to take Cooper's memories away from her. She shouldn't have sat with such a ruthless person.

"Get out of here." She suddenly shouted. I am completely fine now. You go from here."

  "What are you talking about?" Conard looked at her with surprise. What happened to you? You were just fine.

"I told you to get out of here." Ana got off the bed. Although her feet were wobbly, somehow she managed herself.

  "What happened to you?" Conard asked. You may not be conscious."

  "No. I am now fully conscious. Rather more conscious than before." Anna said.

Conard wanted to get up from the bed and walk towards her. But she ran to the bathroom. She had locked the door from inside. Conard stood by the bathroom door. He slowly knocked on the door. Shout out to Anna. But she didn't open the door. After a while, Conrad realized what was happening inside. His eyes burst with fear and terror. He then called Anna. This time there was a grunt in response. A grunt that comes from the throat of a slaughtered animal. Conard realized that Anna had started killing herself with a sharp object in the bathroom. She had told Conard that she had planned to kill herself with a blade many times, and now she might have followed through on it.

  Conard was afraid and then called out to Anna. Snoring was heard in response. Conard moved away from the door. He understood his position. His being found here could have been a cause of infamy for him now. He fixed the knot of his tie, looked at himself in the mirror in the room and went out of the room.

  The snoring echoing in the bathroom of the room had now stopped. Cooper had called his wife. They both could not live without each other.

THE END