He locked his room with shaking fingers and collapsed to the
ground as familiar pain racked his body, seizing control of his mind. It was
torture beyond measure and each second a year, till he was driven to the edge
of sanity, his brain refusing to submit and a constant war, but against a much
larger force. His head arched upwards, eyes red as blood and veins blue as the
Pacific, and skin pale as the snow. The balances tipped and his mind gave up,
submitting to the incoming missiles of pain, each missile piercing his body. He
became one with a parallel Nature, one that countered every act of the one
familiar to us; the one which caused death, sorrow, darkness and time; and
restored balance to the Universe. It enraged him beyond any measure that
everyone could live normally, when he had to suffer and sacrifice. He wanted to
make them pay, to make them understand what he went through and share his pain.
He had to restore balance to the World.
Carter awoke with a start, sweating profusely. He jumped out
of bed and snatched the local newspaper out of the armchair and raised his eyes
to the headlines.
“Dr Conor stabbed to Death in bed.”
He read through the article several times and then
sub-consciously moved towards his bed. A shiver ran through his body as he thought
about the condition of the corpse, and went up to get dressed with numb hands.
***
Professor Carter entered the victim’s room with a constable
leading. The room itself seemed to have held its breath as the odour of a
corpse hit him. He gazed down at the cadaver form of Dr Conor, through the
remaining expression on his face, easily deducing that the Doctor saw something
terrible before dying. He had known Dr Conor for the past one year, and within
these thirteen years, Dr Conor had earned his trust but there was one thing
none of them shared with each other ever: their past. He only knew that Dr Conor
had a wife who lived three blocks away, and was now awaiting a second
interrogation in the lobby. After examining the room, Conor stepped out of the
room, glad to finally leave the scene of crime. He bowed to Ciara, who showed
only the slightest sign of remorse at her husband’s death.
“’Evening Ciara, I am Professor Carter, an associate of Dr Conor... It might
not be appropriate, but it is essential for me to know anything about Dr Conor’s
past that may come handy.”
“Well, if you must know, we first met at a French Restaurant. We fell in love
and got married. We had triplets… After that… he changed his job and he had to
travel for months together. This week he had to stay late here, this Hotel
Majestic for a very important meeting. He was supposed to reach home tomorrow by
noon.”
“Forgive me, but you don’t seem to be very unhappy with his death.”
She stared at him right in the eye, her green eyes penetrating his blue eyes
with an imaginary force.
“I am not the sort of person who can realize when somebody is dead. It will hit
me when I miss him. For me, it’s just too difficult to imagine a World without
him.”
“One last question Ciara was there anyone who held a grudge
against Dr Conor?”
“I can’t imagine so; the only people in his life were me and his children. He
was a very shy person and apart from you…. He didn’t have any friends.”
“That will be all Ciara. Thank you.”
Carter left, his mind still stuck in a limbo of thought.
***
“Ciara strangled at night; CBI to now officially investigate crime.”
Carter sighed with exasperation as he dropped the newspaper in anger. He knew
the situation was getting out of hand. He had to find out how these crimes were
being committed and who the mastermind behind this was. Locking his room, he
stepped out into the cold, misty market; he had decided to visit Dr Conor’s
children. Nature itself seemed to warn Carter not to pursue his objective, and
there was a scent of tragedy in the air, as though God himself was providing
premonitions to stop him from this venture.
***
Ndán opened the front door and looked expectantly at the
gentleman on the door.
“Good evening… I think I am meeting the son of Dr Conor…. Pleased to meet you
Master-”
“What do you want?” The boy glared at Carter with suspicious eyes and shaking
hands.
“Is there anyone here who is an elder person?”
The boy slammed the door shut and after a few seconds, a haggard woman opened
the door and ushered Carter into the Kitchen. She seemed very troubled by
something and tired beyond measure.
“Yes? How can I help you?”
“Madam I came here concerning the Death of Doctor Conor, a former physician.”
She stared into his eyes, as though judging his authenticity by his appearance.
Finally coming to a conclusion, she said:
“It was one of them…. One of Aengus, Davin and Ndán… They were never normal
since their birth. They were…. Different. Aengus and Davin were always
aggressive… and Ndán was always the calmer one. They came here about six
months ago from Dublin with their mother for some medical treatment, but I
don’t know whose. There was nobody around yesterday night, the mistress had
gone out for groceries, I had to leave early, and one of them must have……. Well
the Doctor used to come by for about an hour every day to meet his kids, well
specifically one, Ndán. This morning then, the mistress was alone in her room
and all three were in their room and… And now I think I may be their next
target, please protect me! I can’t leave them alone; they might do something
terrible to themselves. Hurry!”
Carter nodded and glanced at the siblings through the semi-frosted window.
Aengus was napping with his eyes open, a grotesque expression on his face,
Davin was playing with toy figures, and kept stabbing one with a toy sword and
Ndán was reading a poem, (poem name).
“Give me a room and twenty minutes to solve this.”
She nodded and led Carter to a segregated room and left him there. Carter
closed the door and lit a small lamp, casting the room in a dim yellow light
and opened the window. The fog was so intense now that it poured into the room,
dampening the light from the lamp. Settling himself in an armchair opposite to
the door, he closed his eyes and thought.
“Once upon a time, there was a troubled child,”
He stared at the kids through the frosted windows…
“He burned inside, yet he smiled.”
They came here about six months ago from Dublin with their
mother for some medical treatment, but I don’t know whose.
“Alas, when he lost control, he wielded a knife,”
They were…. Different. Aengus and Davin were always
aggressive… and Ndán was always the calmer one. Supressed anger.
“Stabbed others, and took their life”
The Doctor came by every day to visit his children, well
specifically…
“Shaded, he shared their grief”
Destiny in Irish meant…
“And went away, as though a successful thief.”
Anxiety clawed at Carter’s heart as he finally grasped the psychology of the
crime and the reasoning behind it. He raised his eyes to heaven as he was
finally enlightened about the facts concerning the murder. A wave of
restlessness sparked in his heart and turned into a blazing fire as he stood up
with shaking knees and quivering hands. His body was aware of what was going to
happen next even if his mind was not. The fog was now pouring into the room,
reducing visibility beyond half a metre. As he turned back, time seemed to slow
down as he raised his eyes in front of him, and spotted a pale outstretched
hand with large claws raring for their share of flesh.
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