Nothing happens suddenly. Those who lose their family, those who divorce, those who go to jail, those who are left alone and without affection cannot say —this happened to me suddenly—.

We all have different pain thresholds. Some people, with a simple stomach infection, realize they need to change their eating habits, exercise, and lead a healthier life; a small stimulus is enough for them to reflect and change...

Others, however, pay no attention to soft warnings and require being on the verge of death with acute cirrhosis or angina to say: "damn, now I really need to take care of myself..." It's a matter of who one is... of how one reacts... We always have gradual warnings until we reach the pain threshold.

There are people who react to the simple voice of their conscience or to reading a book, and there are others who turn a deaf ear to everything and only when they are sunk do they realize that it's time to do something. I was one of those who didn't move with a small stimulus; one of those who wait for greater warnings. The days passed, and the pain did not diminish.

Upon waking the next morning, the bedroom was flooded with light. I got out of bed like a machine about to explode. Today was the day. Today is when that man will be tried and sentenced to prison.

I look at the time: it's 11:50. That man will be in front of the courthouse at 13:00. I had no time to waste. Today was the day when everything would end. I grabbed my gun and tucked it behind my pants. The house door was still open.

I looked one last time at the house that Alessia and I built together. This house that once sheltered so much joy, so much hope, so many dreams... Now it was just a constant reminder of what I had lost.

—This is for you, Alessia —I murmured, gathering courage.

The daylight burned cruelly in my eyes when I went out. I got into the car and started it. A few minutes later, I parked the old truck a few steps from the judicial building.

Before getting out of the car, I observed the bustle near the courthouse for a moment. I saw passersby and onlookers mixed with some journalists. A mother was casually walking with a pink stroller, and through the car's open window, I heard the cheerful laughter of a small baby. The sound went through me like a knife.

I got out of the car, the gun firmly hidden behind my pants. The hot air was full of gas, dust, and asphalt smells. I advanced with difficulty towards the building, limping slightly. I stayed at a good distance so as not to draw attention and waited patiently for the hour when everything could finally end.

It's 12:54, just a few more minutes. I wiped the sweat dripping from my forehead, feeling a sticky humidity under my armpits. I noticed a young journalist looking at me curiously, and for a moment I feared being discovered. Suddenly, I heard the murmurs of the small crowd clustered in front of the building grow. I saw protesters waving signs and chanting slogans in unison.

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From a distance, I see him. That bastard who took everything from me, coming out of the justice palace accompanied by two police officers. I could see the gleam of the gun handles hanging on the two officers' belts. It was too late to back out, it was too late the night that bastard came to tear away my reason for living, leaving only a breath laden with alcohol in his abominable wake.

It was the moment, I advanced towards the center of the stairs. No one pays me attention, all the surveillance of the small group was now focused on the accused descending the stairs with a somber face. I carefully observed his fat and tired face. The man rested his eyes on me and looked at me curiously. When he came a few meters from me, I could see fear invade his gaze at the moment he managed to recognize me.

I put my sweaty hand under my shirt and grabbed the hot butt of the pistol. With a quick movement, I pulled out the revolver and pointed it at Alessia's murderer.

I saw his surprised and scared face when he saw the bright barrel of the weapon, I fired a clumsy shot that managed to hit him in the knee. The police had already put their hands on their guns and were preparing to shoot.

Screams of fear pierced the crowd like a wave crashing loudly against a concrete shore. With no more time to waste, my second bullet hit the bastard in the head. A stream of blood burst out behind his skull, and he immediately collapsed on the ground like a mass of lead. Just at that moment, I felt a burning impact in my chest. A bullet had gone through me, and I fell backwards onto the hard concrete.

Blood flowed abundantly from my chest. The screams and tumult of the crowd gradually faded into a soft silence. Darkness enveloped me softly, like a mother's embrace.

A stream of blood came out of my trembling mouth as I exhaled my last breath.

—Forgive me... Alessia —I thought as life escaped me.

Like a sequence of hallucinations, I heard Alessia's soft and melodious laugh. I saw her very clearly, throwing water in my face while she laughed in the bathtub. The echo of her laughter resonated far away and shook my insides, like the last note of a melancholic symphony.

Time stopped and the film of my life became the moving image of immobile eternity. I saw Alessia in front of me, smiling, in a beautiful ivory dress. I slid a ring on her finger in front of a full room, bathed in light.

Then, I saw her haloed by a light glow, walking in a small forest, giving me tender looks. In an instant, she was in front of me with her beautiful face bathed in tears, holding a positive pregnancy test in her trembling hands.

Now, Alessia was lying down, singing a lullaby to our unborn baby while I caressed her belly. As if my entire life was recorded in a fictional film, I watched, stunned, its final and grand reproduction.

I relived my moments of joy, my sorrows, my mistakes, and the intense and magnificent moments of happiness, but also the small sweet things that filled our daily life.

Suddenly, I felt my body rising softly, like a vapor escaping from boiling water. I saw my body collapsed on the ground, surrounded by a large pool of blood.

I heard a small buzz and saw circular waves forming in the air. The waves gradually gathered at a single point before instantly transforming into a blue fragment.

The fragment fell softly on my forehead like a lover's kiss. Soon, the fragment slowly sank, as if submerging under water. Then, I found myself in front of an immense tunnel whose walls undulated as if under the effect of a breeze.

I was dragged by an irresistible current, like a leaf floating in a fevered river, an intense and white light, whiter than a thousand suns, approached me with benevolence.