The Red Doves

Chapter I

April 26, 2021...

The rain was pouring in Sidney this morning. The people were walking beside the roads with their umbrellas wide open above them. The cars were rolling slowly to not splash anybody. We could hear the bell of the school ringing at this time. Some students were still running to their workplaces.
Driving her little white car in the Fifth Street, Suziky Daichy was looking for an empty store where she could buy her stuff calmly. She didn't need everyone's look on her. She had enough of being spied from head to toes. She had the right to have a normal life too, no? Ever since she got out, she couldn't get one single moment alone. It was like she was an alien coming from Jupiter every time her foot left the house.
Suziky was a young woman of 19 years old. She was living with her mother, an alcoholic girl who wasn't doing anything in life. Even if she asked to live somewhere else to get some peace for work, the mom automatically refused the request of her daughter. So, she was now both living in the same appartement for now 19 whole years. And since Suziky's mom was always sleeping on the couch after a night of drinking beer or wine, it was her job to find money and do all the groceries now that she was old enough.
Suziky was turning to the left alley and stopped in a parking. Putting her hoodie on to cover her face and her long purple hair from the curious looks, she took her bag and walked to the front door of the store in front of her. Luckily, not many people were around for a Monday morning and she got to enter furtively in.
The store was cold and we could see some people left and right, buying some clothes or food, depending on the priorities of their lists. Suziky was moving her brown eyes to find what she was looking for. Being careful to not wake anyone's attention on her, she was walking slowly without taking her time too much. She had to come home as fast as possible before her mom starts thinking things.
She walked to the receptionist after a 10 or 15 minutes of searching. While the girl was calculating the total of money Suziky needed to pay, this one took a look to the little television showing the news.

« [...] announcing a murder near the Bevan Avenue, found this morning in the around of 4 am. We are telling us that once again, it was the mysterious killer of Sidney who caused this death. The details were quite developed but the body had cuts on the neck and the cheeks. We should have more [...] ».

As the TV animator continued talking, Suziky turned back her attention on the woman of the counter to pay her groceries. She took her bags and walked out of the store as fast as she entered. The murders in Sidney's town were growing more day after day and it was starting to scare the young woman. Not that it wasn't interesting, she wouldn't want to die one night just because she was doing late groceries for her lazy mother.
Suziky entered in her car after laying her bags in the car boot. Starting her automobile, she rolled out of the parking to take the Fifth Street once again to win back the apartment.

. . .

Opening the door of her place with her door keys, Suziky got inside and turned the lights on. The smell of the alcohol was all over the house. The young woman dropped her bags on the kitchen counter as she started emptying them. She took a look on the couch and saw, laying on her back, the old mom of hers. A champagne bottle was on the carpet next to her, empty. The rest of a cigarette was also there, still letting a little line of smoke from its tip in the air.
On the oven, the clock was showing 10:24. Suziky took a recipe book and put it on the counter, scrolling the pages. Stopping on a regular chocolate cake, she went in the pantry to get the ingredients. She walked back to the kitchen and started her recipe, humming a quiet lullaby to not wake her mother up.
Once the cake was in the oven, the woman walked toward her room, passing in front the couch where the mom was snoring loudly. She closed the door of her room and laid on her white bed sheet.
Her room was almost empty. The drawer on the left was white and old from the years. Her white walls were dirty and cracking every time the wind was blowing on them. At the right, the tiny window was showing the rain of today and the other apartment in the nearby. Her bed was only covered of the white sheet she was laying on to and was attached to the back wall with long nails. The front wall was white also and cleaned. No pictures or furniture was covering it.
Sighing, Suziky took her phone out and opened it. A notification of her best friend was on the lock screen. She clicked on the notification and the application opened on the last messages.

Alan Silvasta : Hey there, girl, what are you doing at this time?
Alan Silvasta : Wanna meet later?
Alan Silvasta : You think you could come to the Serious Coffee around 13:00?

After reading the texts, Suziky smiled a little, happy that her best buddy wrote her. She started typing as a knocking got heard on her door.

- Get out, little idiot! We need to talk!

The voice of her mom was on the other side of the door. Suziky dropped her phone on the bed and walked to the door before opening it on an angry and drunk mother. This one grabbed her daughter by the front of her shirt and pulled her out of her room before she could say a word. Suziky fell on the ground, surprised of her mom's move, and tried to stand.
Her mom walked to her and pushed her with her nude feet on the ground so Suziky couldn't stand up. The mother put her foot on her daughter's stomach and this one started to suffocate a little.

- Did you buy what I asked for, idiot? Or did you forget again because of your fricking damaged mind of little child?, she screamed right to Suziky's face.

- Yes, mother! I did! Please, let me go now!

- Shut Up! Impolite bitch!

The mother raised her hand above Suziky's scared look and slapped her hard enough to see the figure of her hand on the young woman's cheek. Suziky opened her mouth of startle but not a word or sound came out. Her mother picked her up by the collar of her shirt. Suziky tried to get down but her assailant didn't let her down.
She was screaming so loud that Suziky had tears coming down her cheeks. Her mom knew her really well and went with her weaknesses. At the end of the argue, the drunk lady threw her daughter on the floor and walked to the fridge. As Suziky stood up slowly, cleaning her tears from her face, the old woman was opening a beer and walking back to her couch, burping.
A red mark on her cheek, bruises on her arms, Suziky picked her vest up and put her shoes on before leaving the house, the cake still in the oven.