Facets of Impermanence

Changed

"Oh my gosh...What have I done? How could I have hurt her so deeply?" Karl grilled himself. Only 2 weeks ago had Kyra and he agreed to convene at the most sacred of ceremonies but now he had hurt her so badly that the relationship seemed beyond repairs.

Liberated from his addictions, Karl and his renewed image caught the nation's attention as the prodigal son had finally returned home. With his fortunes on the up, Karl rejuvenated his music career, vowing to keep strictly to the straight path this rime round. His re-captured fame catapulted him to the upper echleons of stardom and soon he had to grace many high-profile functions. Despite all his commitments and his loss of quiet, he never neglected Kyra nor so much as not include her in his daily routine. Their relationship remained strong and wedding preparations steamed ahead.

However, with all the glitz, fame and fortune, Temptation brought Karl frequently to have a drink. It first began with an obligatory drink for socializing but soon unraveled into a drinking binge almost everyday. Though he used to drink to drown his sorrows, now he could not rid himself of the longing for the bottle even if he didn't have a reason to drink. Slowly, Karl began to return home inebriated until one certain night he did not return at all.

One night became two and two to four. His disappearances became frequent and normal. Kyra who at the beginning tried to understand Karl's position began to start questioning Karl. No matter how famous he was, it was no reason to return home in a drunken stupor or sometimes never at all! Promises to stop were made and broken as fast as Karl could down a Martell. Sooner or later, it was going to lead to a confrontation. And a confrontation it was.

Karl stumbled home wasted as usual but only this time he had the audacity to carry a bottle home. Razor-sharp words were fired, accusations shot and, in the midst, one befuddled hand was raised and astutely exploded across Kyra's face. A man who was so loving, so understanding, a man who she had helped raise from the ashes, a man who never before so much as raised his voice towards her had reminded her how cruel love can be. With that slap which brought excessive physical pain, her heart fragmentized into smithereens with the multifold emotional hurt.

She had no choice. She could tolerate it no longer. For the second time in her life, the second man she loved had abused her, perhaps not always physically but definitely emotionally. She made her decision and resolved to walk away, no matter how much it would hurt her to tear herself away from Karl. And, silently, she walked away, trying desperately to erase her existence from Karl's life.