Poison Rose

CH- 54 - I am scared

Liora sat across from Sven, feeling exhausted in her legs after walking the distance of 10 kilometers from her residence to this cafe.

She looked around the room for a waitress, then elegantly raised her hand to catch someone's attention. Alongside the waitress, she caught Kai's attention while Sia was busy telling everyone stories of India.

"Could I have a bottle of water, please?" Liora requested, her voice tinged with a hint of fatigue.

Sven's eyebrows shot up in surprise as he looked at Liora, whose face had turned a bright tomato red. "Did you just walk here from the university?"

"Yes," she replied, trying to catch her breath.

"Why?"

"Walking is good for health," Liora said, picking up a menu and using it as a makeshift fan to cool herself down.

"If you'd have asked, I would have picked you up," Sven offered, a note of looked like genuine concern in his voice.

Liora forced a smile, making her eyes crinkle as she replied, "Thank you. Next time, I'll consider it." Her voice was light, but inside, she remained cautious.

Sven leaned forward, placing his arms on the table and interlocking his fingers.

"So, tell me, Li, about them. What are they saying, the ghosts?" He still couldn't quite believe the topic he was discussing with a university student.

"You saw a female ghost, didn't you?" Liora asked, knowing that Rachel would appear to Sven as a ghost. She glanced to the side, making it seem like someone was standing there.

Sven's heart began to race faster as he slowly turned to look in the direction Liora was watching.

"Right now, they're all looking at you," Liora whispered in confidence. "If I'm not wrong, your last victim is a female, and she has long hair." Purely guess work.

Hearing this, Sven's eyes widened in shock and disbelief. He quickly reached for a tissue on the table and began dabbing it on his forehead to wipe away the beads of sweat that had started to form.

"Does she have curly hair?" Sven asked, inadvertently giving Liora more information.

"Yes, she is—"

Before Liora could make more guesses, Sven interrupted, "Is she blind even as a ghost?" He looked around nervously.

'Blind?' Liora immediately was reminded of a sweet girl Alice. But then, a creeping sense of dread took hold in her gut. Something didn't feel right to Liora.

"DeCosta," she whispered again, recalling Daran telling her he couldn't reach 'Beautiful Vision Orphanage' no matter how much he tried to call and that the lady in charge had the same surname, 'DeCosta.'

She took a moment to gather her scattered thoughts.

Liora's hands trembled which were hidden under the table. "Does her name start with an A?" This time, it was more than a guess.

"Alice, yes. Her name is Alice," Sven replied hastily. "You really can see her? Holly crap... I believe you now."

"Alice from Beautiful Vision Orphanage," Liora said in a tone barely audible.

"Yes, did she tell you this?" He laughed, relieved. "Now I know, you will save me."

Liora felt as if the ground beneath her was slipping away. Alice, the blind girl she had once considered adopting through her mother is ...?