Birth of The Phoenix

chapter 21?

This time, Avery really wanted to change the way she had lived, and swore that she will never allow herself to be get used, for the benefits, and greediness of the other people, and not to be a pathetic loser.

Avery hugged her baby brother Maxy into her arms tightly, relishing the moment, and taking in his body warmth, and trying to get the most of this moment.

Even if it was just a fleeting dream, she wanted to take in every second, and enjoy the most of this moment.

As Avery was still unable to believe that her baby brother Maxy, who she had brought up, and the baby brother, who would always like to follow her all day, like a little tail of her, was still infront of her, and in her arms, that too safe, and soundly.

As the last memories of her baby brother, she had was so heart wrenching, that even thinking about bringing up those terrible thoughts, pained Avery endlessly, as if, thousands of little needles have been pierced into her body mercilessly, at the same time.

The terrible memories, in which she lost her beloved baby brother Maxy, still haunted her, like the dark ghost of shadow, even if she had her eyes wide open.

And those terrible memories were still very fresh, and clear, as it got imprinted in her mind very deeply, and was displayed in front of her eyes, every time she closed her eyes.

Those terrible last moments of her life, in which she was forced to be as some one who has lost even the very last bit of her hope, and to be helpless, that she was cornered to take her little brother Maxy’s life.

The little brother, whom she had wanted to protect always, was forced to take his last breath in her arms, flashed in her mind, like a lingering ghost at night, in the border of a town's tree.

And she took his life by her own hands, to save him, from the inhuman tortures, and terrible death that she was subjected to.

‘huh….what a contradictory sentence', Avery thought sarcastically.

She wanted to protect her brother and wanted him to live a long healthy life.

But in the end, inorder to protect her brother from the terrible fate, she took his life by her own hands. Which was indeed contradictory to hear.

They said that sometimes, taking the help of feign ignorance, and denying the hurtful things, would be able to help a person from escaping his, or her haunting nightmares.

‘like out of sight, out of mind', Avery thought.

If she erased those hurtful things from her mind, and convincing herself into thinking that those terrible things, had never happened to her, and her baby brother in the first place, then Avery thought that she won’t be able to get hurt by that incident, and that she can escape her past reality.

Avery stupidly thought that by acting like, it had never happened, she could escape from the haunting nightmares of hers, and escape from her immense pain.

And that’s what Avery too tried to do.

She wanted to forget. Forget everything!!.

To forget those painful, and traumatic events, she even faked, or more like fooled herself into believing that nothing happened to her.

She convinced her messy mind, and restless heart to think that those heart wrenching events, were all a mere imagination of her stupid mind.

And it was all more like a passing dream….uh…uh…no…not a passing dream but, a passing nightmare.

But what can she do…those terrible incidents were still so vivid, grilling her heart cruelly in the fierce pit of hell fire, making it more painful for her to take everything that had happened to her.

And those painful events clearly craved itself in to the depths of her inner soul, that she even failed to successfully fool herself.

So, Playing ignorance too failed her greatly.

Torturing her, cornering her, and trapping her in her own mind, causing her ceaseless emotional pain, with the monsters called hurtful memories.

Those past painful memories that she had to battle them all by herself, even if she didn’t want to do that.

With all these emotional, and mental battle within her, in choosing between accepting the reality, and tormented herself, or ignoring the reality to save herself, Avery was too exhausted to say the least.

It’s well said by someone from the past with well known wisdom that, “ the pain, stress, and exhaustion from the physical battle were nothing compared to the one, that was fought by oneself within, or with his, or her mind.

Emotional battle is more scary, and energy draining than the fights that were done with the fists”.

When Avery was busy trying to cope up with the sudden changes of events in her life, the person she least expected, and never wanted to cross path with, or more truthfully, never wanted to see, came to visit her.

It’s none other than her step mother, Madam Gwen, the current Head of the Hastings household Mansion.

Madam Gwen came to visit Avery in her courtyard, followed by her loyal servant Carrie.

Upon seeing Madam Gwen, her so called step mother, the pristine clear eyes of Avery, which was filled with tears of relief, on seeing her baby brother Maxy alive, and well, had vanished into thin air, in a second.

It would make the person, who saw those tears to have second thoughts on whether they saw it right, or not.

Avery’s eyes flashed with a menacing glint, and was replaced by an emotion, which was far more larger than an enmity.

Her eyes flashed for a second, with an emotion, which was full hatred, and endless vengeance.

‘It was all because of that one woman’s greediness for power, and wealth, that she, Avery, and her little brother Maxy had to suffer such a cruel tortures.

And even their lives were snatched from them, in the most inhumane way', Avery thought.

They were treated as some random scape goats, and was butchered by the sword called greediness.

That too mercilessly by the wickedness of that woman, they called mother for all their life.

And more importantly, Avery was still wondering how can Madam Gwen, her step mother, had the heart to sacrifice, and kill her own son to satisfy her greed.

Is greed had that much more value in her heart than the son she had carried for ten months, and spent hours giving birth to.

Avery thought that she would never even would have wanted, or wished that tragic end, and tortures to befall even on her worst enemies in the past.

Avery felt pity for herself for being such an empty headed stupid, and ignorant girl for believing in her so called mother, when all her so called mother, Madam Gwen wanted was to use her to their fullest, and then to discard her like some lifeless rag doll.

Once the purpose of the rag doll was fulfilled, it can be discarded, without any hard feelings.

And after that, Madam Gwen did succeed in her motive, as she used Avery like a sacrificial animal, and when her limit of usage was reached, they tossed her like a piece of used paper, which was unfit to use anymore.

Avery's arms subconsciously tightened across her baby brother Maxy's body.

Avery brought the little body of her baby brother Maxy, more closer to her body, and subconsciously hid him in her embrace, upon seeing Madam Gwen.

She acted like a mother hen, that would do, anything in trying to protect its baby chick, when facing a monstrous predator, which only knows how to take a life to satisfy it’s hunger, and nothing other than that.

And in this sense, Madam Gwen was no better than the above mentioned monstrous predator.

Well, she was even more scary, and deadly than that monstrous predator.

The only difference was that, her hunger was a little different from that of an animal.

It’s not a hunger, that can be satisfied with the food, but a hunger for greed, and power, that can’t be satisfied.

Well, even a monstrous predator was better than that of a greedy person’s heart.

As even those monstrous predators would only kill, when they needed to fill their stomachs to satisfy their hunger, and not at all the times.

“the hunger for greed of a person’s heart can never be satisfied, as once their initial greed was satisfied, they set their eyes upon other bigger things, wanting more, and more, and never stopping”.

That’s why the wise elders said that a greedy heart was no better than a deep bottomless pit, that can never be filled, even though, you try your best, and you work hard all day, and night endlessly to fill it to its brim.

It’s all a useless thing to do anyway, as it can never be filled regardless of any means you use, as all it knows was to swallow everything, not getting enough at all.

Avery quickly changed her facial expression ,and made her face blank, without any emotion, and had a stoic face.

Madam Gwen came inside leisurely, and sat on the teak wood chair beside Avery’s large four post bed.

“Oh…my. Thank the great God. You finally woke up from your deep sleep, my dear beloved daughter”, Madam Gwen said dramatically with a sad expression marring her face.

“ You know, I was so afraid, that when I saw you speechless, and lying there without making any movements, I felt like losing my mind by worrying about you.

You really did scared the life out of me, my dear beloved daughter”, Madam Gwen said with a concern filled voice. But her eyes said otherwise though.

Seeing her flawless, and top notch acting skills, Avery snorted internally, and had a mocking smile on her face.

‘Afraid for me??. Scared??? Worried for me??!. oh come on…..Give a girl a break....You would have wished, and prayed for my demise', Avery thought.

‘You would have wished, more like, why didn’t I die already, and cursing me inside, as to why I was still alive infront of you, you old sly fox', Avery thought in her mind sacrastically.

Madam Gwen raised her hand, and tenderly wiped the non existent tears, from the corners of her eyes, with her hand kerchief, that was made out of a very high end cloth of silk fabric, and sniffled being overdramatic.

‘there was nothing there to wipe, and why in the damn hell that old fox was wiping her eyes, as if there was something there to wipe in the first place!!’, Avery asked herself in doubt, and had an exasperated expression on her face.

On the other hand, Avery was really impressed, and marveled my Madam Gwen’s extraordinary acting skills.

‘She would even put all those drama opera actors to shame, with her acting skills', Avery thought.

If it was before, in the past, like a pathetic stupid i***t, Avery would have believed in her mother,** snort**, step mother, Madam Gwen’s sympathetic words, and would have felt touched, that her mother was worrying, and caring about her.

But now, that was not the case. She was not the same old stupid first daughter of the Hastings household Mansion.

Avery took a clear, and keen look, and found out that even though Madam Gwen, was rambling out words of concern, and worry for her well being, but there was something that betrayed the words that came out of her mouth.

Like if one was to take a closer look at Madam Gwen's eyes, they could easily see the dissatisfaction, and disappointed in them, as clear as the sky on a bright sunny day.

It was no wonder that everyone says that eyes were ‘the windows of the soul'.

One can fake a happy expression, and put on a dazzling smile on their face to deceive the one infront of them, but they can’t make their eyes to shine as bright as their smile which was artificial.

They would always give away your real feelings.

Like the mirror, that reflects what it really sees.

Madam Gwen must be disappointed that Avery was still somewhat alive, and well infront of her, instead of leaving this world, and out of her life for good.

Hah…how she hoped, when seeing Avery motionless, and speechless in the vegetative state, that she should never wake up, and die silently, without giving any more trouble for her.

But to her great disappointment, Avery woke up from her vegetative state, and the medicine man also with certainty said that now Avery was fine, with no after effects, and backlash in her health.

Hearing the medicine man say that, Madam Gwen really wanted to smack him across his head, wanting to make him to shut up for good.

The incident that Madam Gwen did not wanted to happen, but it happened anyway.

But to her dissatisfaction, Avery woke up. For which, she was cursing Avery inside her mind, a several thousand times.

Avery took a nice look at the contempt look in Madam Gwen’s viscous eyes.

Avery chastised herself for failing to take a notice of such an apparent hatred in her step mother's eyes.

She really cursed herself for believing in the honey dripping words of Madam Gwen in the past. How naïve she was…

whoever talked sweetly, and with a smile to her, she thought, and believed that they had no ill intentions.

“How are you feeling right now, my dear daughter??. Are you well now?”, Madam Gwen asked, and her eagerness in knowing that Avery was feeling not well was so evident in her eyes, and it overpowered her fake concern several notches.

‘so the evil witch was wishing death upon me, huh??. That too even before her marriage with the crown prince Avalon', Avery thought, and eyed madam Gwen’s movements silently.

Her baby brother Maxy was sitting beside her in the bed, and was happily enjoying eating the walnut, and almond cake, he brought for her to eat before, without any worry in this world.

His little round, and chubby face was shinning in innocence, and happiness.

Her glutton of a brother would not mind anything around him, as long as you give him a big treat to enjoy.

Avery casted a secret look at her baby brother Maxy beside her, and she secretly held one of his hands into her palm, and hid it under her clothes.

“Yes, mother. I am fine now”, Avery answered in a short sentence, as she wanted nothing to do with Madam Gwen.

If possible, she didn’t even wanted her within 100 miles radius within her place.

Avery always thought before that madam Gwen’s actions, and hatred towards her was because of Madam Gwen’s greediness.

And also because she got married to a Royal Prince, and became the royal princess Consort, rising in status, unlike her own daughter, Cassy Hastings.

She became the first legal wife of the crown prince.

The title, and the power which every young woman in the kingdom wishes to have, was given to her so easily, and that too in a short period of time.Hence Avery thought that it triggered her step mother and step sister Cassy's jealousy.

But now it seemed to Avery that even her mere existence was a big thorn in Madam Gwen’s eyes.

~*~

happy reading ❤❤❤