AFTER THREE MONTHS,
Louisa's p.o.v;
I was woken up to the morning light on my face. I rolled over onto my back to watch it creep across the room. The sunlight crept in from my window, and I stared up at the ceiling. My phone was still buzzing next to me, but the noise did nothing more than wake me even more so. I sighed and turned to look at my alarm clock. 6:48 AM.
Sitting up, I rubbed my eyes. I had been having a nightmare; one where someone was attacking me for no reason, only to turn out to be myself or a guy wearing a mask. And now I’m wide awake, and I can’t remember what exactly had happened, nor why I’d had that dream in the first place.
All I could recall was being chased down the street, and screaming, “You’re mine!” at anyone who got in my way, which was pretty much everybody, I supposed.
What's with the nightmares these days? Is it because of watching horror movies before going to sleep? But I thought it was just a myth.
I mean, there are stories and everything, but not that many people can recall them...
I got up from the bed and started getting ready to see my therapist, Lorena.
In the beginning, Raphael forced me to go to the therapist since I attempted suicide. Later, I got used to it since she's one of the few people I talk to right now. I visit her twice a month. Today, I should talk to her about my nightmares to know what's happening inside my mind.
While I was eating breakfast, I saw Raphael walking inside the house asking, "I thought you'll still be in bed. Good heavens, you already woke up and saved my energy today."
I sighed and continued eating my breakfast.
He took a seat beside me and asked, "How's the therapy going? Are you feeling alright now?"
"Better." And gave a smile at him.
He patted my head and said, "Once you feel alright, you can stop going to therapy. And, you can join the police department again."
No one knows about my past relationship with Ace except Raphael. He didn't tell anyone as he promised. When the chief heard that i attempted suicide, Raphael made him and every others in the station that i was going under depression which made me to take a foolish step. The chief cancelled my resignation and gave me a leave to get better through therapy.
"Do you think I can do that?"
He patted my head and said, "We miss the smart girl in the team." And gave a smile.
He stood up and said, "Finished your breakfast, right? Come on. I'll drop you at the therapist's office."
After dropping me in front of the therapist office, Raphael went back to his work. I entered the office and saw some people in the reception. I walked past them since the appointment was already made a week ago.
I knocked on the door and walked inside Lorena's cabin. She asked me to sit and asked, "How did the week go for you? Did you grow plants like I recommended?"
I nodded and said, "Yeah, there were new shoots yesterday."
"Good to hear about that. Now, tell me about your week."
"Before that, can I ask you something?"
"Go on. What is it?"
"Recently, I've been having these nightmares. And, It's all the same. I've been dreaming of some really gruesome things lately, like some guy wearing a mask and holding a sword over my head while I'm pinned against the floor. He starts laughing and saying something about a sword being the perfect weapon to kill me in, and if I don't comply, he'll cut off half my body instead. The worst thing is I still can't remember anything after he says this! I keep wondering how I got those nightmares in the first place."
"Since he was wearing a mask, does his body portion and height resemble someone you know in real life?"
"No, he looked like a total stranger to me. Do you know why I am having these repeated nightmares?"
"When are you going to rejoin in work again?"
"Next week. Why?"
"I'm sure your nightmares will fade once you join the job and start working as you did before. But this time, do it differently like praising someone who did a good job. Don't hesitate to thank the other person. If you don't know how to do it, just hug them and express your feelings through it. The most important thing is, stand up for the ones who are in pain."
"Do you think that doing those things can make my nightmares go away?"
She nodded and said, "Yes."
"Then, what about the guy who appeared in my nightmares?"
"The images of your attacker were just a metaphor that your subconscious mind made up since we dream during an unconscious state of life. Remember what I told you and do it like I said."
"Thank you, Lorena."
I walked out of Lorena's cabin and headed to the exit.
While I was walking to my place, I got a call from my mom. I thought about what my therapist told me to do.
I answered the call and asked, "What is it, mom?"
I didn't hear anything from the other side for a while and she said, "Where are you?"
"I'm on the way to my place. Why?"
"Miguel is working along with his father where I handle the business industry…"
Mom always gives me update of the house happenings since i attempted suicide. Mom and dad got shocked after hearing it and asked me to move in with them but I refused and stayed in Sao Paulo. Raphael helped me while I was talking with them to make them agree. Since then, mom calls me often and asks about me and tells me about the house.
I interrupted, "Mom, I love you."
"Did you do something bad and try to convince me?"
I laughed and said, "I always wanted to say this, mom. I'm sorry for making you guys worry about me. I promise that i won't do that stupid thing again, mom."
"Louisa, I love you too. If you feel that you're lonely, don't forget that your mother, father and brother are waiting for you in Rio de Janeiro. Get a flight and come here as quickly as possible. We're here for you."
After speaking with her for a while, I ended the call and continued walking to the house. Should I surprise her by visiting them all off a sudden? Yeah, that's a great idea. They'll be stunned if I pay them a visit.
When I entered the house, I walked to my room and packed my clothes in the travel bag and booked a ticket to Rio de Janeiro. After booking a ticket, I made a call to Raphael and informed him that I'm going to my parent's residence so I won't be there for a week and ended the call.
I waited for the cab I booked and waited inside the house. When I got a call from the cab driver, I took my luggages out, closed the door behind me and walked to the car.
After I got in the car, I asked him to head to the airport and looked at the phone to check the flight timings to Rio de Janeiro. I hope I'll get there without getting late.
Even after driving for a while, I still haven't gotten to the airport yet. When I looked through the window, I couldn't see any buildings. Instead there were only trees around me.
"Driver, where are we? Did we get lost?"
The driver said, "It's you who got lost, not me." He got out of the vehicle and ran away from the car.
After seeing him running away into the woods, I got out of the car and yelled at him to return back.
While I was shouting, some guys in their twenties appeared out of nowhere and surrounded me.
"Who are you? What are you doing here?"
One of the guys spoke, "Your hair looks delicate." And laughed.
Suddenly, those guys grabbed me by my arm and took me into the woods.
After a while, they dropped me down and rested for a while.
I asked, "What are you going to do with me?""
The guy who carried me on his back said, "I'm going to take you by myself. You smell nice." And continued carrying me on his back.
I woke up when water splashed on my face. When did I fall asleep? I took a look around and found that I got kidnapped. Not again! I wonder who's it this time.
I shouted for help while being in a room where there is no way for the ventilation. Are they expecting me to die here?
I looked around the place to find something sharp to cut my rope but I couldn't find anything I wanted.
Suddenly, someone came in and said, "Be ready. You'll have a customer tonight. Serve him well and you'll receive a reward."
"What the hell did you just say? What the hell is this place? Why did you kidnap me? What are you doing here?"
He let out a chuckle and said, "We got a talk here. Shout whatever you want but remain silent with the guy you're going to sleep with." And walked out of the room.
After a few hours, they took me to somewhere blindfolded. I didn't fight against them since I wanted to get out of here alive.
I felt like they were taking me somewhere by walking and suddenly pushed me on the floor and I heard the door closing behind me.
While I was figuring out the place it was in, someone grabbed my neck and I felt their hot breath against my face.
I shouted, "Take your fucking hands off me. You won't touch me after hearing who I am. I'm a cop. You'll be in trouble when my colleagues find you…"
While I was shouting at him, he interrupted, "It's been a long time, Lou."
I remember this voice. Paulo?
I heard the laughing sound of him in front of me.
"Paulo, let me go! Don't do something stupid and…"
He grabbed my neck to stop me from speaking further and removed the blindfold which covered my eyes before.
Paulo asked, "Do you think I'm a fool? You made me look like a fool in front of my people. I still remember those faces they made when you made me look like a fool." He took something out of his pocket and showed it while saying, "You gave me a duplicate stone and arrested me accusing illegal transportation of drugs." He throwed the stone on the floor which broke into several pieces.
He started unbuttoning my shirt while saying, "Today, let's see who's making fools of who."
While he was in the middle of unbuttoning my shirt, I heard some noises coming from outside.
Suddenly, the door was blasted and someone walked through it. Because of the fog, I couldn't see the face clearly. When the fog cleared, I still couldn't see his face since he was wearing a mask.
Paulo pointed a gun at me and shouted to that person, "Don't think of taking another step towards me. I'll take her down if you try anything."
That guy backed away after hearing a threat from Paulo.
I took a step backward and stomped on Paulo's feet and moved away from him. Using that time, the person who came through the door took out a sword from behind and stabbed Paulo in front of my eyes. The blood splattered on my face.
I watched him slowly collapse to the ground, and I couldn't breathe. I was frozen. The world seemed to still for a moment. I could feel my heart beating faster than normal. He was alive, but he had been bleeding out. After all of the pain he put me through, and now this... I looked around as he lay dying in front of me.
The person who stabbed Paulo walked to me and buttoned up my shirt. I pulled the mask and saw who was behind the mask.
"Ace?"