A bad omen

Chapter 2 : That appeared again

Narrator: Cease

"Drud……"Drud", I was running above the bridge, he used to like looking at the river from there. It was already 2 hours since my uncle gave me the warning of 20 minutes. The sun was already down and I didn't have the strength of going back home. I know they were going to kill me. I was hungry and cold, "What Drud must be doing now?" the question was haunting me. In that cold, I must have slept over the bridge as I was too tired. My eyes opened with the noise of splash as if something dropped into the river. In that dark, I again saw a shadow, the same shadow which I saw 2 years ago in Manang lodge. Same height as mine, same hair as mine, and same shape as mine. I began to freak out everything that happened 2 years ago came infront of my eyes. "What if something had happened to Drud?", I cried I shouted in that silence don't know what time it was at night? but my noise must have grabbed the attention of some people still awake in a motel just 150 meters away from there. The shadow again began to fade away with my scream and I lifted my leg to follow it but it was numb I just couldn't move from there. When I finally was able to move it was already late. People were around me and they were scolding me thinking I was a random kid shouting for no reason.

"Someone just jumped in the river", I shouted on which they were skeptical

"Don't waste our time", said a fat old man pointing a finger at me

"Believe me, please do something before it's too late"

"Are you sure?"

"yes, my instinct says that. If I came to be wrong I am ready to bear any consequence", I said as the feeling I was getting was certainly not positive

They were convinced at last and called the police. When they came the sky was turning blue with increasing dawn. They started their search operation with their light hat. After 10 minutes a man who was hanging on the rope to the river shouted that there was something in the sack. When he was pulling the sack above I was praying continuously for my suspicion to be wrong. My heart was trembling in horror. The sack was pulled above and when it was opened my sky fell above me,

It was Drud, everyone cried in fear and I was too miserable to cry too. fell on the ground and I just kept on watching at his innocent face which was wounded with a blade several times to extent that I wouldn't had recognized him if it was for his hair. I don't know for how long I was there, when my skin began burning due to sun I realized no one was around, the dead body of Drud was taken too and the sun was already high in the sky. Some policeman came toward me, "we need you in the station ", said they and took me with them in the van.  Their eyes were clearly telling me I was within the perimeter of their suspicion again and again I need to go through every test that I went earlier maybe more.

When I entered the station uncle and aunty threw themselves to me, they began grabbing me by my hair, hit me with their hands, and slap me again and again. I didn't even stop them, they lost their son because of me. No matter how much they hated me Drud was their center of the universe. The police came there and freed me from their grasp. "please, control yourself this is a police station", said he

"She is the killer of my child. She is the one. She Killed her own mom and dad when she was 1 and she killed her adopted mom and dad when she was 8 and now my son. If you had a problem with us you should have killed us why an innocent child, he used to love you", she fell on the floor leaving me in a dilemma

"I am adopted?", I kept my hand on my chest hoping she would take her statement back

"Yes, I told you the truth which you adopted mom always hid. They adopted you from some orphanage of Manang."

"please, say everything you said is wrong. Please", I cried bitterly

"it is the truth. I should had never let bad omen like you to enter my house. You are cursed Cease you killed your birth mom and dad and then destroyed my sister's family and now my Drud"

"Please take it back", I couldn't hold it anymore. Was I that bad? Was I that wrong?

Forensic check confirmed that fingerprints on the blade which were found inside the sack matched mine and again I was the center of suspicion. And me being on the bridge the whole night just triggered that.

  I was again obliged to go through lie detector test, and even they tried hallucinating me but nothing conformed I was the killer. Still due to my past reports court gave orders to sentence me 8 years of prison. Uncle and aunty were happy their wish to get rid of me with the legacies of my mom and dad with them was fulfilled.

Those five years took the turning point in my life. There were various prison mates of mine still I was the youngest. My education continued there, they had facility to educate people like us too. Frankly saying 2 years with aunty was more miserable than 5 years in prison. I never got to be attached to anyone there. I thought what if I began to feel attachment with them. I used to sit alone, eat alone and read alone. My marks were highest among 50 of us. Others used to call me witch, but that didn't affect me as that name was too familiar for me.

It was already 3 years in the cell when one day two of the girls from our chamber began fighting on random topics, they were grabbing eachother hair while others were around them provoking more fight. In that fight one of the girls broke the basin of our chamber. The girl who broke it was Kathy, everyone were afraid of her, she was the eldest from our section with more bodyweight. She exactly was the second name of the demon. Anyone who used to go against her used to get beaten up.

When the police came for a check at the evening seeing the broken basin, they asked everyone about the one who broke it. Everyone was silent, afraid of her but when they asked again I couldn't help myself but tell them Kathy was the real culprit. They took Kathy with them to punish her while going her eyes which were looking at me with the revenge bulging inside told me she was going to kill me. Everyone on the cell was looking at me in horror.  A girl came to me, she was new there I didn't even know her name

"Why did you tell counstable about Kathy. She is going to kill you after she returns", in that 3 year no one ever talked to me like that, no one even came near to me but she was different.

"I know but I don't care", I said turning away from her

"How can you not care, don't you love your life"

"I don't, and maybe you don't know I don't like to talk much. So please", I said her indicating to go away

"Yeah, I am here for 1 month and I saw no one even notice you"

"I like that"

"Anyway Kathy is going to kill you after she comes back, you can share your life with me", she chuckled

I stared at her in anger, "common, someone should be the witness of your existence", Kusum chuckled again

"I have nothing to share with you", I said again I was already irritated with her

"Okay, I will share you first then. You might want to know why I am here?"

"trust me, I don't"

"but I want to share, I killed my step-father", said she being serious this time

Then I began to become curious about that, why anyone has to kill their father. But I kept my expression constant for her to believe I wasn't interested.

"he tried to r**e me, when mom wasn't around. He used to touch me here and there when we used to get alone but that day he crossed his limit and began to force me to undo my cloth, he was grabbing me by my hips and his hands were already near… I couldn't think much but hit him hard with a vase which was on the table"

"I am sorry for that", I said feeling pity for her

"you know the worst part. My own mom called the police and filed a warrant against me even after I told everything that happened. I thought among everyone she would understand me"

"if that helps, I am here for murdering the most precious persons of my life whose death I can't even imagine in my dream"

"Yeah, maybe not every story which ends up in prison is demonish".

That day for the first time in prison I felt a connection with someone. When there is no-one in the world who cares for you even small thing a stranger do for you means a lot. Same thing was happening to me. For everyone surprise Kathy didn't react anything when she returns, she just kept on ignoring me as she used to do, but this time they were noticing me. Kusum became my close friend, we used to read together. I know I wasn't supposed to be with anyone but being alone sucked me.

I was being selfish but she was warm. Slowly when the months went by, she began to talk with everyone in the chamber. She was sweet and lovable so everyone used to love her but me. She began spending time with others so I began to feel left out. She brought me out of my lonely life and left me there. I couldn't stand it, I used to feel betrayed I used to get jealous when she used to play with other rather than talking with me. I don't feel proud of it but in that jealousy I did the thing that I still regret.

I stole Sila's family photo, one of the girls in the chamber. That photo was very precious to her she used to look at it with wet eyes once a day. When everyone was sleeping I cut it into pieces and hide it inside Kusum's bag. I thought when everyone will accuse her of doing that I will support her and make her happy so we can be a best friend forever but that incident results in opposite. When Sila didn't found her family photo in the morning, she began to panic and began crying. I felt guilty about doing it for real. Kathy ordered everyone to unpack their bag and from Kusum's bag pieces of pictures came up. Seeing the destroyed picture, Sila freak out and began to cry utterly and everyone began to stare at Kusum and her unknown about how it was there kept on denying that it was her.

Everyone were humiliating Kusum and accusing for what she didn't do and as my plan I went toward her and consoled her that I believed in her. She leaned up to me and I thought I got her back but the very next day she found the scissor below my pillow and knew that it was me who did it. She was so hurt that she couldn't even utter a word from her mouth against me. She just went away and never talked to me again. I went back to the same old and lonely self. I know I did wrong but after realizing who I was it was fine at least she will survive away from cursed me.

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3 police vans seem to surround the palace. There were 10 to 12 policemen with gun in their hand. One of them takes a mic in his hand

"Miss Cease, we know you are here in the palace, Please surrender yourself otherwise we have to go violent."

Narrator Cease

Again I am the suspect of Danny's murder. they must have thought I ran away from my apartment to get rid of them. I don't have much choice, I should go with them and I know what they are going to do with me.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Is Cease really a murderer Or is it a stalker who can't see her smile? Or is Cease right that she is a bad omen?