The sunlight hits my eyes .

  The sound of ticking of clock was echoing in the room .

  My eyes opened and I saw the ceiling of my room .

  I calmly stood up and walked to the bathroom .

  After brushing , I turned on the tap and while washing my face. The sound of running tap kept increasing .It was as if I am near a waterfall .

  I got scared and opened my eyes in hurry ,looked in the mirror and found myself staring in the mirror.

  I splashed water over my face and looked in the mirror and bloodstains were all over my face.

  I splashed water over my face again . They were still there . Why were they not going?

  Suddenly my chest got heavy and I wanted to cry . I was feeling something . I couldn't tell what it was . Burnout ? grief? or may be loneliness.

  I kept on staring and suddenly I stopped and walked out of bathroom.

  I stood in front of a room and with a smile on his face opened the door.

  " Who is my little princess ? "

  " 5 more minutes "

  And my beautiful daughter was sleeping on the bed .

  I walked to her and knocked on her forehead

  " Hello ? Anyone there ? Hello "

  " Come on dad , stop , stop , i am up "my daughter said laughingly .

  I lifted her up .

  " Time for you to get ready to go to school "

  " I don't want to "

  " Why ? "

  " I just don't want to "

  Putting her down, I put my index finger on her nose.

  " If you go to school today ,then on the weekend we will go to the amusement park. "

  " Really dad ? " She jumped in joy and ran to the bathroom to get ready .

  looking at her , I smiled and walked to kitchen and stood there .

  After thinking for a few seconds, I grabbed the eggs and cracked them.

  In mere minutes I made omelets . Not to brag but I am kind of a big deal . Once someone eats a meal I prepare, they can't go back to normal .

  So I served three plates on the dining table.

  Suddenly someone hugged me from behind.

  " Guess who it is? "

  " ummm , Mona?" I replied with a smirk on my face.

  And suddenly she started pinching me .

  " Ok, it's a relief you already have someone to lean on to."

  " I am sorry , I am sorry . I was joking"

  " Of course it would be you .Who else knows my house code and comes everyday shamelessly to eat " I continued.

  " I am your Girlfriend. Obviously, I will come to eat the garbage my future husband makes "

  I looked at her face and it looked like she quite enjoyed making fun of me .

  " So, do you want to talk about it ?" She asked me.

  " Yes "

  " What happened? " she said looking at me as if she was seeing through me.

  " I don't know , these past few days I have been feeling weird as if something is wrong"

  "Don't worry . It's ok. When you understand what is making you sad come to me ."

  just after saying this ,she hugged me .

  Suddenly our daughter hugged us too .

  " I wanna hug too " she said while hugging our legs .

  And both of us smiled .

  The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  " Hope I am not ruining a family moment " James said with his mouth scuffed with eggs.

  " Seriously James ? Seriously ? Come on dude just because you have the ability to pass through the walls you would invade others privacy ? " My girlfriend said in disbelief .

  " Yes Olivia , I love invading happy moments since I can't enjoy them myself " James replied

  While laughing I walked to him and grabbed his shoulder

  " We will have a nice chat later ,my UNDERLING "

  " He works under you dad ? "

  " Used to. " I replied with a smirk on my face .

  " Why did he work under you, dad ?"

  " Oh , that's because he is weaker and less intelligent than me ."

  And James punched me in the stomach.

  " See your dad didn't even flinch , that's how strong he is "

  " Enough goofing around and eat " Olivia, My wife commanded and everyone followed .

  I was quite happy because my best friend came to see me after god knows how long .

  We reminisced while eating food and after finishing it , James asked to go on a walk and I agreed.

  " You know how hard it was to manage the team after you suddenly decided to rest for weeks. I may be the leader but those idiots love you more ." I ranted.

  "Do you love me too ?" James replied in a girly voice.

  "No"

  "come on , say you love me and I will come back to duty."

  He could see my troubled face and I could see the eagerness on his face .Looking at his face made me want to punch it but I endured the urge and punched his stomach.

  "Hey"

  " Yeah "

  " I am thinking of quitting being a hero, olivia and I were discussing it a few days ago .what do you think ? "

  The air around us got cold and I felt I said something I shouldn't have .

  " Clive , I have something to tell you .

  When I said a few months ago that I want to take a leave , actually I wanted to quit being hero. Me and Aline talked about it since she is pregnant and need someone at home"

  " What ?Aline is pregnant ? Why didn't you tell me earlier ? "

  " Because I know you would make me quit being hero if you knew and it's not possible "

  "Why ? Why is it impossible? "

  " Because of the contract we signed with that devil company . They will do anything in their power to keep you working .

  I know they can go to any extent " and he was about to cry after saying that .

  Our eyes met .

  " Let me show you ." After saying this he started walking and I followed him quietly for now .

  He stopped and we were standing at his home .

  I don't know why but the way he was looking gave me creeps.

  " before going in , let me tell you a story . It's a story of a couple where the wife got cursed for the mistake of the husband .

  "After you sleep, you will forget everything - everyone. Even your husband."

  The wife stood frozen, her hands trembling as the words burrowed into her mind. Fear twisted inside her chest.

  She tried to resist sleep, clawing at every moment as though it might anchor her to him. But she was only human. Fragile. Mortal. Her body ached for rest, and exhaustion would not be denied.

  Before surrendering, she turned to her husband, eyes burning with despair.

  "I'd rather die than become a burden to you."

  He struck her cheek lightly with his hand, his own tears spilling.

  "Don't you dare say that. Don't you dare leave me. Now Sleep."

  So she obeyed - but not before covering her body with desperate reminders, each scrawled in trembling lines across her skin.

  He is your husband. Even if you forget, trust him. He is your everything.

  You love him. Do not lose it. And if you do, fall in love again.

  Even if memory dies, let love return.

  And then, through broken sobs, she clung to him.

  "This will be the last time you see me as I am. But know this: I love you. I have loved you every single day, and I will keep on loving you."

  The next morning, she woke with a scream, eyes wide, her gaze filled with terror at the stranger beside her.

  Her husband held her gently, showing her the words written across her body. He told her everything. She recoiled, unbelieving, until he opened their photo albums, pressing trembling fingers to the frozen smiles they had once shared.

  He laughed through tears, coaxing her to smile with him.

  By evening, her heart surrendered. She looked at him with wonder and whispered,

  "Even if I don't remember the past... I want to begin with you again."

  That night, they clung to one another, laughing and crying until sleep overcame them.

  But deep in the night, he woke up to a scream.

  His wife sat upright, trembling, eyes emptied of recognition.

  He told her again. She fell in love with him again. And by the next night, she had forgotten again.

  It has been ten months since that night.

  Every morning begins with fear.

  Every evening ends in love.

  Every night shatters with the same scream.

  And every day, he rebuilds her from nothing.

  She forgets him endlessly.

  But she falls for him endlessly too. "

  As he finished the story I realised , this was his story . 10 months ago he stopped coming to duty .

  Before I could say a word, he grabbed my hand and we entered the house.

  " I am home " as he said , I noticed her peeking through the room .

  " Come on , don't be like that . He is my bestfriend. Meet him please "

  And she walked to us shying .

  " Hello, uh its good to meet you . I am forgetting a few things so can you please tell me your name ? "

  We had talked a lot in the past .

  Whenever we met we always made fun of James and he would always get annoyed .

  A wave of sadness hit me and I couldn't even think how much James is suffering and was still smiling .

  We talked for a few hours and she slowly opened up to me too .

  As it was lunch time, he stood up and walked to the kitchen to cook and I followed him .

  " who did it ?"

  " The council" he replied without even looking at me .

  And I hugged him as tightly as I could.

  " You idiot, why didn't you tell me all this earlier . Do I mean nothing to you ?"

  " I wanted you to stay as far away from all this as you could because I am scared you will do something you shouldn't ...

  But today it was necessary to show you what will happen if you think of disobeying the council ."

  Our eyes locked .

  " You can cry . You have held on for far too long . "

  He started crying clinging to my shirt

  " I am scared Clive .

  I am scared .

  I don't know what to do , I ,I

  I don't know how long this can keep going.

  She is already refusing to believe me .

  yesterday when she woke up ,she refused to accept me even after I told her everything and showed the things written on her .

  She started screaming I wrote those things on her and am a mastermind who makes people go crazy and I was the reason she can't remember anything .

  I , I , I am at my breaking point .

  Sometimes I have thought about killing her in her sleep and then killing myself so that we can escape this hell"

  And he cried for a few more minutes . As he cried, I decided to do whatever it takes to fix this .

  We left the house after eating lunch .

  As I was leaving . I saw her waving goodbye to us with a wide smile and the thought that she will forget this made me sick to my stomach.

  And we walked away .

  " Don't do anything stupid . Please " James said looking at me .

  " You are hurt more than me . I will not do anything that will hurt you even more. I promise "

  As we walked , we ignored the issue. He was laughing like usual and making jokes like he normally does and respecting his wish of spending time normally .

  I reciprocated the vibe.

  And as the sun set . We bid our farewell and went home .