The Hidden

Chapter 25 - [Forgiving]

Meenu couldn’t stop crying. No matter what anyone said to her, she just couldn’t stop crying.

     Blood was Avaryn.

     He had lied to her.

     Tricked her even.

     And not to mention all those memories he had locked away in her own mind.

     How was that fair to her?

     All these years of people staring at her and criticizing her and treating her badly… she had always thought that it was all her fault. But it wasn’t. She never did anything wrong.

     Her brother and mother had returned home with her, while her father had to go and sort things out with the army. And as much as they tried to console her, nothing worked.

     Even Knight’s caresses did nothing to make her feel better.

     Soon, she asked to be alone and she was left alone. Except for Knight who, as always, refused to leave her side.

     So she sat at her desk, staring at her bow.

     After the recent turn of events, everything came back to her. Everything.

     This bow… she always loved it for some reason. Now she knew why.

     Avaryn had given it to her as a gift.

     He taught her how to shoot an arrow, and he saw how much she enjoyed doing it that he got this bow custom made for her.

     When she was a child, it was too big… but Avaryn had promised her that one day, when she was old enough and knew how to shoot an arrow, she could use this to fight off the bad people.

     That was why she loved this bow.

     And even Knight…

     Knight was also a gift from Avaryn. He had given Knight to her after finding him abandoned in the forest. He told her that no one would be able to take better care of him then she would.

     Everything was coming back to her.

     As Meenu continued to stare at the bow, tears still streaming down her face, she heard a knock at the door.

     Her mother didn’t wait for her to respond before opening the door. “My love…” Her mother started. “We need to talk.”

     Though Meenu didn’t respond to her, her mother still walked into her room.

     She knelt down next to Meenu and watched her for a long moment before she spoke. “You mustn’t be sad, my love.” She finally said.

     When Meenu didn’t say anything, her mother continued. “I know you must feel betrayed right now… but… something I can promise you is that…” She took a deep breath, wondering if it was wise to say what she wanted to say. And after another moment of thinking, she decided to just say it. “I can promise you, Meenu, that he loved you. Truly. That was not a lie.”

     “How do you know that?” Meenu asked, her voice quiet. “How could you be sure?”

     “Because your father and I know him. We’ve known him since he was a child and he is not a bad man.”

     “He’s the reason why papa limps.”

     “And your father holds no grudge against him for that.” Her mother said. “And in all honesty, he did that partly so that your father wouldn’t stop him from seeing you.”