Ziana, the Amazing Fate

With trembling hands, Ziana reached for the frame containing a photo of herself with her comrades from her days in the military special forces, gazing at it wistfully. Taking a deep breath, she eased the tightness in her chest as she recalled those times.

In the Army National Guard, Ziana had been fighting for her country since the age of 18. Women soldiers were usually physically weaker than their male counterparts, but Ziana was brave enough to surpass basic training, where she learned the fundamentals of marksmanship and other specializations to break gender stereotypes.

The 29-year-old woman was skilled in hand-to-hand combat and trained with various types of weapons. Ziana had fought several times to uphold her country's sovereignty and defend its territorial integrity. She had also received several prestigious medals awarded only to the best soldiers.

Ziana was one of the most admired female soldiers in her country. Besides her prowess on the battlefield and being a member of the special forces, Ziana was also adept at melting the hearts of handsome men, thanks to her beautiful face and relatively proportional figure.

Her physical beauty caught the attention of the Defense Minister's second son. After a year of romance, Fa and Noel decided to take the plunge into marriage. Having a successful career and being the prospective daughter-in-law of a high-status family in her country was certainly something to be proud of.

But a tragic incident a year ago shattered everything. At that time, she and other members were trying to rescue 16 civilians from a hostage situation orchestrated by terrorists at a shopping center. The terrorists demanded negotiations, asking for their fellow inmate to be released from prison.

After holding them hostage for nearly 5 hours, the five perpetrators were finally apprehended. However, two of them were shot dead. The incident didn't end there. Earlier, the perpetrators had planted an improvised bomb at the scene. Ziana and her colleagues were too late to defuse it.

The bomb exploded, claiming several lives. Two civilians who had been hostages of the perpetrators, and also two of her colleagues who were on duty at the time, were killed in the explosion. Others suffered severe and minor injuries.

As for Ziana herself, she couldn't be considered lucky even though the bomb didn't claim her life. Ziana survived, but she suffered serious injuries. Among them were damage to the nerves in her right hand and the amputation of one of her legs. The explosion also left scars on her face and other parts of her body.

The physical disabilities she experienced plunged her into despair. Ziana was no longer part of the military. She couldn't pursue her dreams with a trembling right hand and only one leg to walk on.

Her marriage plans with Noel were also ruined. Noel called off the wedding plans and even ended their relationship. Her dream of building a happy family had to be abandoned. What's more heart-wrenching, two weeks after their breakup, Noel got engaged to another woman.

Ziana couldn't walk normally without relying on a cane because she only had one leg, her right hand couldn't move normally either, and her face could now be considered disfigured. Yes, Noel and his family certainly didn't want to accept a disabled woman like her.

Living alone and enduring such trials shattered her mental state. She was an only child, her parents died in an accident when she was 10 years old. Since her parents' death, Ziana had been raised by her grandparents. Then her grandfather died of illness when she was 20 years old. Then the only family she had, her grandmother, passed away three years ago.

Ziana once contemplated ending her life due to her disappointment with fate. Perhaps it would be better to join her family in the afterlife than to live alone and in such conditions.

But her sanity prevailed. Despite feeling depressed, tired, desperate, and in excruciating pain, and hoping for death, Ziana didn't want to defy fate. Although difficult, Ziana accepted her fate with grace.

Ziana decided to end her reverie and made her way to bed. She then placed her walking cane and slowly lay down on the bed. Her days were indeed very monotonous. One of them, before going to sleep, she would read a fiction novel given to her by one of her comrades during her military days.

"Reading novels may not be your preference. But in novels, you can find imaginative and interesting stories. Reading novels can also reduce stress and tension,"Ziana's friend said when giving her some novels. Yes, besides filling her spare time, reading novels became her own entertainment. Ziana reached for the novel on the nightstand, continuing to read the fictional novel set in a kingdom which had been her bedtime routine for the past three nights.

Physically, this novel looked the worst among the others. How could it not, even though the writing was still legible, the paper's color was completely brown as if it had been published for tens or even hundreds of years.

And who would have thought, the novel Ziana was reading now had a character with the same name as hers. But unfortunately, Ziana's name in this novel was an antagonist figure who was so ambitious to win the King's love and occupy the position as the Queen. Although her name became an antagonist character, she still interested in continuing to read it because the plot presented was quite intriguing.

Moreover, this was just a fictional story and one of the functions of an antagonist character is to trigger the story's conflict. An antagonist character who always opposes the main character will create a conflict, making the storyline more exciting and interesting. And regarding her name being an antagonist character, Ziana considered it just a mere coincidence.

"Based on evidence and statements from witnesses, Ziana's concubine was found guilty after deliberately mixing poison into Maliqa's concubine's drink. Ziana's concubine was also found guilty of being responsible for several conspiracies. And also attempting to harm concubines Xeenia, Hera, Zoya and Ester."

"For her actions, Ziana's concubine will receive 100 lashes and must serve an 8-year prison sentence."

Ziana was now nearing the end of the story. Don't most antagonist characters suffer misfortunes at the end of the story? The same goes for Ziana's concubine in this story who had to be held accountable for her actions.

Ziana's concubine was the fifth concubine of King Dimitri. With her charm and beauty, Ziana's concubine had once been the King's favorite concubine. However, Ziana's concubine had an ambitious nature, wanting to fully possess King Dimitri and wanting the position as the Queen. Ziana's concubine did many cunning ways to make King Dimitri ignore other concubines and only be interested in her.

Until finally, Maliqa appeared as the sixth concubine. In the past, King Dimitri had an unforgettable encounter with Maliqa. Basically, Maliqa was the main female protagonist and King Dimitri had fallen in love with Maliqa since their first meeting.

The arrival of concubine Maliqa made Ziana's concubine furious because it threatened her position. King Dimitri forgot his other concubines, including Ziana's concubine, only focused on concubine Maliqa. As usual, Ziana's concubine did many ways to make King Dimitri hate concubine Maliqa and make concubine Maliqa expelled from the palace.

Basically, those who commit crimes will be more unlucky than those who are treated badly. The same goes for the deeds done by Ziana's concubine to concubine Maliqa. Although concubine Maliqa was described as a character who was gentle, humble and modest, she was a clever figure and not easily oppressed.

At the end of the story, King Dimitri announced to the public that he chose Maliqa as his future Queen. Based on his love for Maliqa, King Dimitri decided to sever ties with other concubines. King Dimitri and Maliqa got married and lived happily. As for Ziana's concubine, she chose to smash her head against the wall because she couldn't bear to suffer in prison and the story ended.

Ziana closed the novel and placed it on the nightstand. After reading the love story of King Dimitri and Maliqa, she started to daydream. If only she was lucky enough to live a life like Maliqa who was so loved by King Dimitri. The corners of her lips lifted, showing a bitter smile.

Let alone a beautiful love story, getting her physical back as it used to be, even in her dreams, already made Ziana happy. Then she pulled the blanket to cover half of her body and began to close her eyes, leading herself to fall asleep.