My Pride proved to be an Answer

Seeing him excited to give me the answers, I said to him:

‘I’m listening’

‘In the beginning of 2012, you joined a gang lead by Dean. Everyone in your gang had a code name. Your code name was N.3. And in that year and first few months of 2013, you and your gang created many difficulties for innocent citizens of Berlin. These were not too harmful, but still intolerable. However, you alone caused many such problems for others which were not crimes but still left a bad impact on them’.

I got badly stunned and sat on my bed.

‘And by the time, Dean cheated you by taking away your agreed sum of money, you changed…Then, gradually you began to realize that you had given great difficulties to innocent people. You were quite guilty of your crimes, due to which you had only one wish left. And that wish was of seeing and suffering all the pain you had given to others. You wanted all those troubles to come before you, but you knew this couldn’t happen. Therefore you committed a suicide by running in mid of road and getting crashed by a car’

‘Wait a minute’ I said feeling ridiculous, ‘this is bullshit, I’m not going to believe this that I changed from a criminal to a nice guy who wants to suffer the difficulties to feel a relief from guilt’

‘I know you wont believe my words, but you will believe your pride’ Draco replied gently.

‘Pride?’ I asked.

‘What are you proud of?’

‘My handwriting and signature, what else?’

‘Then I believe you wrote this’ he said taking out a piece of paper and giving it to me.

As I saw the paper,

I saw a note written in my handwriting.

I didn’t remember at all when I wrote this, but I realized that I must have written this at the time of my lost memory’s period. I read that note in my heart:

Today I’m committing suicide because I have done a great harm to normal citizens just for sake of little money. I hate myself because these problems cannot be replaced. My last wish was to suffer all this torment and pain caused to others, but that’s not possible. Therefore I’m committing a suicide’.

After I finished reading the letter, I slowly began to realize that Draco was not telling any lies.

‘Listen Harold’ Danny said, ‘It’s in your handwriting, you know we can’t make a fake note by copying your handwriting’

‘Yes I agree’ I replied, ‘but let me get this straight,

I committed suicide but I survived. And then after suffering Amnesia, Draco and you planned all these difficulties for me, so my last wish could be fulfilled, am I right?’

‘Exactly!’ Draco replied. ‘But I need to show you another note as well which you wrote earlier than this’

He gave me another note written in my handwriting and again unknown to me. It was written in bullet points and was entitled ‘My Last Wish’. I read it’s first line:

‘In the beginning of 2012, I joined Dean’s gang and gave these sort of difficulties to innocent people’

‘Ok now read the first point’ Draco said.

‘I busted people’s cars by bursting their tyres, breaking glasses and mirrors, and also by stealing the petrol’

‘Yes and did that happen with you?’ Danny asked.

‘Oh yes exactly’ I replied realizing how my car was destroyed everyday. ‘Next point says: ‘I also blasted other’s cars in bomb explosions’

Then I remembered yesterday’s event when my car was blasted.

‘I threw tea and black coffee on other’s shirts or clothes’

‘Do you get it?’ Draco asked, ‘This also happened with you when the girls called you that day’

I remembered how this happened with me, and then I read the next point:

‘I expelled many students and fired staff from my school when I was a principal’

‘I think you have the answer for it’ Draco smiled.

‘Oh yes, I got fired from my job that day’ I said remembering the incident.

‘I used to keep affairs with women even though I was married, my this act was intolerable for Linda…what’s the answer for this?’

‘Alex!’ he replied, ‘He had an affair with your wife’

‘I see’ I replied understanding the situation, ‘so does this mean that that marriage card was a fake invitation?’

‘We’ll tell you that afterwards’ Danny said to me, ‘there is a little twist in this story’

‘The next point says: I played with feelings of women who were in love with me’

‘The answer for this one is Petunia’ Draco claimed.

‘Petunia?’ I asked getting a little surprised, ‘Was she also a setup?’

‘Yes, all the way long she was also just playing with you, so you can realize how it feels when someone gets hurt in love’

‘Oh boy’ I said continuing the note, ‘While I was with Dean, I also stole over twenty people’s wallet’

I got shocked realizing why some robbers took my wallets away, in different occasions. Draco and Danny understood that I realized the answer.

‘I also got two innocent civilians hurt, when I beat them with Dean’

Then again I remembered last day’s scene when some gang members stroked on me.

‘I was also involved in kidnapping children of people, just for sake of little money’

Then I looked at them remembering Jerry’s kidnap. Draco pointed something behind me. I turned around and saw my son Jerry standing. I didn’t showed any expression of happiness, I just claimed:

‘Thank God he’s safe’

‘Likewise Petunia’s kidnap was also planned’

‘Yeah I got it’ I replied realizing the fact and continuing the note, ‘the last point says: I was almost involved in the murder of Mr. Carrey, who had nothing against me’

At once I understood today’s situation of the police investigation and realized all my crimes. Then Danny added:

‘You forgot to mention one point, that was of shooting someone in leg while the murder took place…but still we also planned that, as you know your own leg got shot today’

‘Right!’ I said reading the following paragraph. ‘My last wish is to suffer all these kinds of problems and difficulties which others suffered because of me while I was N.3.’

After finishing it, I kept it aside and saw that I was sweating all over in distress.

Another Twist

Seeing me getting stressful, Draco said to me:

‘Look Harold, we had nothing personal against you…it was your last wish and it was quite painful for us to give you all these sufferings’

‘Yes I understand…the conclusion of the story is that I gave a lot of pain and suffering to others. And after getting a sense of humanity for others,

I wished to suffer all that torment. But I committed a suicide, which lead me to retrograde amnesia. After that you both fulfilled my wish, by giving…’

‘…Especially me’ Draco interrupted.

‘Ok…but guys please tell me about Linda’

‘Harold there’s a sad twist here’

‘What is it? Tell me’ I said getting curious.

‘During that time period, Linda and you got divorced’

‘What the hell are you saying?’ I exclaimed standing up. ‘I don’t want to hear this bullshit’

‘What’s your second pride?’ Draco asked.

‘My signature’

‘Then have a look’ Danny said giving me a document in paper form.

I took the paper from him, it was a divorce signed between Linda and I. I felt grieved after realizing the fact that Linda and I were really divorced. I believed this because it was signed with my recognized signature.

Draco and Danny came closer to me seeing that I was about to weep. I tried not to have a pity on myself, but I couldn’t help it. I began to cry slowly, but I asked them another question:

‘Why did we get divorced?’

‘Because she didn’t like your unfaithfulness’

‘Oh God’ I said in distress,

‘ but guys I also heard that in Amnesia, a person’s memory recovers under some conditions. Why didn’t my memory recover, even though you showed and told me everything?’

‘Unfortunately this was a permanent memory loss case’ Danny replied.

Then I removed their hands from my shoulders and walked out of my room, saying:

‘I need a time to be by myself’

As I stepped outside, I saw Petunia, who stopped me,

‘Where are you going?’

‘Police station, I have to confess my crime’

I left her and walked away outside from the restaurant. While I was walking I realized that due to my memory loss, that day I felt like seeing new staff in school and new faces in that class room.

Six Months Later

Six months later at Berlin’s Central Jail, I woke up at my lock up room. I started walking in my room as usual. One of the jailors came and said to me:

‘Mr. Tyson! Your time is over, you’re to leave today’

After half an hour, I was walking with some jailors at the corridor of the central jail. We reached the exit, and the guards opened the gate for me. My imprisonment of six months was over today. I stepped outside, and saw Petunia standing at a little distance from the gate.

I walked towards her and went closer to her. She asked me:

‘How are you Harold?’

‘Good’

‘Was it difficult for you to be there?’

‘No, I was ok’ I replied in low voice, ‘anyways thanks for coming here to pick me’

‘Don’t be thankful, I want you to be with me. Or else you’ll miss your wife Linda’

‘So kind of you, but right now I have to look out for a new job’

‘You don’t need to, because Draco and Danny got you reinstated at your job’

‘Really?’ I asked getting happy, ‘You mean I can go back to that school’

‘Yes, now when everything’s back to normal, you don’t need to be suspicious on anyone’

‘Oh of course, I’m not suspecting anyone. But there’s something I’ve realized. Everyone gets what he deserves, I got what I deserved, whatever happened with me was actually God’s punishment and I had to accept that for my sins’

Petunia had no words to say anything. So she held his arm and said:

‘Let’s go Harold’

Petunia and I left the place and went to her home.

I decided to have rest of my days with her as my son Jerry was also meant to be with Linda. But still I continued to have a better life with Danny as my colleague and Draco as my friend, along with Petunia as my future wife.