I knocked on the door and waited for it to open. I do not know how Ethel will feel when I tell her that I accept the case of her daughter. I rejected it yesterday and now, here I am, begging her to let me handle the case. I do not care what she will think of me. There is no space for pride now. I am a prideful person and that may be a fruit of my fame in the past years. And maybe my being prideful made me so bitter with my failure to give justice to my mother's imprisonment and death.
I know that where I am now is the house of Ethel and his husband, Roger. It can be seen from the outside that it is where the Winterhills live. There is a large W carved in the door. The hugeness of the house reflects how much Roger earns for being a government employee. I must admit that I hate thinking of that fucking Roger. It reminds me of the things he had done in the past that greatly affected me. I still think of the things that would have happened if he did not enter the scene.
The door opened and Ethel's weak body appeared before me. "What are you doing here?" she asked with a hoarse voice. It is obvious that she never stopped crying since yesterday.
"I am here to tell you that I am accepting your daughter's case," I calmly said.
She stared at me. I waited for her to respond. She stepped towards me and hugged me. And surprisingly, I hugged her back. I was surprised by what I did. I think my arms moved involuntarily. It is the first time for me to hug her and let her feel that I am with her. For fifteen years, my heart was filled with hatred. There was no space for her. I think what I just did is to show my sympathy. There is nothing bad there, right?
"Thank you, Dylan. I do not know what I will do without you," she whispered.
Really? Why did she leave me, then? Dylan, stop! You're here to work, okay? I tell myself.
I did not know what to reply so I just smiled.
"Come," she said and opened the door wide for me to enter. I entered the house of the Winterhills and amazed by how big it is inside - marble floors, smooth, wooden furniture, and thick curtains. I followed her to the living room and sat on one of the soft and smooth sofas.
"Ethel, do you think that it is safe to talk about your daughter's case here? I mean... you know... your husband," I uncomfortably asked.
"Ahm... it's alright Dylan. He did not come home since the day he beat me. Actually, he almost never comes home since we got married," she assured.
"Well... in that case... uh... let's start!" I said with a great effort to make my tone cheerful. I never realized that this could be awkward. "So... what's her name?"
"Ellie. Ellie Winterhill."
"How old is she?"
"Fifteen."
"Too young."
"I know. Too young yet, she is experiencing all of these miseries."
"Last time, you told me that Roger is behind your daughter's imprisonment? Why did you say so?"
"I told you already."
I tried to remember the things she said to me yesterday. And the only thing that came up my mind is the most impossible one. "The... humans-in-the-tubes thing?" I asked.
She let out a sigh and asked, "What? You still don't believe me right?" and then she frowned at me.
"Hmmm... I don't know. I can't... ugh. Let's talk about that later," I said, unable to put into words the things that I am thinking. "Let's go to the murder proper."
It took her about a minute to answer.
"Well... the police said that my daughter was running with a knife in her hand and went to Isabelle's house."
YOU ARE READING
New World
Science FictionHUMANITY HAS ONLY JUST BEGUN A war between nations destroyed the peace that has been enjoyed by everyone in centuries. To stop this, The League created The Treaty that changed the world forever. The world was split into three countries: Aria which c...
