Second Place Winner: Entangled Heart by Peacepainter707

Burning Desire Contest 

As the sun and moon greeted each other in the golden sky, a pair of love birds strolled on the block paving, hand-in-hand. The leaves rustled creating a serene atmosphere. Small decorated street lamps greeted the couple on either side, along with the bushes and massive trees, creating a sense of privacy. It was Valentine's Day and Tamima couldn't help raising her expectations. Her couple's goal for today was to share a kiss. Not just any kiss... but her first!

Holding hands was great too, but it often made her feel insecure. Recently, she couldn't help but think he was friend-zoning her. Counting today, this would be their fifth date. Aayudh was older than her by three years, so she felt dismayed over the fact that he might just be treating her like a child.

'He's saved my life twice now. I shouldn't doubt him.' Tamima tried consoling her bruised ego, 'Aayudh is kind and generous to everybody. He's sweet enough to not ask me too many questions about my parents, or why I haven't updated my status from single to in-a-relationship yet... Not to mention he never complains when I'm late on our dates.'

There was something about darkness. It kept things hidden.

Illuminating the night sky, the stars shone bright like diamonds.

Aayudh had mentioned on their first date how much he loved stargazing. He'd told her about his dad buying him a toy binocular on his seventh birthday just to appease Aayudh's growing ambition. It didn't help much, but to his younger self, this was a treasure. Once her boyfriend began talking about outer space, he wouldn't stop. Tamima liked how his eyes sparkled every time this topic was brought into the conversation. It was unusual, compared to his calm and gentle demeanor, but she enjoyed every moment of it.

Just two hours ago, Tamima had ditched her best friend, lying that she had a bit of a fever last night. A slip of the tongue would lead to disastrous consequences... 'I'll wait until Saya has a boyfriend, then inform her about Aayudh. It's much safer that way!' Tamima heaved a heavy sigh. After all, Saya shared everything with her mother. Both Tamima and Saya's mothers have been besties since their collage days.

"Is something the matter?" Aayudh asked, concerned, as he leaned his face closer to hers.

It was too perfect an opportunity to pass off. Tamima shut her eyes and shifted her face closer to him. Her palms felt all sweaty.

Their lips lightly touched. Tamima felt his lips tremble slightly. Had she finally broken him? Why wasn't he leaning forward? Was Tamima being too forward right now? Did Aayudh despise this type of girl?

Time felt too slow. Aayudh hadn't pushed her away yet, so she tilted her head forward, just slightly. She wondered for a moment if her lips were perhaps too dry... but who cares?

"Never kiss before marriage. It's a bad omen!"

For just a moment, her mother's words made her heart heavy. But Tamima decided to ignore it. How much about love did her mother know, anyway? She had an arranged marriage.

A twig snapped. Tamima flinched. She half opened her eyes and immediately blushed. Aayudh's face was so close! She stared at his handsome face anxiously. His eyebrows were scrunched and he seemed slightly angry... perhaps nervous? Worse, he wasn't even looking at her!

Tamima pouted and was about to turn around when Aayudh gripped her hands even tighter, "don't..."

Their cheeks brushed ever so slightly. Tamima felt a shiver down her spine. As he leaned closer to her ear, he whispered, "Do you trust me?"

Tamima nodded.

Sure, thick black clouds hovered over their heads and Tamima felt somewhat remorseful. As if her lies and deceit were coming back to haunt her. Her mother's warning kept replaying over and over in her mind. Still, Tamima felt the safest around Aayudh! He had never let her down before, and he was always a rather perceptive fellow.

She trusted him with her whole being.

"On five," Aayudh whispered and took a step back, giving her some personal space.

'Caring as usual.' She nervously smiled at him and got ready to run.

The two bolted, on five. Hands held tightly together. They left the clear path, leaped over the hedges, and ran past the trees until ultimately reaching the main road. It was deserted.

'How coincidentally convenient for our pursuer.' Tamima sulked, trying to fill her lungs with some oxygen. As if on cue, Aayudh bent over and pecked a kiss on her cheek. Then calmly stated, "We can talk about what happened later. I have something to say, but right now... It isn't safe to linger here. Let's move into the forest and go East. I believe the town is that way."

Tamima felt proud of her smart boyfriend. Efficient and not one to cower in fear. Her heart pounded, along with the footsteps behind them.

"I think so as well."

She agreed, yet never once checked the map on her phone. It never crossed her mind to call on the authorities either. Even if it did, her choice wouldn't change... she didn't want her parents to discover what she'd been up to tonight. The consequences of her actions were yet to dawn upon her. Valentine's eve was still at large.

Creak. Creak. Crush.

Before the butterflies in her stomach could settle in, the heavy footsteps inched closer and closer. Ruthlessly crunching on the leaves. She gulped and looked toward Aayudh, who silently nodded. Quick as a fly, the two crossed the main street and sprinted into the forest, making sure to head East.

Within ten minutes, the couple stumbled upon a well-kept cabin. Nobody's inside. Aayudh proceeds to break the lock of the front door and suggests Tamima to go to the other side of the cabin, to check if there is a back door.

Once Tamima returned, Aayudh informed her about his plan, "It isn't safe if we both go inside. I'll confront this dude. You stay hidden in plain sight outside the back door."

Tamima flinched. She wanted to yell at him for this reckless unnecessary bullshit! She opened her mouth, but couldn't say. He'd grasped hold of her shoulders. His hands were shaking.

"I don't want to intrude on your privacy, but mind handing over your phone? And... could you perhaps unlock it? I will hide your phone somewhere inside and record our conversation. We can't be sure he won't ask for my phone, should he have any ill intention. If I don't return in five minutes, run away. Stay close to the main road and don't look back." Tamima was reluctant but didn't have a better plan. "Trust me, yeah?"

Tamima heard muffling noises. She gulped. Leaned her head against the wooden door. The rusty wooden floor creaked. She stiffened, sweating profusely, her heart beat accelerating.

Her throat felt dry and just as she was about to quickly back away, she heard her boyfriend screaming, "Put the gun down if you have the decency to 'chat'!"

Tamima heard a bunch of things hitting the ground. She took a step back. 'A gu-'

BANG!

Utter silence. Tamima stared at the door for a few seconds. Time seemed frozen solid. Instinctively, her body acted. Her ears kept ringing. Her eyes were blurry. Cheeks drenched in trickling warm tears... she dashed. Like a coward. She clenched her fist at her chest. This was all her fault! Her karma!

In one night, her life came crashing down. How unlucky was she? Wasn't it because of her that the perfect guy just got shot? Where in the woods would she find a hospital? Her throat dried up. She wanted to stop and think, but there was a psychopath on the loose. Time was ticking away.

The pursuer stomped on dry leaves leisurely, driving Tamima insane as if he gained some kind of sick thrill from it. Another 'bang' echoed in the woods. Tamima barely held onto the remainder of her sanity and willpower. Until she fell flat on the ground. Another shot had been fired. Her thigh bled profusely. She winced, tears rushing and rolling down her face and neck.

This was the worst!

Tamima bit her lower lip. The realization hit her like a ton of bricks. She couldn't get up! Was it the pain? Was it fear? Was it sorrow? She didn't dare to think about it. Even if she could not escape, she was still able drag her body toward the main road. Like Aayudh had theorized, she truly believed something would happen.

It did.

In the midst of the crickets playing a melodious tune, the thuds came to a halt. Worse, a person was heard breathing heavily. Someone other than herself.

Tamima was about to drag her body once more when she heard the man behind her chuckle. Her blood was drained cold. The knot in her stomach tightened. She wanted to vomit.

'What kind of sick joke is this!?'

She swerved her head, eyes bloodshot. The light blue t-shirt was smeared with thick red blood, still dripping away. The smile that was once as bright as a star, felt awfully chilling somehow. "Ah~ you truly are so. very. obedient! Not lying, I had fun. But like everything else, all good things must come to an end, sweetheart." Aayudh tilted his head, chuckled once more, and pointed the gun at her. "Game over."

The last thing Tamima witnessed was his dark brown eyes devoid of any emotion. Her life flashed before her eyes and before she could ask why the trigger was pulled. A soulless bruised body fell flat on the dirt floor.

The phone buzzed in his back pocket. He pulled it out. The screen lit up revealing, 'one new message'.

"I've ordered dinner already. Why aren't you here yet? Do you realize what day it is today?"

"Ah, my bad. Was busy playing a game of cat and mouse~" Aayudh smirked, glanced at the corpse, then sent the text.

"Well, did you win~?"

"When have I ever lost?"

Aayudh replied, went to a nearby tree, dug a hole, and buried the gun. After all, nobody's gonna search here.

"Either way, you're late. I'll be mad if you come empty-handed this time! Seriously."

"Yes, yes babe," Aayudh muttered while grinning from ear to ear, as he typed, "will the limited-edition phone case you've always desired, suffice?"

While waiting, Aayudh's eyes veered towards Tamima. Recalling something, he smirked, went up to her and used his hand to shut her blood-shot eyes. "I don't dislike straightforward gals. And your kiss... well, that's a Valentine's Day kiss I'll never forget! Too bad we met with such unfortunate timing... adieu~"

"Perhaps." The person on the other end finally texted back. "Formal wear. No black, no red. You have 10 minutes."

"The things I do for love," Aayudh sighed, helplessly. He whistled away, 'The night's still young.'