The list of sinners

...Celia...

The present day was fantastic. A fantastic Sunday. The notification I had seen that day at Moon's Cape cafe had been weighing heavily on my mind. In a way, that place of work seemed to have been waiting for me. So, I gathered the courage to go and try my luck: to meet the owner of the café. I decided to arrive five minutes earlier than the café's opening as a sign of my correctness and seriousness.

The owner greeted me warmly, or it was a habit he had with every new arrival like me, then he would show his true face. Nevertheless, I didn't pay much attention to that thought. After all, I had to think positively because what you think, you attract into your life, even though many times the result hasn't been like that for my life. After many conversations and the fact that previous experience wasn't required, I managed to be favored and secure a job. I left the café happy. For the first time, it seemed like I could focus on things other than school and my dad. I felt free.

That way, I would be the mistress of myself and would cover my school expenses and pay the rent myself. During the week, I would work part-time from 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM, and on Saturdays, since the hours could be flexible, I would work from 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM. I could hardly wait to tell my dad about today and most of all I knew how he had been with my absence. It was late afternoon, I picked up the phone and faced the phone, waiting, holding back my emotions.

"What's up?"

"Celia, my daughter, how are you?"

"I'm fine, dad, tell me how you are?"

"And I am very well, dear." he says.

"Do you have everything under control or not?"

"Without a doubt, boss."

"Good, good, tell me what you're doing now?" I said amidst laughter.

"You've found the right time." he says.

"The right time?!"

Dad took the phone and seemed to be walking somewhere. The only thing I could see were his feet hurrying. He positioned the phone somewhere and brought me in front of a table filled with cookies.

"Look what I managed to do." he says proudly.

"Really?!" I say. "You managed to do it yourself now?"

"Did you doubt me?"

"No, no, I didn't say that."

"I started to take up cooking even though there are failures starting from the kitchen, which turns out not so bad."

"I wish I was there, and we could enjoy those cocoa biscuits together, watching a movie or something like that."

"Cocoa, really?!"

"Mhm"

I saw my dad looking at me from the screen with a puzzled face. I couldn't understand what I had said wrong just to be surprised?!

"What?" I ask. "Is there something wrong?"

"It surprises me where you saw cocoa?"

"Aren't those cocoa biscuits?"

"No?"

"Why are they brown then?"

Dad took one of the cookies in his hand and inspected it from every angle.

"Maybe they're overbaked?

"Or burnt." I say.

We burst into laughter. I loved my dad endlessly. The fact that he passed everything with a smile, despite his inner struggles, his patience was admirable. This connected me with my dad.

"Just, next time you should watch over the cookies, or you might overbake and burn down the house."

"Alright, I'll keep that in mind, dear." he says. "Now tell me, how does New Haven look?"

"I was eagerly awaiting this question actually." I said amidst emotions I could barely contain. "I've found a job."

"Really?!"

"Yes, in a cafeteria that's three blocks away from my house."

"Celia, my daughter, you don't have to worry about..."

"I'm grown up enough to pay for my own school now." I said. "I don't want to be a burden to you, not now that we live alone."

"You've never been a burden, my daughter." he says with a painful tone. "I'm very proud of you."

"I love you so much, dad."

"And I love you too, my daughter." he says from the other side of the screen. "Now don't forget to eat and go with an empty stomach, as university starts tomorrow."

"Don't worry." I say.

"Alright, Celia, we'll talk again."

"Of course, dad."

"Good night, dear."

"Good night, dad."

I hung up and held it in my hands. It felt like I was holding my dad's hands. Like I had kissed them once again. Tomorrow, university would start, and my stomach was almost leaping out of my mouth.

"Get up, Celia, and eat something." I encouraged myself.

I prepared something quick to eat and would lie down immediately to sleep. I would rather be lying down even though after a few turns from one side to the other, my eyes would still be wide open. I brushed my teeth and put on a long nightshirt. I entered my room where I had turned on a small bedside lamp enough to see where I was throwing my feet. I shook my blanket a bit and fluffed up the pillow. I set my alarm clock to the pink color for the morning and would stretch my tired body on the bed.

My eyes instinctively went to a source of artificial light coming from the house opposite my room. In one of the rooms of the private house, there was a light on, but the light didn't actually bother me. A silhouette seemed to be standing at the window, and their eyes were fixed on my room. Due to the light being behind the person's back, I couldn't perceive any features except for the outline that gave me the idea of a man.

I swallowed hard. Someone was watching me, and I didn't break eye contact. I approached the lamp and turned it off quickly, then closed the window. The room plunged into complete darkness. I stood with my hands resting on the closed window and checked if the person had left, but no, they were still there. Surely, they must have noticed that I had spotted them. I didn't know who it was, but I tried to lower the stress hormones that flooded my body and increase the dopamine levels. I thought of the student who had stayed here before me and was brutally murdered. Perhaps, they were watching her like they were watching me. What if he was the killer?