The dusk bled muted gold and red against the embracing black of the end, oddly comforting.
Silence. Peace.
But she knew, silence and peace wasn't what awaited her back home.
She wasn't looking forward to it.
She felt an unusual, unsettling relentlessness, and she wasn't looking forward to it at all.
"Annoying," the word slipped from her lips, unnoticed, as her gaze drifted out the window toward the nearly melted sun.
Her lone figure in the vast library was half-illuminated by the fading glow of the melting sun, her face in shadow, her bangs falling straight enough to conceal the gaze that lingered beneath. Yet, even from beneath the veil, an unusual gleam—like the glow of silver moonlight caught on the bluest waters—shimmered faintly.
She rose to her feet, a low sigh slipped from her lips as she packed up her books, then shouldering her bag and coat, she hurried out.
The exhaustion she carried seemed to stretch the road home even longer, weighing down on her before she had even taken the first step.
Her footsteps traced a deliberate path from the furthest recesses of the library's deepest corner.
She always sat at the cornermost desk at the end of the room—a solitary sanctuary—its chair perpetually turned away from the bustling heart of the library, the window by her side casting a constant glow like a lamp. A forsaken nook, never claimed by anyone but her.
"It seems you're late today. Be careful on the way home," the librarian's quiet voice reached her ears, her gold-rimmed rectangular glasses catching the ambient light in an odd gleam, shrouding her eyes in obscurity.
Giving a polite bow to the woman seated at the shadowed front desk, she exited the library.
With a nearly breathless haste, she sprinted through the school gates, leaving the campus behind.
It wasn't her intention to be this late.
She had unfortunately fallen asleep while studying in the library.
She mostly visited the library during free classes but for some unknown reasons she had felt very reluctant to go home today which prompted her to spend time in the library after school.
It wasn't like she ever looked forward to being at home, but today the feeling was so strong that it felt strangely ominous.
She checked the time on her barely functioning phone with cracks all over it and frowned slightly at the missed calls from her mother.
She really didn't want to go home.
As she traversed the bridge that spanned the main river of the city, her hastened gait gradually ebbed until she came to a complete standstill.
The sky was veiled with murky darkness with nothing except the lone ethereal moon.
She gazed at the calm water with the moon's reflection imprinted on it.
She didn't want to go home.
She never wanted to go home.
The prison titled with the term 'Home'.
Her gaze, softened by the tranquil river's presence, allowed the familiar thoughts to seep into her mind.
It was the longest and deepest river of the city.
What would happen if she jumped in the river?
How long would it take her to reach the very seamless bottom of the river?
How would it feel being slowly lulled down into the deep abyss?
How would it feel to be suffocated to death?
As the dark clouds slowly obscured the moon, a gentle breeze tousled her hair, carrying her thoughts away with it.
Continuing her walk home slower than before, she tucked her dark bluish-black hair behind her ear.
Navigating through the usual bustling city streets, she brushed past numerous strangers, the cacophony of noises falling upon her ears with little appreciation.
Halting at the crossroad, she awaited the red light, only to be enveloped by the loud and jovial conversation of four schoolgirls behind her.
Casting a brief glance backward, she noticed that the four schoolgirls wore the same uniform as her and appeared to be of similar age.
"Hey hey, what should we do the day after tomorrow? Where should we celebrate?"
"Your day, your wish."
"Let's go to Karaoke."
"Maybe the new popular cafe?"
"Hmm...what should I do...should I invite others?"
"Your wish. Its your birthday afterall."
As the red light flashed, she crossed the road and turned towards the secluded corner route that led to her home.
The girls' conversation reminded her of something she had forgotten.
Birthday....right, she had forgotten.
It was her birthday today.
Approaching her house, she observed that all the lights were off, casting off an eerie atmosphere.
'Are they not home?'
She pushed open the gate and when she was about to ring the bell, she noticed that the door wasn't locked.
Her brows furrowed slightly as she headed inside.
Given that her mother or sister would typically have the lights on and the door locked if they were home, the darkness and unlocked door seemed suspicious.
'They're not ho—!'
Her steps faltered as she entered the living room and a strong rusty smell of blood permeated her nostrils.
"H-help..."
Through the darkness, a shaky bloodied hand emerged, its desperate fingers curling around her leg with a feeble grip.
Her body froze and her eyes slowly trailed down at the floor.
Amidst the oppressive darkness, the silhouette of a crawling person emerged, dragging itself closer towards her with eerie determination.
The full moon that had been hidden behind the thick clouds peeked out and illuminated the living room with its ethereal glow through the floor-to-ceiling window.
The unexpected scene now unfolded vividly before her sharp eyes.
She noticed her mother's left leg torn brutally, mangled flesh revealing bone beneath, while a gaping wound stretched from shoulder to waist on her back, a deep knife cut etched with sinister precision.
Scanning the room, her gaze landed on sister.
One eye stared blankly into the abyss, the other cruelly gouged out, while stab wounds marred her once pristine skin which she loved taking care of so much.
Her eyes shifted back to her mother, meeting the shaky, bloodshot gaze that pleaded for help, an anguished plea echoing silently in the air.
She stared calmly into those eyes, her face a mask of stoicism, devoid of any discernible emotion. Within mere seconds, her mother's eyes closed, the flicker of life dimming within her, swallowed by the darkness of death.
Standing in the living room amidst the grim tableau of two fresh corpses, she serenely gazed at the pool of blood on the floor, illuminated by the eerie glow of the full moon reflecting upon its surface.
Her lips parted, allowing a low and unfeeling voice to slip out into the silence.
"Beautiful."
The stillness and silence of the room enveloped her, bringing a sense of calm and satisfaction. However, the overpowering scent of blood assaulted her sensitive nose, so potent that she could taste its metallic tang on the tip of her tongue, a reminder of the reality surrounding her.
But still, the thick, crimson hue of the blood held a mesmerizing allure to her eyes, captivating her gaze.
Forcing herself to move, she placed her bag and coat on the sofa, questions seeping into her mind.
What happened? Who killed them? Why?
The room was unexpectedly neat and tidy, everything in its proper place except for the sporadic splatters of blood here and there.
Those two bodies showed the fact that both of them were just toyed around by probably a psychopath of a person, and since her mother was still alive even with those fatal wounds when she reached home, they hadn't been attacked much earlier.
The condition of the two bodies hinted at the artful handiwork of a psychopath, toying with their victims to heart's content. The fact that her mother was still alive upon her arrival home despite those fatal wounds suggested that the attack hadn't occurred much earlier.
There was bloody footprints on the floor and judging by the fact that she saw no footprints that went out of the house...
She calmly took in her surrounding.
'The murderer is inside the house.'
She moved with deliberate steps toward the window, her attention momentarily drawn to a lovely pink flower peeking out from behind the sofa. With a gentle touch, she plucked it from its hiding place, holding it delicately in her hand.
"A flower?"
*CRACKLE...BZZZ...CRACKLE*
"Huh?"
Her head snapped towards the dark corner wall of the room and she furrowed her brows.
'What is that?'
She stalked forward cautiously, her senses on high alert, toward the ominous sight of a huge swirling, electric black hole crackling with energy and emitting sparks.
As she reached out her hand towards the ominous black hole, her head snapped towards the door at the sound of footsteps descending from upstairs. In a reflexive response to the approaching sound, she involuntarily retracted her hand.
But before she could react further, a hand suddenly struck out from the darkness of the black hole, seizing her own with a powerful grip and pulling her in without hesitation.
The flower slipped from her grasp, tumbling to the floor as she was completely engulfed by the swirling darkness of the black hole, disappearing without a trace.
*CREAK*
The door of the living room swung open at that very moment, revealing a tall figure stepping inside, casting a foreboding shadow across the threshold.
"Huh?"
He looked around baffled.
Ruffling his moss green hair in confusion, he tilted his head, his other hand clutching a bouquet of pink flowers, now marred with splatters of blood, a stark contrast to their delicate petals.
"She was here....where did she go?" he asked, amusement lacing his voice even as annoyance creased his face.
"You made the scene so bloody, she probably disappeared into the thin air due to shock." A nonchalant voice came from behind him.
The man flashed a bright grin over his shoulder at the cloaked figure, whose face remained completely obscured by the hood, as he leaned against the door with arms crossed.
"Well, it's fine I guess. The bouquet I brought for her is messed up because of the whole ordeal. I need a new perfect one."
"Who told you to kill those people so messily."
"The pleasure of your prey struggling and at your total mercy is something I can never not be fond of," the man replied with a warm and innocent smile, a stark contrast to the darkness of his words.
"They will not like this."
"They can go to hell," with pure annoyance evident on his face, he threw the bouquet onto the pool of blood on the floor and proceeded to crush it beneath his polished shoes.
He glanced at the bag and coat placed on the sofa, then made his way to the corner wall and picked up the flower from the floor.
He stretched out his hand and placed his palm on the wall where the black hole had appeared earlier.
"Well? How far can the little princess even run away?"
With a dark glint in his yellow eyes, a devious smile crept up on his face.
"Let's begin the game of tag, little princess."