Death Note GV - [revised]

Chapter 1 [The marker]

Ever since we were kids, my little sister Helen and I loved watching detective movies, reading detective novels and playing our favourite game "thieves and cops". Of course, we knew nothing about this field when we read our first crime novel at the age of eight. But through these books and movies, we learned a lot. And so when adults asked us about what we wanted to be when we grow up, we usually answered policewomen or detectives. When such an answer was given, we envisioned the moment when we would lock up the criminals in jail. Well... Little did I know I would solve my very first case at the age of fourteen!

It all started that day. June 25th, 2016. I was cleaning the attic of the house when suddenly I found a blue marker thrown on the floor.  At first, I thought it was just forgotten, so I picked it up to put it in a marker box, but looking at it more closely I noticed it was... Sparkling. I cleaned it off a bit thinking it was dust, but they stayed there. As if the stars danced. As if the marker was magic.

At some point, Helen entered the attic.

"Hey! What's up, sis?"

"Fine... Just doing stuff."

She looked at the marker for a moment.

"You found it!"

"I found what?"

"The marker! I mean the magic marker."

"Aren't these things dust?" I said still looking at the sparkles.

"Is dust even yellow?" she giggled. "The marker it's magic, whether you believe it or not."

"What do you mean "magic"?" I asked as if I had already believed her.

"Well... It's a gift by a spirit."

"Spirit?" I interrupted. Obviously, my ears were playing tricks on me.

"Yup, spirit. When I woke up on New Year's morning, I noticed there was a package with a note under the Christmas tree. I opened it and saw the marker along with the note. The note wrote that since I was a good girl the whole year, I deserved more than just a toy. The spirit wrote that with this marker I can travel to the past, present and future. It also wrote if I go on a trip, the marker will bring a replaced person who'll be exactly like me. She'll act and talk like me. No one will see the difference. The spirit told me to use the marker but under one condition: No adult should find out about the power of this marker and if they do, it'll lose it. So, I decided to tell you about it because you're fourteen."

She's full of imagination... I thought. She had a vivid imagination from a young age. She was the one making up the scenarios we played in our police games. Who is the killer, why did they commit the murder and such. All this is based on fiction. As if it was influenced by the movies we were watching. So, I decided to join her game.

"Interesting... Have you been anywhere so far?"

"I went once in the twentieth century. It's not really worth it. It was so boring..." she answered.

"That's nice..." I said in an indifferent tone.

"Why don't you go on a trip too?"

"Me? You mean... By the marker's help?"

"Yes, it'll be fun! I went on a trip, so why don't you go too?"

"I'm not sure yet... I'll give it a few more days."

"Come on! I'm sure it'll be fun! You see, I got bored immediately since I went a hundred years back. But you, on the other hand, will be somewhere modern. Let's say... Ten or twenty years ago. It's gonna be awesome!

Suddenly her voice tone changed. As if she actually meant her words. She was talking too convincingly to be just pretending.

"Think about it and I'll look up historical events on Google, so you can see face to face. I'm sure the next decades of the twentieth century will be more interesting than the 1920s. And remember: Don't reveal the power of the marker to mom and dad, or generally to an adult."

And with these words, she left the attic. I was confused. In general, my sister has an odd sense of humour. Sometimes she tells jokes so convincingly that makes you think she's being serious. I thought she was just in a playful mood, so that's why she acted that way. Little did I know what I would find out!