Heir

10) Detroit

  The roof wasn't even as ugly as I expected. Clean tiles were spread out on the floor with pipes and tubes decorating the walls. They looked quite new.

There was a huge container at a corner. It was a dull grey, which contrasted with the rest of the room. It looked as old as mountains and it looked as though it was about to fall apart.

  I stared at it, scared and confused. To be honest, more confused than scared. "Why does it look so..."

  "Bad? It's a water tank, so there's going to be rust. The Manager wouldn't want to waste money on this. The water quality isn't affected, though." he reassured me. He stepped forward to the water tank and I saw him tremble. "Are you sure about this, ma'am?"

  "As sure as can be." I confirmed.

  He took out a key- a different one this time and he inserted it into a lock I hadn't noticed. He twisted and turned, and I heard a ke-cha sound, but I couldn't see anything happen.

  "Beware." he warned.

  Yeah, kay.

  I took a step closer to the water tank and stood on my toes, but I couldn't see the inside.

  "The steps are over there, ma'am." he pointed at something behind the container, which was probably activated by the key or something.

  I walked around it and I saw metal steps leading towards the top of the water tank. Fortunately, there were railings that prevented people from falling into the death hole.

  I climbed up, a little nervous, but surprisingly, not as much I had imagined. In the olden days, or rather, the good old days with Theo at Traevale, Theo and I would play Imagina, a game where one of us gives a scenario, and the other will explain his or her reaction. It was quite a popular game in Traevale. Even of we were teenagers, that game was one of the best.

  One day while playing Imagina, Theo had asked me what would my reaction be if I saw someone die.

  I had pondered for a while, then said that I would probably scream in fright and run in the other direction, causing Theo to laugh.

  I missed Theo's laughter

  That thought came to me even before my brain could come to it'd senses. When it finally did, it sent me a message 'He betrayed you. Don't you even dare.'

  That bittersweet memory  lingered in my brain and when it faded, I remembered where I was.
  "Ma'am, you can come down if you want." the man said from below.

  I ignored him and peered inside.

  The water was a blanket of yellow and red. I could see disgusting strands of hair littered everywhere, as though casually thrown in by a litter bug. Something was visible under the water, but it was so blurry that I couldn't see it.

  "Is that the body?"

  "Y...yes, ma'am. Are you done?"

  I examined the body once more. I saw something long and black as the top and red and blue at the midsection. Probably a woman.

  "What's so scary about it?"

  A gasp replied.

  "How could you not be scared if that...corpse? She was brutally murdered, ma'am!" I turned, and he was shivering even more. "It's a tragedy, ma'am!" 

  Okay, okay, no need to make a big deal out of it.

  "I know and I'm sorry." I replied and climbed down the steps, not really sorry but I simply wanted to end the awkward moment.