The Box [h.s]

11.

Corpse Identification Report

Case N°: 290502

Body Description: The victim was found in an advanced state of decomposition, which made immediate visual identification difficult. However, distinctive characteristics were obtained that aided in subsequent identification.

Identification Procedures: The forensic personnel of this department proceeded with the following steps for body identification: Visual Recognition, Fingerprinting, Dental Comparison, and DNA Analysis.

Conclusions: Based on the aforementioned procedures, it is confirmed that the body found in Los Angeles corresponds to Elizabeth Parker, twenty-two years old.

Next Steps: The closest relatives of the victim will be notified of her death. The investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of Elizabeth Parker will continue to determine the exact cause of death and to bring the perpetrator(s) to justice.

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I feel dazed.

I haven't moved from my desk in the office since I arrived. Although the scent of lavender permeates my senses, it fails to bring me any relief.

Elizabeth.

The same Elizabeth I met when I was about to travel to Los Angeles for the first time. The one I bumped into at the airport who offered me her book to entertain myself for a while. The one I didn't look for afterward and didn't pay much attention to, thinking that maybe I'd see her on the plane.

I close my eyes and massage my temple with my thumb. It's the same gesture I've been repeating since I received her report. Since I read it. And since then, my head burns with fever.

I could have prevented it.

Maybe if I had looked for her after she went to the bathroom. If I had offered to accompany her. If I had been more insistent on finding her to return her book.

"So your only encounter with her was at the airport?" Jacob asks once again, and like the last five times, I nod in response.

"For you, Aubrey, she was a total stranger", Zayn says. "You shouldn't blame yourself for that".

But why couldn't I convince myself of the same?

I know it was logical for him to see it that way, and I should feel the same. I had no reason to feel guilty. I had only seen Elizabeth once in my life, and we had only spoken once. However, something about her kindness or the way she expressed herself made me feel connected to her. I could have imagined that she had simply taken another flight and that's why we didn't meet again, but I never would have thought that on that same day, she would be snatched from her future as a medical student, by the same person who had taken the future from Cindy Hamilton and Alessia Smith.