BOTH SIDES OF FATE

CHAPTER 2 = RICHARD.

Richard woke up with a smile on his face, the same smile he always had when he saw Mary asleep by his side. For the next few minutes he watched her sleep, wondering what he had done to deserve a girl like her. For Mary was beautiful in every sense of the word. Her slender fame and lovely curves, spotless skin and a face fit for a beauty queen, Mary looked like Helen of troy {the Greek legendary epitome of beauty} to him. But if she was beauty, he was the beast. A line he had used on one of his shows being a standup comedian.
Richard was ugly, and he always felt the nicest people he met were those who simply said he was ugly {He had been called a lot worse}. But what he lacked in looks, he made up in his rich sense of humor. His main material was of course, his looks. He made jest of himself so much so that he got almost everyone around him laughing with him rather than at him. This tactic had helped him survive a world where looks seemed to matter most. Only three people in his entire life never had a bad remark about his looks offered to him, his mom, his best and only real friend Desmond and of course, Mary.
Lying next to her, he knew they ought to have been worlds apart. As he watched her sleep he remembered how they met…
It was at a show he had performed. She had walked up to him and requested for his autograph. Spell bound by her beauty, he had unwittingly frozen speechless. She had noticed his reaction and smiled at him, and then she held his hand, and asked him if he would like to go on a date with her. He hadn’t fully recovered from the shock of a girl as beautiful as Mary asking him of his autograph when she offered him a date with her. Even till this moment he hadn’t yet made sense of that day and it still seemed as though he was dreaming. That was 5 months ago, and ever since then he had worshipped the very floor she walked on.
Desmond never seemed to like her though and they never got along. Desmond told him she was unfaithful and had cheated on him on many occasions, and that he had run into her at some odd places but he felt Desmond was just jealous of him, at least that was what Mary made him believe.
Just yesterday they had a quarrel {the first time himself and Desmond ever had a seemingly serious quarrel}. He had told Desmond he planned to throw a surprise birthday party for her and needed Desmond’s help organizing it, but Desmond refused helping him out, and told him, he wouldn’t be a part of his friend’s attempt to waste his hard earned money on an unfaithful girl. He was furious and yelled at Desmond, causing him and threating to hit him if he ever called her unfaithful again. Desmond simply smiled and left.
Mary woke up to see him watching her sleep, she had been used to it by now and it was one of the things she loved the most about him. She knew he deeply appreciated her…
“Happy birthday boo”… and kisses her lips, “get ready we have got to catch an appointment”…
“Ohhh, must we go together? I still need some sleep”…
“Come on boo… it’s already past 10am”, and then pulls her to her feet.
Soon they were off, he had not told her he had planned for her a surprise birthday for her. They had gone to see a movie and as they stopped at an ATM machine, Richard got in to pull some cash, while Mary waited by the side of the road replying her social media birthday messages, then suddenly someone bumped into her, knocking her down, as he continues running. Richard, who had seen her fall as he got out of the ATM machine room, saw the crowd chase after the person and he rushes over to Mary {seeing she had sustained some minor injuries and smashed her phone screen}, picked up a short wood lying on the floor, shaped like a club, and ran with the crowd after the culprit, but on arriving at the scene where the crowd had caught up with the culprit then receives the greatest shock he had ever had… for the victim was Desmond.
Richard stood in shock, club in hand as the mob attack Desmond with brute venom…
His first instincts were to jump in, attacking Desmond’s attackers but he knew that the mob would swiftly turn their force on him…
What had Desmond done to warrant such violent attack? How could he save his friend from these people?
Then something terrible happened… suddenly his eyes met Desmond’s and he realizes Desmond seeing him (club in hand), had perhaps thought him as one of his assailers… but before he could let go of the club someone had smashed Desmond skull with an iron rod…
NOOOOO!!!!
He watched Desmond’s head drop and he knew he had lost his friend. He unwittingly tries to dive in and save his friend but Mary who had been standing beside him (reading his intensions) stops him…
“You are going to get yourself killed” then she pulls him into her arms… Tears poured down his eyes and he found himself crying uncontrollably...“Not Desmond”…
Soon the sound of sirens broke through the crowd and sends the mob into frenzy as they ran in every direction, avoiding the police from holding anyone, culprit. Mary pulls him as she made her way, away from the scene…
“We have to leave, come on... there’s nothing you can do anymore” …
He turns and sees Desmond’s lifeless body … the crowd, having cleared now revealed the horror of the event that had just occurred. Clothes ripped, blood gusting form his skull and countless bruises all over… only now it donned on him, Desmond was dead and gone forever.
Just yesterday, they had had a misunderstanding and he had spoken rudely to Desmond…
Now Desmond lay dead and he hadn’t had the chance to apologize. No doubt Desmond perhaps died thinking he had attacked him as well…
“I’m so sorry my friend, so so sorry… please forgive me.”
“Goodbye brother, goodbye friend”…
As they leave and the police arrives the scene he notices a woman just arriving the scene…
“STOP, STOP” “He’s innocent… he’s innocent” he seemed to hear her scream, and then she sees Desmond’s body on the floor and starts crying… he stops and watches as she drops down besides his body…
“What have you done” she spoke to no one in particular, “It wasn’t him”… and she cried profusely
What had she just said? Who is this woman? What does she know about what just happened? He thought to himself…
His mind was clouded, half in shock and the other in guilt… could he have done anything? Was it really Mary who stopped him or his cowardice?
Desmond may still be alive if he had been braver… and this strange woman, what had she meant when she said he was innocent?
Still tears flowed freely down his eyes, and as he takes a turn, still being pulled by Mary.
“I have to know the truth”
“I have to meet this woman”.
Nothing has ever seemed this important to him, still being dragged along he is already sketching his next moves.

To be continued...