Time seemed slow and merciless, as if every moment was filled with a heavy, suffocating tension. Edward stood there, unable to move, and felt his life slowly slipping out from under him. Darkness seemed to engulf his soul, and with every step he took, he was drowning more and more in the merciless past. He knew it was useless to run anymore.
He tried to hide. How far had he gotten? Maybe a few more steps forward and things would be different? But it was only an illusion, created by his thoughts, which were desperately searching for a way out. Edward had long ago realized that time does not heal. It only silences it, hides it, and only when its dark shadows returned did it come out. He thought his crimes were part of the past, but he was deceived. The sad truth was that his own mistakes were like poisonous molds that continued to eat away at him despite his attempts to forget.
Clouds were gathering on the horizon like a tame storm. Unable to fight this inner whirlwind, he felt his life like a thin thread being snatched from his fingers. He had to face those he had once betrayed, those who were now his judges. He had once run from them, thinking they were only part of his torment. Now, however, he knew that no one could hide from what was connected to his essence, to his very soul.
They were here. They had come. It was a moment he dreaded. But he knew there was no point in resisting. He was surrounded. These people whose lives he had ruined, whose destinies he had changed forever, stood before him, ready to bring his retribution.
Among them was Lisa, the woman he had once loved, who now looked at him with coldness and determination. She stood just ahead, like a commander in this ominous court. Edward felt her gaze piercing through him, as if she could see everything that lurked in his heart. He was ready to face whatever brought his soul to this moment. With whatever was piercing him into the darkest corners of his being.
– Are you ready, Edward? – her voice was quiet, but there was a threat in it that seemed to drive him crazy.
She didn’t say the threat directly. But she knew. He knew. He couldn’t back down. This was the end of him, the end of the days he’d hoped he could forget. He’d thought he’d chosen the right path, walking away from his actions, but he’d been wrong.
He was silent. What could he say? No matter how many excuses he put forward, no matter how many attempts he made to justify his actions, he knew that in front of them was his agony, his judgment, and his own confession.
His legs couldn’t move, but everything in his head was spinning. Darkness consumed his thoughts. But even in this chaos, he realized that the only way left now was acceptance. He couldn’t run away. He couldn’t hide. This was his punishment – and he had to go through it.
The past would not let go.
