HOPE

CHAPTER 3

Esperanza's pov

Is this my opportunity? Maybe this is the only opportunity that I will ever get. The killer himself has left a clue for me. I can't live like this forever.

Being honest, I am not living. I am numbing myself towards everything that has been happening to me. I am just keeping my mind blank about everything. Is this called living?

You should express yourself about the occurrences that are happening in this society. At least, you can feel something, right? but I can't feel anything. Because, if I did, I don't think I would be able to survive.

I am not that strong. At least in the orphanage, I was able to express myself irrespective of the consequences. I lived. But now?

I am merely surviving.

I just want to know what does he want from me. Why the heck he is giving me a slow death? If this lasts, I don't think I would even have any desire to live. I M-Might end up killing myself.

I hope this piece of paper will be the entry ticket for the pathway of my survival.

Drystan.

It was beautifully penned. I traced it with my fingers. That name sounded vastly exotic in my tongue. This is my first time coming across a name like this.

I turned over the paper. Now, I realised that I would never be able to get out of this mess. Even Though it is hard to digest this fact, I don't know what to do or where to go.

"What do you want from me?" I cried out in the hall looking around myself. Not leaving any spot out.

"What the hell do you want from me? Just say it to my face instead of hiding like a wimp." I shouted twirling myself around. My knees gave up partly due to my cries and partly due to the trembling of my body.

With a half squat, forwarding my upper body, I shouted again.

"What is the meaning of this?" I shouted at him.

There in the paper, it was clearly written: "I am sorry."

"What drama are you pulling out?" I asked looking everywhere around the hall with the hope that whoever that person is will have mercy on me and would leave me out of this.

Maybe he is trying to divert the case towards me. But why should he?

A single phone call from him made the officers prevent filing the case. A single phone call from him made the orphanage head to drive me out of the orphanage to this hellhole.

If he is that powerful, why the hell is he murdering?

As always, I do have the questions. But what about the answers?

For now, I only know that his name is Drystan and he is trying to say sorry to me.

Why he is saying sorry to me? If he found me as an obstacle, he could have killed me.

So, he is seeing me as an obstacle. His next target could be me. There have been three murders that have happened in this home in which three happened in my presence.

Every time I was locked inside my room, while the murder was occurring in the hall. I always heard their screams. It gave me terror. It haunted me day and night.

When the first murder happened, I tried to vacate this house. But I couldn't. No one helped me. As usual, the phone call crushed even my little freedom.

You can't blame me for not going to the police. I didn't want any trouble. I just wanted to get out there. To escape. To run away. Though I may not have the job. I was ready to work.

"You don't need to work. Just concentrate on your studies. Just do as I say. Do you get it?''

I remembered my orphanage head saying this to me when I tried to work since she forced me out of that orphanage. I thought I was supposed to take care of the expenses.

But I was wrong. She took care of my every financial related need. I just have to stay here and focus on my studies. But seriously, it is not like I could get out of this bloody mansion.

Wait, maybe he is trying to convey something to me. What it might be?

He is sorry. Maybe he is sorry for involving an innocent in this. He might have targeted the wrong person.

Yes! He might have mistaken me for someone else. I am going to be free!yes!yes!yes.......

Wait, what if this paper belongs to Shawn? What if I am overthinking? What if he has lied to me and his name was Drystan?

There is only one way to find out. This may sound crazy. But it is the only idea that has risen in this stupid's mind. It may or may not help me. But there is nothing wrong in trying it out, right?

After a long time, I am seeing a ray of hope that I desperately want to clutch.

After a long time, I am feeling happy with excitement. I stopped believing that I could receive any help. But at present, I feel like I can be helped.

Even If I have to beg, I will.

I am going to reply to him.

This killer frequently visits this place or he has some sort of source from where he could get to know what am I doing. Or else he never could have stopped me from leaving this place.

So, there is a high chance of negotiation.

I could simply tell him that I am not the person he is looking for and I would never open my mouth if he allows me to leave this place.

But, what if he has written it for someone else and accidentally dropped it? What if I make a fool out of myself?

My hands clutching that piece of paper tightly. I contemplated on replying, literally asking him to set me free.

He can kill me for this. After all, he is a killer.

However, I don't care. With that thought, I started running to my room.

I skipped two to three steps while running on the stairs. When I arrived at my doorstep, I urgently opened my door.

Inside, I took the note that rested in the table beside my bed and tore a paper from it. But my luck has to go against me, I couldn't find the pen.

I hungrily searched for the pen, yet I couldn't find it. My hands fumbled with the pen stands unable to find it. When I finally found one. There was no ink in it.

With the new hope and the stress that was caused by it, I took a deep breath and sat at the bed.

Where did I keep it? I tried hard to remember it. But all I could remember was keeping it in the pen stand on the table.

I flung my legs front and back.

This is so frustrating. Why do I have to have only one pen? Shall I go out and buy a pen?

My legs touched something and I felt something roll off as I flung my limbs forward.

Yep! I found a pen. Maybe I really am going to be free.

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