Page 358

I stare at it. Its eyes staring directly into my soul. That wasn’t my friend. The one who had a passion for life. The one who conquered every obstacle that came in her way with grace. The person ahead of me was lifeless. Its eye had lost the life in it. Her brown, sparkling eyes were now white like a ghost, symbolising death. Her body had deep wounds all over it, not leaving a single space for some skin. She lied in a pool of her own blood, slowly suffocating in it.

She had, oh so clearly been tortured to death. Every man’s fingerprint lied on her body, marking it, haunting it. Yet, the audacity of everyone to think it was suicide. Everyone claimed her to be a dull person who waited for a chance to end it all. A person who wanted a release from life.

Adeline. Such a beautiful name for a beautiful girl. A girl who had a zeal for life. The girl who brought me hope, without expecting anything in return. The girl who favoured my life, my happiness, more than hers.

It’s ridiculous how death gets to steal anyone away from us. The power it dangles in front of us is astonishing. With one snap, death could arrive at your death and torture you until the last second of your miserable life, giving you the last chance to replay all your regrets, haunting you until you drown in those thoughts. 

I stared at her, one last time, before walking away. There was no point in crying, begging, shouting. She was never coming back.

I looked at the police, who had been continuing this investigation for the last three months. Absolutely no hope. They had searched everywhere, interrogated everyone. Yet they didn’t even have a suspect.

I sighed. My platonic soulmate dying had been hard. It had been terrible. However, it was time to become brave. She would have wanted me to get over it. Learn life was short and live to the fullest. However, this wasn’t possible. So many questions were in front of me. Occupying my thoughts, haunting me until I couldn’t breathe. However, one stuck by me. Making me question everything.

Did she kill herself?

I walked over to her house, swarmed by all our memories. I brush them off and get serious. I have no time to be emotional. I needed to find who did it. I needed to make them suffer. I needed to end their life in torture. While they would beg in mercy, I would cherish this moment. Hoping their pain would never end.

I knocked on the door and was greeted by her sad mother. She had deep dark circles, and her soft skin was covered in wrinkles. Her back was bent down. Her ability to wake properly had disappeared.

She stared at me with cold eyes and let me in. Unaware of what I should do, I gently smiled and went up to Adeline’s room.

Her room still shined. She had manifested the perfect room to match her personality. Everything was brightly lit. Her room was always organised. Her silk bedsheets, carefully spread out over her queen-sized bed. Her table was always well maintained. No one could ever find a speck of dust in her room.

I looked around, trying to avoid any memories that may rush in. I could not afford to break down right now. I had to uncover this secret. I had to bring my friend the peace she deserved.

I sighed. Adeline had been full of life, but she had also been secretive. It was stuck in her head that she had to protect me for all the misery life brings. Like it was her duty.

Giving her room a deep inspection wasn’t enough. I had to think like Adeline to find any clues hidden. I looked inside her wardrobe, knowing nothing important would be hidden there. I looked inside her bed, around her table. No hope.

Come on, Amora. Think. What would Adeline do?

I went up to her bookshelf. She treasured these books with her life. She wouldn’t even let a single flower near her books. I picked up a book. It was soft in touch. It was painted beautifully, capturing every essence of the book, painting every sentence in the book vividly. I opened the book gently, knowing if I ruin anything in this book, Adeline will haunt me.

I turn to the page she always keeps on rambling about. I have never spent a day with her without hearing about the literary brilliance on page 358. I gently open the page, waiting patiently to read this brilliance my friend always talked about.

A small envelope fell out. I cursed under my breath. I am going to get haunted by my own best friend. She would kill me if she had the power.

I carefully keep the book back and pick up the envelope. I opened the envelope, curiosity killing me. There was a piece of paper inside it. There were flowers painted on it, but not your regular flowers. All those flowers look like they had been destroyed, completely damaged. I turn the paper around and saw the word “father” written on it. However, the word had been scribbled upon.

I sigh. What was I supposed to do with this? What kind of clue was this?

I keep the envelope in my pocket and head down. I noticed her mother looking at a picture of Adeline. Tears filled my eyes. The amount of pain her mother must go through is unbearable. Her only daughter, the daughter she loved with all her heart, the daughter her heart beat for, was now dead.

I walked up to her and hugged her. She gently sobbed, not letting the picture of Adeline know she was crying. We remained in this position for a while before she spoke,

“I know Adeline is dead now. I know my precious daughter isn’t coming back. But what hurts the most is that she died a long time ago, and there was nothing I could do to help her.”

I looked at her with a confused expression. She ignored it and continued, “Adeline had a joyous life. She never stayed in this house for more than 30 minutes a time. However, not so long ago, she changed this habit. She would stay in the house permanently and never leave.”

I try to recall this. I had noticed Adeline staying in her house for a longer period, but she had always made excuse to do so.

“One day, I confronted her. I wanted to know why my daughter was so upset, it physically and emotionally hurt me. I kept on asking her and wouldn’t budge until she told me. She eventually got tired of me and told me everything. She- um- she was raped. She was disgusted by herself, by her body. Every part, every inch of her body that had been touched by that man disgusted her. She started to hate herself so much. She thought everyone thought of her as this revolting, weak person.”

I gasp. How could Adeline keep this from me? How could I not notice? Why couldn’t I be there the one time my friend needed me? I was surrounded by questions that I would never receive the answer to.

“I was shocked. I didn’t know what to do, how to help her. So, I just comforted her, wishing I could make all her suffering, all her hatred towards herself go away.”

“I told her father about this. About how our precious daughter had been deflowered. How she was feeling empty. Her father listened for a while then went up to her room. At that time, I assumed he was going to console her, ask her who did it, make that person’s life hell.”

I recall the envelope in my pocket. All those damaged flowers had started to piece together.

“But he did the exact opposite. He beat our daughter for being so stupid and silly to do such a horrendous thing like this. He said she had bought shame to our family. He kept on repeating the phrase ‘I trusted you’ ”

“I was horrified. I tried to stop him. I really did. But he pushed me aside and kept on torturing our daughter.”

“I still remember the hopeless look in her eyes. There wasn’t any spark there. She had lost all hope and wasn’t ever going to regain it. Her eyes looked dull, like she somehow deserved this pain.”

Her mother started to cry uncontrollably. Her tears rolling down her face. However, she continued the story, knowing she had to get the truth out.

“Adeline was hopeless. She hated herself. She hated everyone else. She was afraid to tell anyone else. So, she needed to escape. Escape from this misery, this suffering. So, she did.”

I pulled out the envelope, the flowers on it haunting me. I turned the page around and saw the word father. I tried to piece it together.

No. It couldn’t be.

I stared at her mother who was looking at the piece of paper in my hand.

I stuttered, “You don’t think-”

Her mother interrupted me, “I- I don’t want to think.”

The evidence lied in front of us, tearing our soul. The person who raped her was right in front of us. All the answers were ahead of us. We had uncovered the truth. However, both of us were far from peace. 

She did it. She killed herself.

No, no. She had been killed. Brutally murdered. Her soul was completely drained. All the hope had gone, and her heart completely shattered.

All the memories of me and Adeline flooded into my head. All the good times, all the time she was there for me. All the laughter, the kind faces. The weird things we did. All came rushing back. And I let it.

I cried along with her mother, suddenly feeling the true lost of losing my best friend. The only friend I could truly trust. We cried and cried, our hearts breaking with every tear.

She was truly gone, and we couldn’t do anything about it. No matter how much we cry, who we beg, who we fight, she was never coming back. Instead of making new memories with her, she, herself had become a memory.