Twisted/Bended
This is a story about a man and a woman.
The man tried to love a woman.
The woman loved the man.
There wasn't anything special in the way they met.
It was a simple meeting between a priest and a believer. He heard the woman's confession and gave her, her penitence. She told the priest all of her sins, as few as they were, and followed his instructions.
After that he stood there.
After that she just left.
For him the meeting was unremarkable. For her the meeting was forgettable. And yet it was the first time they met.
After a week or so, the woman returned to the church. The priest welcomed her. He asked her what could he help her with. The woman answered that she just wanted to talk to him. The priest nodded and invited her into a room inside. In there the priest and the woman talked about various themes. Religion, way of life, illness, the way of God. The priest never questioned her. The woman never explained herself.
Satisfied, the woman excused herself. The priest watched her go.
That was their second meeting. It wasn't anymore special for the priest, but for the woman it was memorable.
The third time they met, it was in a hospital.
The priest was called to give the last rites to a dying patient. It was a job that he enjoyed, but he never showed it. It was something wrong with him that lead to his enjoyment. He was 'twisted,' as he enjoyed the suffering of others. Seeing the family's body language when they realized that the situation was hopeless was the moment he waited for.
The woman was there for a regular check up. She had a fatal disease. She had lost her right eye because to it. A medical patch now covered her eye. It was a natural progression of her illness and she had resigned to it.
The two of them met at the entrance of the hospital, the priest was stopped by the woman's yell. He was surprised to see her condition. The woman just smiled at him. The two of them walked out of the hospital. The woman joked about how meeting like that was fate. The man just stared at her. The woman laughed. With no common way to go home, both went the opposite ways.
The meeting was special for the man, as he had found another person who suffered.
The meeting was special for the woman, as she had found something to cling to.
Their fourth meeting was special. The man was in his church when the woman found him. The man welcomed her. He asked politely why she had come. The woman answered that she wanted to see him again. The man then offered his services as a priest. But the woman said that she had not visited the priest, but the man.
The man was perplexed. Why would someone want to meet him? His curiosity was piqued. And so the man, not the priest, decided to acceede to the woman's demand.
The man and the woman talked about non-important things. The woman was always smiling. The man simply followed her conversation. An hour or so later, the man stopped talking. It was not because he did not wish to continue, but he had duties to perform as a clergyman. The woman understood and nodded. The two said their farewells and the woman left the church.
The man finally felt something. It was interest. Every human wishes to love someone, have a family and die peacefully. That he knew. He held no such wish but the woman was attracted to him. He had known this after this meeting. Perhaps, he could give himself another try, another shot for what many call happiness.
The woman was interested in the man. She had made no attempt to hide it. She was sure the man had picked on it. But, she wondered, why was she interested on the man? Was it his body? She would admit that he was good looking, but that wasn't it. Perhaps it was his behavior? No, he was cold and distant, always focused on his duty. Was it his eyes filled with anguish and despair? ...Perhaps it was that.
Their fifth meeting was a short but important one.
He was leaving the hospital.
She was entering the place.
It was a short conversation of no more than a minute. But the woman had proposed to meet later. A date she had said. The man accepted with his usual polite demeanor. The woman had smiled and left. The man looked at her walk away and he went to the place he was asked to be.
And so came their first date.
It wasn't as romantic as a normal first date always is. There was no nervousness, no awkwardness on both parts. The man was as serious as he always was. The woman was as happy as she always was. The two of them just walked without destination, arms crossed together.
The man tried to imitate what he knew about what other people did in their dates. It wasn't awkward for him, it was just something he did mechanically. He did not get any joy out of doing it.
The woman was happy. Even though the man was not showing it, he was struggling to do what another couple did. That fact made her happy.
And so the night passed and the couple knew that they had to leave each other. The man decided to accompany the woman to her house. The woman tried to dissuade the man, but she couldn't do it. Sighing, the woman led the way toward her house.
As they arrived, the man noticed that she lived in a small apartment. The woman then explained that she was living alone. She had been alone for a while, since her parents had died and she did not know if she had any relatives.
The man saw the gaze of sadness on the woman. It was momentary of course, but he still saw it. And he took joy out of it.
The woman bid him good night with a kiss on the lips and then she ran toward her home. The man stood there perplexed. Had he felt joy out of the kiss, or was it the lingering feeling of her suffering? He could not answer the question and so he returned to his church.
After that, the woman visited the church more regularly, and the man received her.
There were times that the two of them talked about philosophical things.
There were times that they talked about the small things.
And there were times that they just enjoyed each other's company.
For the man, it was a new experience. Every time he saw her, he could see a glint in her eyes. He could not place that emotion of hers, but he clung to it. It was his last hope.
For the woman it was an exciting experience. Every time they saw each other, she could feel that the man acted different towards her. His eyes, previously filled with despair, now shone with a hint of hope on them.
And so the two of them continued like that for some months.
And then, the man did something unexpected.
He proposed to the woman.
It was his last chance. Perhaps she was what he was seeking his entire life. A person that had tried to help him.
It was the happiest moment of her life. She had given up on the average happiness of a normal woman. Her body was frail, and everyday she was thiner.
The woman accepted, crying.
The man found himself smiling. But he did not understand. Was he smiling because the woman had accepted? Or was he happy because of the suffering she would feel?
Their wedding was a quiet affair. The woman had no family. The man only had his father, which was the one who celebrated the wedding. The father congratulated the man.
It was a simple honeymoon too. It was something that would have been romantic for many others, but for the man was simply something he did not understand.
And so the man and the woman made love.
It wasn't something special for the man. He did not see the point to it. And yet he did so, for his borrowed dream required him to do so.
It was the most special night for the woman. She had never been caressed or touched like that. She had never dreamed of being able to be intimate with someone she loved.
After that their routine changed.
The woman started to sleep in the same bed that the man did. The woman made his food and helped him to take care of the church. She did so to repay his kindness.
The man accepted the woman's actions. It made him see her struggle with her weakened body. It was an enjoyable sight.
And so their life went on.
Until one day, the man confessed to her his distortion. He could only be happy by seeing someone else suffer. He had tried many things, but that was how he found happiness. He had done so with no regrets, expecting the woman to leave. Why had he had done so, he did not know. Perhaps it was regret over lying to her. Or perhaps he just wanted to see her face filled with despair.
But the woman accepted him with his distortion. She had known he had something wrong with him since they met each other, she confessed. And she had still accepted him. The woman then said that she had selfishly tried to help him, as if it was not known for the priest.
The man nodded and the woman hugged him. The woman did not see the disappointed face on the man. Why, he asked himself, had the woman not broken?
And so their life continued.
Until one day the woman grew weaker. She passed out while she was helping the man to clean the church. The man took her to the hospital as fast as possible.
It had been a long time since the woman had visited the place, the man realized. He waited for the doctor to tell him what had happened. The doctor congratulated the man as he announced that the woman was pregnant. The man accepted the congratulations and he felt happy. There was doubt in his heart as he wondered why he was happy. He had finally been blessed with a family. So there was no reason to feel like that.
And so the man and the woman's routine changed. The man looked out for the woman as the woman grew weaker. It was to be expected. She was already sick, and now, she wasn't even living for herself anymore.
With nothing of importance happening, nine months passed by.
It was the happiest moment for the woman. The happiness that she had thought had been denied of her had finally come true. A loving man and a beautiful child.
For the man it was something that caused him despair. He had finally made his wish come true. So why did he still feel that emptiness in his body? Was he truly twisted with no way to be straightened out?
And so the few months of their life together came to be.
After giving birth to their child, the woman was bedridden. She was weaker than before. It was no surprise, as she had given up on her life. She had finally realized what had been forbidden to her.
The man took care of the woman and the child. Those were months where the man suffered the most. He was tormented by his conscience and his way of life. Why had he been born? There was never any goodness in him, only a twisted self that wished for everyone's suffering.
And then it all came to an end.
The man had decided that he did not deserve to keep on living. He had no right to live.
However before taking his life, he had one duty left to do.
The man entered the woman's room, a ghost of her former self that still radiated happiness, and spoke the terrifying truth.
“I could not love you.”
The woman smiled. In one of her hands was a knife, She held it with some difficulty since most of her strength had already left her.
“No. You loved me.”
And with the few strength she could muster, the knife went to her neck and cut her throat.
And she took her life with a smile on her face.
The man decided to not stop her. Her life was barely a life anymore.
“See... you're crying...”
Those were the woman's last words. But the man was not crying, nor would he mourn her.
And with this, the man would break away from the teachings of God, the responsibilities of being a father and his will to live.
In the end, the woman loved Kotomine Kirei and Kotomine Kirei tried to love the woman.
That's all there is to this story.
----------------
My entry for the Fanfiction Contest. Might as well post it here too, has some minor corrections. Thanks for that KAIZA!
Originally Posted by hayate
Reply With Quote
