“Aunty! I am back,” Sherry called out cheerfully as she pushed open the door of the house. The day had been tiring and now, she was craving the warm soup made by the old aunt. Thinking about the taste of the spices in the soup made her heart warm from within.
Despite the unease she was feeling inside her heart, she held onto the small thread of hope and warmth.
‘Why are all the lights off? I think uncle and aunt are not back yet,’ she thought as she took out her phone. Turning on the flashlight she made her way to the switch wall to turn on the lights.
Click!
The switch produced clicking sound which was accompanied by the bright light as the bulbs and tube lights glowed. Looking around she saw that everything looked the same as she had left behind. There was not even small change in the appearance of the room. Just as she was about to walk, her feet hit something on the floor. Curious, she looked down.
“Where did this stone come from?” she frowned a bit as she observed the white stone on her hand. The stone looked a bit familiar to her. She rummaged through her memories to try and see where she had seen the stone before.
“Aha!! Now I remember,” she giggled as she looked at the old maid when she was young. It was the stone she had found when they had gone to the beach from school trip. She had just thought that the stone looked pretty. After returning back, she had simply tossed it to the old maid to throw it away.
A smile bloomed in her face. “She kept it all this time huh?” Holding the stone she took in a long breath.
“Aunt, are you in your room? I am coming,” she called out again as she made her way towards the old maid’s chamber that had kit door wide open. The room was still dark as it was still in one of the dark corner.
“Why didn’t y-” turn on the light? This was the question she wanted to ask but all of her words got pressed down on her throat. She abruptly stopped in the door, a few centimeter away from the entrance of the door with a horrified expression on her face.
A hand was stretched out on the floor.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Her heart beat accelerated as she moved her vision from te head to the top of the head that was lying on the floor- facing down as it continued lying.
“Aunt?!” Sherry called out to the woman on the floor but all she got as an answer was silence.
Her heart immediately got filled with an ominous feeling as she leaned down to pat the back of her neck. Calm down Sherry! She was shouting inside her head as she moved her fingers to trail the back of her neck.
It was cold as ice.
Her skin was colder than anything she had ever touched before.
There was no pulse, no heartbeat, nothing at all. There was no life in the body anymore.
‘There is no way… right?’ Sherry pursed her lips in a straight line as she tried to get her min around what was happening.
Sherry crouched down on the ground and raised the head of the latter with ease. She placed her already cold and blue head on her laps without any agitation. She was calm as she looked down on the dried lips of the old lady.
“A-aunt, please say something,” a croaked whisper left her mouth as she called out once again.
“She is already dead,” A cold voice echoed in the big mansion shaking Sherry ruthlessly. The voice was cold and deep, as if it was the god of death himself that was handing out the decree.
Sherry heard the voice but she did not move from her place. She sat in silence as she continued hugging the body on her lap as if it was the most treasured thing in the world.
Roy looked at the side profile of his boss in distress. As soon as Sherry had gone inside the mansion, Levian had ordered him to follow her. There was some sort of unease in his heart about the whole situation.
[A few minutes ago, Outside the Lona Mansion]
“But boss, she said she did not want-” Roy had tried to reason with him but his boss had cut him off in between. He did not even let him finish his argument.
“We are going after her, and that’s final.” Levian got off from the car and went inside the mansion is if it was his own area.
Roy: “….”
“You are going to make her angry,” Roy warned him as he strolled right beside him. That girl had clearly said to leave things to her and here his boss was already breaking it. How could his boss be this shameless?!
“Heh,” Levian heard the warning but only a smile lit up on his face. Anger, it was also some sort of emotion. He would rather be looked at in anger than be looked at in indifference. Seeing as to how Sherry tried to treat him as a stranger did not sit right with him.
“Let her be angry,” he shook his head as he entered the house only to be met with a devastating scene.
He had been in the line of business where life and death was put on line. Business itself was a gamble where you risked everything you had. Once glance at the body on the ground, he could tell what was wrong with the whole thing.
“She is dead,” Levian knew even that silly girl knew about this. She was a doctor after all.
He waited in silence for her to show some action. He had no idea what kind of position the deceased old lady held in Sherry’s heart but looking at the withered flower in front of him, he understood *she* was really important.
“Get up from the floor, you are going to catch cold,” Levian said in similar manner without much emotion. Roy widened his eyes in shock at what his boss just said.
‘Can you please read the situation at the very least?!’
Ignoring the expression of his subordinate, Levian made his way towards Sherry in long strides.