Best short stories
A woman married a man she did not love, only to use the dowry to repay her father’s gambling debts.
Her father wasn’t always a gambler; he used to be a genuinely good man. After the death of her mother, he became despondent. So, when he repeatedly sold off the family assets, leaving the house empty, she did not resent him.
In her heart, he was still her good father, especially when he got drunk and wept bitterly in front of her mother’s portrait. She felt that both she and her mother owed him a debt, so she made the decision to marry early.
Such a marriage was bound to have its ups and downs. She vented all her life’s grievances on him. She often thought of betrayal, deliberately making things difficult for him. Yet, he was a man of good temper, always patient and tolerant with her. She even secretly met with her first love several times, feeling little guilt about it.
Several times, their marriage teetered on the edge of a cliff. His good temper always brought her back, like a gentle rope slowly reining in a wild horse, saving their marriage time and again.
She thought she had mortgaged her entire life’s happiness, but after living together for 20 years, she gradually felt his goodness. Love could be acquired this way, she realized. She began to live a peaceful life. She thought, perhaps this is love. Her love came late, causing her to overlook much happiness. She started to restrain her behavior, beginning to love him from the bottom of her heart.
But that happiness lasted only three years before it vanished.
Her father couldn’t kick his habit and accumulated more gambling debts, this time a huge amount. With her strength alone, she couldn’t fill that bottomless pit. Seeing her father hiding daily from debt collectors filled her with anxiety. He, too, was recently swindled out of all his savings; apart from their house, he had nothing left. No one dared to lend them money under such circumstances.
“Leave him, sell yourself again, even if it’s to an old man, just to pay off your father’s debts.” Such thoughts occasionally crossed her mind, and she would immediately slap herself hard. She couldn’t do this; it would be too unfair to him. She began to hate her father for his gambling, but she couldn’t bear to see him living in hiding. She was sleepless, unable to think of a solution.
“Let’s sell our house,” he said, holding her head gently. “If he quits gambling, it will be worth it.”
She refused, saying that even selling the house wouldn’t be enough; it was a bottomless pit.
Their life descended into a black hole, bottomless and dark. Seeing her temples turn gray within days pained him deeply.
To cheer her up, he took her back to his hometown. There was a lake there. He said if she bathed in the lake, all worries would disappear. She laughed at his silliness. She couldn’t swim and said she would watch him swim. She helped him undress, as if stripping away all earthly concerns.
He said he knew the lake well, like a childhood friend. He had always loved swimming there; he was like a spirit of the lake.
He swam freely in the lake, occasionally making victory gestures to her. She lay on the grassy shore, watching this boy who seemed never to grow up, her heart full of affection. She thought of all the things she had done to him over the years.
Fortunately, they still had many years ahead to make up for it. Her heart softened with the thought, momentarily forgetting the recent worries. The setting sun reflected on the lake, the trees casting dancing shadows on the water. It was a beautiful scene that would be forever frozen in time.
He swam for a long time, occasionally bobbing up and down. She felt something was wrong and started to panic. She shouted, “Come up, don’t scare me.” She thought he was playing a trick on her, as he often did to make her laugh.
This time, it wasn’t a joke. He gradually disappeared without a sound. Frightened, she ran until she found a phone booth. By the time rescuers brought him out, he was gone. The lake’s spirit had drowned.
His face showed no pain, only a peaceful happiness. This made her believe he was still playing a game, only waking when she cried. She let a tear fall on his forehead, lips, and eyes, but he didn’t wake up. Turning around, she let a tear fall into the lake, which rippled with a smile, as if the lake were alive.
If the lake was alive, the spirit within would not die. This was her stubborn belief. She couldn’t understand how he, such a good swimmer, could have such an accident. Was it heaven’s punishment for her years of unfaithfulness?
The lake was beautiful. She scattered his ashes there. Though it took her love’s life, she couldn’t harbor any resentment. She stared at the lake, feeling it held her lifetime of happiness.
She picked up her sketchpad and, in the sunset, moved the lake slowly to her heart.
She walked away, but the sorrow of the lake followed her, making her remaining life both melancholic and beautifully tender.
The day after the funeral, she received a call from an insurance company, asking her to claim a substantial death benefit. She saw that he had named her as the beneficiary.
Their names were so close together on the document, death couldn’t separate them.
Thank you for reading! ” Sitestorys “
