The Man Who Hears Your Mind

One winter night, Nicky went with his parents to see his favorite theater show. That night, Jack—Nicky's father—was a little late returning home because he had much work in the office. Jack is a detective in the police force who is currently working on a critical case. At first, the case was a murder case, but after investigating for one month, he found other issues that were related. It was an embezzlement of money involving several businessmen and government officials. Jack is eager to uncover the truth of the case. Jack is a forty-year-old man who always adheres to the principles of truth and justice. He is not afraid of anyone or anything. He will do everything he can to uncover the truth. The only thing Jack hates most in this world is injustice. Therefore, when his superiors in the police asked him to stop investigating this significant case, Jack immediately flatly refused. He insisted on continuing to investigate the case without realizing that bad people were targeting him. Twelve years ago, Jack married a woman he had loved since school. It was Marie, a fair-skinned, brown-eyed woman. After two years of marriage, they were blessed with a son named Nicky. Physically, Nicky is very similar to Jack, but judging from his personality, he is more similar to Marie; he is quiet and does not easily get along with new people. That night, Nicky and his mother are ready in their best clothes. They will go to a theatrical performance. Unlike his classmates, who preferred to go on game rides, Nicky, who was ten years old then, chose to watch shows with singing, dancing, and dialogue. He saw theater as an art that was both beautiful and fun to enjoy. Of course, this taste also descended from Marie, while Jack did not like theater at all. But because Jack was always trying to make his family happy, he was willing to take the time to go to the theater. "Mom, haven’t Dad come yet?" Asked Nicky, who was sitting in the living room then. Marie, looking restless, then looked at the wall clock before her. It was already 7 p.m., and another 20 minutes of the show was about to begin. It takes them about 30 minutes from the house to get to the theater at a moderate speed. Marie is okay with missing the theater show. She is afraid that bad things will happen to her husband. Marie knows very well that Jack is currently investigating a major case. As someone who has lived with Jack for a dozen years, Marie already knows what risks will happen to her husband. "It's a job risk, a detective risk," Jack said two years ago when they received terror at the house. But Marie tries to stay calm. She didn't want Nicky to worry about his father's situation, "It looks like dad is still on the road. We’ll wait." She said, rubbing her son's back. Not long after, the door of their house opened. Jack appears in a jacket that is slightly wet from the snow. He approached Marie and Nicky individually, saying, "I'm sorry I was late. There was an urgent matter in the office. We set off now, shall we?" Jack asked with a gentle gaze. Nicky, who had seemed upset because his father didn't come, is now back in spirits again. Nicky immediately ran towards his father's car, which was already parked in front of the house. This contrasts with Marie, who gave Jack a worried look, "Are you okay?" Marie asked. Jack kissed his wife’s lips and said, "I'm fine, Honey." They walked after Nicky, who was already in the car. When everyone was in their seatbelt, Jack said, "Because we're already late, I'm going to speed up so we don't miss the show. Is everything ready?" Jack asked Marie, who was in the front passenger seat, and Nicky in the middle seat. Marie and Nicky said, "Ready!!!" enthusiastically. The road conditions on that night were very slippery because it was winter. There are few vehicles in sight. At times like these, more people are choosing to stay home while enjoying their favorite movie with a cup of hot chocolate. Moreover, the weather forecast says that there will be a blizzard shortly. The quiet road conditions motivated Jack even more to drive his car at high speed. He wanted his children and wife to watch the theatre performance on time. Until then... Until then, there was a car that seemed to follow them. It was the latest black car. Nicky was the first to notice it, but he said nothing. In his mind at that time, maybe the car was just like them, forced to speed because they wanted to hurry up to the theater building. Simple thoughts are typical of young children. As a detective, Jack's instincts have always been trained to be vigilant. He finally realized that something was wrong with the car behind him. The car even ran a red light to match the speed of Jack's car. The car wanted to keep track of Jack's car. Eventually, Jack realized that the car was following him. As Jack accelerated the pace of his car, it also accelerated. Jack almost crashed into another vehicle several times as he tried to disappear from the car's sight. Jack didn't want anything bad to happen to his children and wife. So he took out all his driving skills to reach the theater safely. "Be careful, Honey," Marie said when she saw the car that had been behind since now was next to her car. Jack still tried to concentrate while occasionally looking at the car. He wanted to know who was behind the wheel. But Jack still couldn't see it because the man wore a black face and head covering. All Jack knew was that the person was a man. While in the middle seat, Nicky started crying in fear. He is aware that his family is in danger. Nicky often sees scenes of accidents caused by racing actions. Especially now that the car is always trying to graze the car. Nicky looked at the car but saw no one but the man wearing a mask with holes in the eyes, nose, and lips. Marie became even more panicked. She wanted to hug her son but couldn't. The situation became more tense because several other vehicles became disturbed due to the speeding action of Jack and the car beside him. They honked their horns, hoping that the cars of two cars would pull over and stop. When Jack's gaze returned to the car on his right, suddenly, a truck drove from the left intersection at high speed in seconds. It was so high that it didn't give Jack a chance to dodge. Marie immediately shouted, "Honey!!!!!!!!!!!" But it's all too late. The truck directly hit Jack's car heavily. Jack's car overturned and dragged for several tens of meters. The state of traffic became highly chaotic. Several other vehicles were hit, but they were able to escape. Meanwhile, in the car, the little family was already speechless. The bodies of the three were stained with blood. The body of the car even pinched Jack and Marie's bodies. Marie was unconscious that very second. But Jack and Nicky both still had time to regain consciousness. The equally tilted body position of the two makes Jack and Nicky face each other. Jack's eyes met Nicky's. Her tears, mixed with blood, were rushing down her face. He looked at his son with a meaningful look. Until then, Jack left to catch up with Marie. And Nicky no longer remembers what happened to him because he was unconscious. ****** Nicky felt a terrible headache. His whole body felt so painful as if crushed to the bones. He doesn’t know how many cuts and bruises there are on his body now. When he opened his eyes, the first thing he thought of was where were his father and mother? Did they survive? Are they also in this place with Nicky? But Nicky couldn't say anything. His throat was sore and dry. He tried to move his right hand to make one of the nurses aware of him who was awake. The nurse, who was in her forties, immediately checked Nicky's condition. She then left the room and returned with a male doctor who was half a century old. The doctor injected something that Nicky didn’t know. But a few minutes later, Nicky felt that the pain in his body began to decrease. "Please contact the police." The doctor said to the nurse. Nicky didn't know why they had to call the police. Where did his father and mother go? Why not just call them to see Nicky? Again, not a single word could come from Nicky's lips. But it didn't take long for the police to come to his room. The doctor immediately explained Nicky's condition to the two men he had never met. The man was not wearing a police uniform. He suspects that they are detectives from the police force, just like his father, who never wears a police uniform while working. "At the moment, Nicky's condition is still quite weak. The violent impact that occurred that night resulted in severe injuries to the head. My diagnosis is that Nicky will have temporary amnesia or possibly partial amnesia. But we can't confirm that yet because we can’t communicate directly with Nicky. He must be in shock after being in a coma for a month. So we will monitor the progress first while providing the best care, maybe up to the next 5-7 days. After that, we will do some physical therapy. And I strongly beg the police not to conduct any interviews or communications with Nicky for the next seven days. Because it will only activate the trauma and slow his memory’s recovery." Explained the doctor at length. After hearing the doctor's explanation, Nicky could see that the policeman, who was about the same age as his father, looked very worried and could not hide his annoyance. At the same time, the younger police are seen to obey all the doctor's words. The two men walked up to Nicky. The distance between Nicky's face and the older man is now less than one meter. The man noticed all the medical tools attached to Nicky's body. None of the tools he knew the name of. Nicky looked at the man, aware of Nicky's gaze. The man also turned his eyes toward Nicky. Now, the two of them stared at each other. However, that very second, Nicky's head felt very painful. His ears rang. After that, he heard indistinct noises in his ears. The voice was noisy and messy as hell. It's a sentence that sounds like a sloppy puzzle piece. Nicky shook his head with makeshift energy. He hopes that the noise can disappear soon. But it turned out that the voice was still there, only it became a sound he could hear and understand. Nicky still looked into the man's eyes. Then he heard a voice he had never heard before, "What a fate you have. It’s still so small to bear a big disaster." Nicky was sure the man's mouth was not moving, even with younger men. The two have not spoken since just now. Then whose voice is it? Why can Nicky hear that voice? What great calamity is he going through? Where did his father and mother go? Those questions began to haunt ten-year-old Nicky.