The Sickness unto Death

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AUTHOR'S NOTE: I wrote this when I was in my tenth grade, so my English might be a bit wrong here and there, please excuse that. Anyway, go ahead, enjoy.

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The weather was quite cold this morning. The young man wrapped his coat around himself and started his short everyday walk to the office. When he arrived to the place where he worked, he was grateful of the heating available in this building. He bought two coffees and then he walked under the huge symbol of the police department.

He was a newbie, what they called a green boy. It had only been 2 months since he joined. Already he wished that he had to work with anyone but the person he had to work with. His superior was the only woman in this division. His superior was a bitch. She would give files for him to work, never taking him on the field. No matter how he begged, she, with her lips wrapped around a cigarette, would only say this much: “I have no interest in being your mum, Smith, go work with someone else.”

The hell. He would gladly work with someone else, only there were rules. One cannot just work with someone else, when one was assigned as help to someone. And a newbie like him couldn’t possibly go to chief and ask him to change his assignment. That sort of thing did not happen. All he could do was sigh, and let bygones be bygones. He would have to get through to the bitch his own way.

As he worked on the new file the bitch had so unceremoniously thrown at his desk, he glanced at her. Ms Gwen Potts was someone no one would think was a policewoman. Her figure was something that belonged to a lingerie model, only with an immense rack. And she would dress outrageously. Smith knew for a fact that the other male workers rated her every day. Only yesterday Smith had given her a nine. Also, she had the peculiar habit of smoking indoors, where the sign “no smoking” was particularly visible. Her hair was cut short, but in a very feminine way. All of this gave her a strong feminine character. Rest everything about her was that of a man.

Smith had only begun chuckling at his mental witticism, when the chief walked in and called everyone in his office. A huge map of the city was sprawled on a table with red dots covered here and there. All the detectives like Ms Potts would sit around the table and all the subordinates like Smith stood behind. The room was very crowded, obviously. The chief begun.

“Right. Let’s begin this discussion. But before that, woman, there is a no smoking sign here so put it out.”

Ms. Potts looked around, seemingly bewildered.

“No smoking? Since when, never saw the sign before”

“You have been in this office for six years now, so let me think, we brought it at January 4, 2000”

“Impressive. And yet, your ingenious mind fails to understand that I have been around the office for 6 years and you have told to put my cigarette out for six years and I have never once listened. When is that going to go through your thick scull, baldy?”

The said Baldy was quiet, and everyone looked at her with an appreciating smile. Baldy glared at everyone. Then one of the detectives, Chuck, just shrugged nonchalantly, brought out his own cigarette with a flourish and began puffing at it. That was the final blow.

“Oh, what the hell, someone got a light?” the chief said. Chuck threw his lighter at him. And thus began a meeting, covered mostly in smoke.

“Right. So this is a case of a serial killer, as plain as day. There have been five bodies till now, all killed by a clean cut in the neck. Victims bled to death, but there were signs of the body being held down by the killer. Which means he didn’t just stab the neck of the victim, he stayed around till the victim died.Flawless.”

“Anything else, didn’t the forensics say anything else?” someone said.

“The killer is of average height, judging from the angle of the cut” the chief said, and then grimaced, “like the hell a lot of good that would do. Anyway, I want you lot to be alert. Anything you hear, don’t go investigating yourself, bring the news to me, okay? And since Potts’ not going to listen to this piece of sane advice, I’m giving the case to her.”

There was whistling and some clapping. Apparently, being assigned to a serial killer was like receiving an award in the department. Something new Smith learned. There was another new thing he learned about himself. There was no way in hell that he would sit this one out. If his boss was going to this case, then so was he.

The bitch was just leaving to grab some lunch, at the Ramirez’s, he knew. It was a walking distance, and Smith ran to catch up to her.

“I can tell what you want, boy, and am not giving it to you.”

“What the hell. Come on, I’m supposed to work with you, aren’t I? That’s what a subordinate does. Let me be on this serial killer case too.”

“That’s what you wanted? I thought you wanted to take me to a nice hotel someplace. I’ll be damned.”

What the hell? Smith thought. She was treating him like a kid.

“Listen,” Smith said, “why won’t you let me go out on the field?”

“‘cause, you are so pretty I don’t wanna get you all scratched up. Relax. I work alone.”

“You work alone? You fancy yourself as batman?”

“Sure, I put on my panty over my tights and jump over rooftops at night. That’s what it takes. Still wanna tag along?”

“Yeah!”

Potts’ sighed.

“Do you own a car?”

Smith nodded. What does this had to do with the case, he wondered.

“In that case, you are going to drive me around, got it?”

“Waa…what?Why do I have to…? Wait, you know how to drive right?” Smith asked with growing anxiety.

“Sure I do. I drove a car back in that hillbilly case. Only, baldy thought I was more suited to be a pilot than a driver, you know? In his defense, for a moment even I thought I was flying.”

“What the…what happened then?”

“I woke up at the hospital.”

Smith grimaced. A serial killer case has been given to a woman who can’t even drive? How the hell did she get in the police department? They walked into Ramirez’s. He ordered some tacos and two beers. He thought it was a given that he would have to pay. He sighed.

“I also want another thing” Ms. Potts said. Her tone was no different from her usual half-joking one, but for some reason Smith found him leaning in. She seemed very serious to him.

“There is this case. It has been closed now; it’s been only three weeks.” She said. A case closed in three weeks? He couldn’t understand, why would a case be closed so quickly? Unless it has been solved, which for some reason didn’t seem like the case to him.

“It’s a kidnapping. Two kids, brother and sister; the girl is 12 and the boy is 10. Both not found. The case is closed.”

“Why? If they have not found the kids, why is the case closed?”

“Because there was no ransom involved, and the kids have a history of running away. Apparently, the parents had a habit of beating their children silly, and they would run away occasionally. They would always come back though, within a week. I mean, they get hungry don’t they, midgets?”

“I guess they do.” Smith was bewildered. Why is she so interested in this case?

“Well, you are going independent. Dig into this case. Where did the kids go? If they are dead, show me the bodies. If they are alive then show me their faces. I wanna know what happened. Clear?” her face had lit up. It was obvious to him that Potts was dead serious about these kids. Why though?

“Wouldn’t doing independent research on a closed case be bad? I mean if chief gets to know that we are spending time recovering some closed case while we are supposed to be hunting down a serial killer, well, I don’t think he will be mighty pleased.”

“Yeah, but we are two people right? You get your chance to drive me around for this killer experience, and then you dig into the kidnapping and tell me all you find like a loyal dog. Two people, two cases, seem legit. But if you haven’t got the balls….?”

But Smith was grinning broadly, almost evilly. All this while sitting in the office, going through reports after reports and suddenly he has two cases on one day? He just couldn’t stop smiling.

“I love it! And one of the cases right behind Baldy’s back and his shining head! Brilliant!”

“You know, I like men like you” saying this, Potts’ paid the bill.

Smith felt insanely lucky. Two cases, Potts telling her she liked him and he didn’t even had to pay? He felt like gambling.

Outside, the sky had darkened.

*

In another part of the town, it had begun raining. The young man in the black hood leaning against the wall searched for his earphones in his pocket. He found it and put them in his ears, listening to classic music. There was no other thing that he enjoyed more. Rain and music were things that went together, a blend that was a thing of beauty. He particularly enjoyed the rain. The sound of the rain muffled the sound of his footsteps, so no sound was heard. Moreover, no one would notice him, lurking in the shadows, as people were always busy running away from the rain. He nodded his head in time with the music, letting the rain drench his skin. He was waiting.

The wall that he leaned against faced the entrance to a college. He was waiting for a particular mousse haired girl to come out. He had been following her for a month now and he felt that today, with the rain, the time had come to meet her face to face. The very thought made his heart beat faster. It would be so much fun when he would be able to see her shocked expression. He checked it again, in his boot, the sharp knife that he kept hidden. It was cold against his skin, and he liked it. It made him feel reassured.

Soon the woman he had come to see came out. Even though her face was hidden beneath an umbrella he knew it was her. The way she walked, the way she carried her umbrella, her very stance he could recognize. After all he had spent the last month following her.

He followed her like always. He knew where she was going. To the supermarket. What would she buy he wondered. Some fruits. It had been a week since she last bought fruits. And he knew how partial she was to apples. Perhaps that was her favorite fruit? He would have to ask her.

As he had guessed, she bought apples and some oranges. Now, she was headed to her apartment, where she lived alone. He knew that too. As she climbed the stairs, an apple fell from her shopping bag. She did not notice and the man in the black hood quickly picked it up. Just when she opened the door to her apartment, he slipped in, handing the apple to her.

“You dropped your apple.”

She looked at the apple he had handed to her. It was half eaten.

“Sorry I took a bite.” The man said, smirking.

“Can you please leave? This is my apartment.” The woman was annoyed by his behavior. He thought that was amusing. But what amused him more was her apartment. It had sparse furniture, but still gave off a handsome feeling. So the girl has some decoration sense. Amusing.

“I asked you to leave.” She said, now in a very annoyed tone.

“Well, if you ask more politely, I might.” He said. At once he knew what she would do. It was obvious to him, who knew her so well. He dodged quickly and even caught the half eaten apple she threw at him. He calmly took another bite out of it and thanked her for her hospitality.

Then he resumed his inspection of her apartment, his face still covered by the hood. What really interested him was in the little room meant for storage. He walked up to it, about to open the door, when suddenly he retracted his hand.

It was bleeding profusely. It was quite a cut, and the girl standing there holding a kitchen knife did not in the least look remorseful.

“Get the hell out”, she screamed. It was a scream of a beast, shrill and angry. It was a mad noise and the man felt shivers run down his spine. But he calmly opened his hood to show his face, his hand covered in red.

“Hello May” he said.

May dropped her kitchen knife and exclaimed happily. Her face was radiant and she wasted no time in hugging him, her long lost friend.

“Min…Min…Min has come back…for me…”, she was weeping against his chest. Min grimaced. He hated this name, it was a girl’s name. Well, his real name was something else entirely, but this is what she would call him. They were childhood friends, and shared some very deep bonds. There had been no contact for the past 8 years, but Min had come back now. There was probably no greater happiness in May’s life.

May motioned her childhood friend to sit while she went to bring some lukewarm water and bandages. She arrived in a short while, putting ointment and dressing his wounds. Min reached out his other hand to pull May’s face towards his. He wanted to look at her face. Her eyes.

“What?” May asked in a voice all playful. Min smiled.

“Nothing”, Min replied.

He tried to find what he was looking for in her innocent face, in vain. Not one speck of remorse. She had just used a knife to cut his hand so badly, and she did not even feel guilty, even though she was the one putting the ointment. Worse, perhaps, was that she felt no remorse for what was behind that storage room door. But Min knew what was there. He wished he didn’t.

“…you should go to the shower, you are so drenched. You will catch a cold.” May was saying. Min nodded.

“I’ll cook up something for you, all right?” May gave such a radiant smile when she said that. She handed a towel to him, and Min stood up.

As he showered he realized how bad his hand was throbbing. Through the sound of warm water falling over his head, he could listen to the rattle in the kitchen. He could hear her humming. Min flinched. His hand throbbed horribly. And he hated that tune. It scared him.

When he stepped out, he wondered what he should wear. But clean clothes were laid out simply on a chair for him. It belonged to her father, he knew. May’s father had died recently, just a few months back. It must have been painful for her, he thought. Maybe it was this pain that had reminded May the pain they had suffered 10 years ago? He grimaced.

When he walked into the living room, May was just placing a hot plate of spaghetti and meatballs on the table for him. He sat there, but did not eat.

“Eat up; I am headed for a shower too, okay?” May said, smiling. She picked up the towel he had just used and left.

Min picked up the plate of spaghetti and approached the storeroom door. He knew what must be behind that door. He sighed. He wanted to be proven wrong. He pushed open the door.

Two kids were huddling in the corner, their hands tied behind their backs. The girl was trying to block the little boy from view, clearly trying to protect him. Their eyes were full of fear. Min wondered what May had done to them. He sighed again.

He placed the plate of spaghetti in front of them. The boy almost lunged for the food, but the girl stopped him.

“Is it poisoned?” the girl asked. How smart the kids of today were, Min wondered.

“No” he said simply.

The girl looked searchingly in his eyes. But the doubt was so engraved in her that she couldn’t believe him.

“Why do you think the food is spiked?” He asked her. His eyes looked over the kids. They were covered in bruises and cuts. And they looked pale, starved.

“It’s just that we have never been offered food before.”

Min was shocked. They had been in this storeroom for a month now. They must be completely starved. They would die, if they don’t eat.

“Eat girl” Min said forcefully.

“No” she exclaimed and looked away.

“If you don’t eat, I’ll kill you”

Her eyes showed her fear. But now she turned angry as well. It was as if she did not care about dying anymore.

“I. Won’t. Eat.” She shouted.

Min sighed. So she was this kind of girl. He tried a different approach.

“If you don’t eat, I’ll kill your brother”

At once she deflated. All the anger, the last of her will, all of it poured out. There was only fear. Min sighed again.

“Relax. I am joking. Sick joke, I know. I don’t want to kill any of you”

That was a lie.

Min lied on principle. The kids looked at him with some hope, though. He sighed again.

He put his fork in the food and ate some of it.

“There,” He said, ”not poisoned.”

Min then sat back and watched them eat, like animals, with only their mouths. It was a sorry sight. There were so many bruises, so many cuts. It was as if some wild cat had used these kids for her scratching post. May, what have you done?

These past ten years, May had been recovering from her illness. He knew. He had kept in touch with her father, though he never talked with her, or showed his face to her. He was scared that seeing his face May would be reminded of the incident ten years ago. But then one day her father had died. And with that all the pain and insecurity must have come flooding back. No one could actually forget what had happened. He remembered. Just like these two kids, ten years ago, he and May were locked in a basement. There had been another kid with them though. That kid’s name had been Min. He had just borrowed that name from the real Min.

A shadow suddenly blocked out the light coming from the open door. Min looked up to see an angry May.

“You pests!” she screamed. The kids huddled themselves in a corner, fear etched on their faces. She picked up the fork lying on the floor and lunged at them.

“I cooked that for Min. My Min. How dare you eat it! How you dare!”

Min calmly stood up and held her wrists. May struggled like a wild animal, but he held on, not letting her go. She calmed after a while and looked at Min, her eyes full of tears.

“But they ate your food, Min. You must have been hungry” she said in between sobs.

“They were much hungrier. I want you to feed them every day, thrice a day. Do you understand May?”

She cried and sobbed. But she nodded. That was enough. Min looked at the kids.

“Eat” he said to them. Then he gently closed the door.

After telling May to eat her food and that he wasn’t hungry, he lay down on the bed. It was soft and very comfortable. The word was fluffy. His mind was full of stupid thoughts like these, trying to distract him from what had just occurred.

May entered the room after awhile. She hopped on the bed like a little girl and clung to his shirt. Her hands gently brushed Min’s soft jet black hair.

“You will be with me forever, right, Min?” she asked. Her eyes were so big, and she looked so cute.

“Of course I will” Min replied.

That was a lie.

“Do you remember how you got the name Min?”

“I do”

He remembered. It was in a dark basement. The three of them were bounded. The real Min was the most scared. He had golden brown hair, and wore spectacles. They were broken and dusty then. The boy with the jet black hair had not seen it though. He had his eyes closed, blindfolded. And he had had his hands over his ears to block the sound. But in his mind’s eye, he could see how the real Min must have looked. His body cut up. His blood flowing on the basement floor. May didn’t get the luxury of the blindfold. She had seen everything. Had heard everything. After it was over, her mind rejected the possibility of her friend being dead. So she latched on to the only one present in the room suffering as she was. And a new Min was born. He remembered it very well. The frenzied smile she had when she called him Min.

“It was on the day when everyone had to do track and field for gym, remember?” May was saying, still playing with his black hair.

“Hmm”

“You were the slowest. The gym teacher handed you the stopwatch because you didn’t wanted to run after awhile. You were in charge of noting down everyone’s time. Originally you were named minutes, but everyone just shorted that to Min. How you hated that name!”

Is that how he was named Min? That golden haired boy? So he was slow at track. He turned to look at May. May looked at him, her love for him clearly visible. Did she originally love that golden haired boy, he wondered. Did she even love this black haired boy? What would she do if she ever realized that her Min was dead? Would she kill him too, the same way she was about to kill those kids?

Min hugged her close. He would cure her of her illness. He had to. That was the sole reason why he had come back when her father died. He hugged her, he wouldn’t let her go.

*

Smith bought two coffees, one for him and one for the bitch. It was windy and already three days had passed since they had formed their little alliance. He flipped the button on his car keys and the car made a small beeping sound. He looked back at the town he was about to leave. It seemed old. Disgusted, he drove away.

Driving in the police department, he was most content of the knowledge that it had heating. He was sensitive to cold. He required heating. Period.

He climbed the stairs and entered the cubicle assigned to a one Ms. Potts.

“Here’s your coffee.”

The bitch took a sip then made a face.

“What the hell is this?”

“Sorry, got the coffee from a new place.” Smith apologized.

“What, Ramirez died did he?”

“Now that you mention it, who the hell is Ramirez? No one at the restaurant is Mexican.”

Smith was genuinely perplexed with this ambiguity.

“Fuck Ramirez. What have you got?”

“Oh yeah, so I checked on the Abell kids. Their parents are a lot, them. The father apparently went fishing one day. Haven’t returned yet.Traced him in north somewhere.Having fun with his friend’s wife actually.”

Potts looked angry at hearing this.

“His children are missing and he is womanizing? Say that you punched him.” She begged.

“Sorry, that would be inappropriate conduct. So I called his friend and told him he had a surprise waiting for him at his house.”

“I love you”

Smith laughed. He had actually done that though. It had been fun. He continued.

“Anyway, I just came back from a meeting with their mother. She is drinking heavily and I thought it was because of the loss of her children, but apparently she has been a heavy drinker since the past 22 years. She isn’t much interested in her children though. From the looks of it, she seems happy that her children escaped from her husband since he was such a bad influence. But the neighbors said that they once witnessed her waving a pocketknife at the kids, so, well…”

Potts grimaced.

“Well, we all knew they were a bunch of low lives. This much had been covered in the previous reports. Did you find anything else?”

“I think I know where they were abducted.”

“Holy…and you kept that till now?” Her eyes were as big as saucers. Three days and he could find something like this. Maybe Smith wasn’t half bad.

“Well, I was building up to it. Anyway, so I asked around and there was this girl in the same class as Roy Abell; she remembered that Roy once told her that he loved hanging around parks. I thought it was worth a shot, so I searched for parks all around the school, and there was this big one. A pretzel vendor I asked then told me, he had given one pretzel each to two kids, one boy and one girl. Showed him…”

“Bless the pretzel vendor!” Potts exclaimed.

He looked at her with askew eyes. He wondered whether Potts was just a kid beneath that ample bosom.

“Yeah, bless him.” He continued, ”anyway, so I showed him the picture of the kids we had and he said that those were them. He also mentioned that the Abell children show up at the park often. So there.”

Potts looked at him for a moment.

“Well? Where is the park?” she asked, clearly annoyed.

“Well, it’s not really a park you know. It’s a wood. Roseburg Gardens, to be exact.”

He expected her to be happy to get such a brilliant lead. But her face turned gray. She lit a cigarette and took a puff.

“What? I know it’s not much, but it’s still a lead”

“That’s not it Smith. I just…well I guess the kids could be dead after all.”

“What?” Smith couldn’t understand. What could cause the omnipotent Potts to look so crestfallen?

“Here,” Potts said, handing him a map, “I marked all the deaths by the killer in there. See a pattern?”

Smith looked at it. All the five red dots were within two mile radius of Roseburg Gardens.

“Shit.”

“Yeah,” Potts smiled, ”Shit”

“Well anyway,” she continued “I had surveillance go through all the footage in and around the area. Let’s see if we can come up with something.”

“Speak of the devil!” someone said from behind. Smith turned to see Chuck, coolly waving two fingers in a semblance of hi.

He came in and plunked a bunch of photos on Potts’ desk.

“There,” He said

“What is this?” Smith asked.

“Surveillance footage, you dork” Potts answered. She turned to Chuck.

“Any luck?”

“Well, yeah” He said, almost bored.”I reckon I made things mighty easy for you lot. Add my name to credits.”

Smith recoiled. He did not think it would be any sort of luck, watching surveillance footage. The killer must not be very bright.

Chuck slammed one photo on the desk. It was a photo of a man in a black hood, loitering around a store.

“There are many photos of this guy,” Chuck was saying, ”It seems he has been showing up a lot for the past month. During the night, during the day. And guess what? He has been spying around at this college. And from what I remember, one of the murdered was from the college, wasn’t he?”

“Know who he is?” Smith asked.

“Hey, now, I can’t do everything. It’s your case.”

Potts stood up. There was a light in her eyes. She was walking out when she called behind her.

“Robin, bring out the batmobile.”

“Say, what?” Chuck chuckled.

“Never you mind” and saying that, Smith ran after her.

*

Min had no reason to do this. It was certainly not a good idea to do this. But he wanted to keep a check on her, so he walked inside the college campus. The last day, May had spent all her time trying to convince him to come to college with her. She said she felt alone at college, that she had no friends. She said it was depressing to be there all alone, when she knew Min was right there in her apartment. This morning she had put up quite a racket, saying she did not want to go to her classes, she was better off being here. Min had forced her to go, and when she had asked him again to come to college with her, Min quickly said no. Angrily, May had left.

Min spent the entire morning cooking some bacon and eggs. He wasn’t at all good at cooking, so naturally it was a disaster. Still, they were at least edible, and he placed the food in front of the kids for them to eat. Then he left the flat.

He hadn’t expected him to do what May had asked him to, but soon he found himself walking towards her college. Her third class was about to begin, so he waited outside her room for the professor. When the professor left, he entered calmly, his eyes searching for her.

She was sitting at the far back, her head covered by her hands. Even from here he realized that she was upset. He walked up to her and said “Oi”.

She looked up and when she saw who was standing there, she jumped up to him, kissing him full on the lips in front of everybody else. Some people hooted. Others just stared. After a few moments, May let go.

“Sorry”

She said it in a barely audible voice. He patted her head.

That afternoon was spent answering stupid questions that students in the class asked about them. Were they living together? Yes. Were they expecting a baby? No. Were they mad about each other? Yes and no.

Min was mildly bored. It reminded him of his own time in college. He had only graduated this year. He had majored in psychology and was top in his year. It was no secret why he wanted to study psychology. Everything he did was for her. He wanted to cure her illness.

When the classes were over, they walked out, May clinging to Min’s arm. With a scarf wrapped around her neck and those cherry colored cheeks, Min thought May looked exceptionally pretty today.

“Do you want to meet a friend of mine?” Min asked her after walking for awhile in the park close to her college.

“A friend?”

“Yes. A psychiatrist friend.”

May made a face. She was made to go to a psychiatrist once a week for 5 years after that incident. She hated going to him. But one day the psychiatrist said she was fine. Then she lived with father, until he died. The psychiatrist was a liar. She did not like him. She did not want to go to a psychiatrist.

But Min insisted, so she finally agreed.

It was quite far from where they were, but Min decided it was best to walk. That they were together made May happy, and keeping her happy was vital. Min would buy ice-cream, or sometimes sit at a bench to talk with her, anything that made May smile. It was getting dark by the time they stepped on the porch of a handsome house. Min hit the bell.

A woman opened the door. She was wrapped in a shawl, and she flinched to recognize the duo that had comeat her doorstep. She looked younger than her age of 36, which Min knew would be her age now. She recognized Min after awhile.

“Min! What a delight to see you. You graduated last year didn’t you? Opened a clinic yet? But please come on inside.”

They came inside. May still hugged him close, and if possible she averted her eyes to the woman standing before her.

She ushered them inside, made them sit on very soft cushions and gave them some coffee. Then finally she sat down smartly, and looked at Min questioningly. With some abruptness, Min began.

“Well, I guess it would have been better if I had come to visit you in your clinic rather than here --“

“What nonsense! You are always welcome, Min. You were my top student; I have always been fond of you. How many times I have made you dinner, now, I wonder.”

Min did not see it, but in her eyes Min was certainly a very close person. If she ever had a son, which seemed impossible now, but if she did, she would have raised him to be an exact replica of Min.

“Well, professor –“

“You are not my student anymore. Call me Celine.”

“Celine, I wondered whether you could help me. My friend here needs help. And well, I…”

Celine could see that he was unable to express what he wanted to say.

“Let me talk with her first. Is that all right with you, Min?”

Min nodded.

Then she talked with May who sat properly now, though one hand still held his sleeve. For a long time she just asked seemingly silly questions. Then she began asking deep questions. Min new the procedure.It was merely the test to ascertain how much was her brain affected. He sat with her, holding her as she answered all of Celine’s questions. After an hour and half, Celine stopped and smiled.

“That would be all for today. Thank you, May”

“‘All for today’? I have to come again?”

Min looked at her face. He could not believe that May could ever harm anyone. But she had kidnapped those kids.That was a fact.

“I will come with you, May. Isn’t that fine?”

May smiled, reassured. If Min was coming with her then she would go anywhere on the planet.

“I feel sleepy. Let’s go home”, she said.

But Min couldn’t just up and go; he had some matters to discuss with Celine.

“Why don’t you sleep here for a while, May?” Celine smiled to her, always the helping hand.

Min stood up, gave her a cushion to put her head on. She had walked a lot today. Of course she was sleepy. She slept like a lamb.

Min and Celine dimmed the lights and went to Celine’s study. Celine calmly sat down, waiting for Min to ask her what she thought about May. But Min didn’t seem to be in any haste. In fact the man with the black hair just picked up a book at random and began reading it. He read a page perhaps, before looking at Celine, who was patiently waiting for him.

“So,” he began, closing the book abruptly, “what do you think about her?”

“She seems perfectly fine. She is an average twenty year old woman. I don’t think there is anything wrong with her. But it has only been one session. Moreover, there is obviously something wrong with her since you brought her to me.”

“Obviously? Is it that obvious?”

“You tell me” Celine smiled.

Min sighed. He sat down beside her.

Celine looked at him thoroughly. He seemed thinner than she remembered him. She wondered about his well being.

“Is she the one you mentioned two years ago?”

Two years ago. He remembered visiting this very study, at an evening very much like this, two years ago. Celine was his professor. She taught him psychology. He would often stay for dinner after classes, and talk about all things related to psychology, right there in her study. One day she had asked him why he was pursuing a field he was clearly not interested in. He had been shocked at how easily Celine had read him. But Celine had only smiled. He had then told her that there was girl he wanted to cure.

“Yes. May is the girl I want to cure.”

“But what to cure? As I said she seems completely ordinary.”

“I came here to ask you one thing only. What is the surest way of eliminating split personalities?”

Celine was silent for a while. Of course if it was split personality she was suffering from, then she would appear completely normal at a session like the one they just had. Unless, her ‘other’ personality kicked in. She thought for a while.

“The surest way? It varies from case to case, Min, surely you know that? Mostly it involves what her ‘other’ personality symbolizes.”

“Her other personality symbolizes something that occurred in the past”

That was quick, Celine thought. Knowing what was the cause was probably the hardest part. If he had cleared that hurdle, then figuring out the rest should be easy.

“If you know that, then I think you know what has to be done next as well. You just have to link that past self to her present. If you can do that, maybe…”

But then the door opened and May was standing there. Both Min and Celine were rooted at their spots. For some reason, they were scared. But May just rubbed her eyes and asked, “Aren’t we going home?”

Min held out his hand, to which May clung on to. Then he picked up the book he had been reading.

“Can I borrow this?”

Celine smiled.

“Sure”

He exchanged numbers with Celine and then left. Celine waved to them as they got on a cab and kept waving till they were gone. Then she searched for all the books on split personality she owned, plunked them on her table and began reading.

Outside, a gray car was parked, inside which sat a certain man who had to drive around his boss all day.

*

When they arrived back, May went in the bedroom immediately. She was sleepy. Min lay with her till she slept then quietly walked out of the room. He made coffee for himself and cooked up something for the kids. They hadn’t eaten anything all day, they must be hungry. Min sighed.

When he opened the storage room door gently, he found the kids wide awake. They looked at him with fervent eyes. Oh May, what have you done? Min didn’t want to believe that May could have kept two kids in her storage room, locked away for a month. But the kids were right in front of him. The truth was in front of him. She was a criminal.

He watched the kids eat. They were filthy and bruised all over. He made a quick decision. He walked out of the room and brought cushions and bed sheets. He knew it was cold at night. He also brought a bucket full of water and some towels. He also brought spare clothes that were too big for them. Then he untied them one at a time.

The kids looked at him with big eyes, and for a moment he thought their eyes were very similar to May’s. He smiled.

“I never asked you guys your names” he said.

“RinaAbell” the girl said,”and this is my brother Roy Abell.”

RinaAbell. This girl had been so hostile before. He wondered what had changed.

“Well, Rina, Roy, you guys take of your clothes and hand them to me, all right? I have kept water there so just wash yourself properly.”

Rina nodded. Very understanding indeed.

Min, then, took out his knife and showed them what he held.

“You guys think of something clever and I cut you lot up, is that clear?” Min continued with a smile.

They simply looked at him. He walked out of the room and locked the room behind him.

He felt disgusted, threatening kids with a knife. It was May’s mess. Never once had he complained when he took care of her. All that he did was for her. But to have to say to small children that he would kill them? He felt filthy.

He remembered the time he had spent this evening at Celine’s study. He remembered how he had been scared when May had entered the room unannounced. Will it always be like this? Will he always live in fear from the woman he loved? Min had a deep rooted fear that one day May would realize that he wasn’t the real Min. That scared him the most.

He stopped. He just stopped there. He calmed his mind and stopped all the thoughts racing through his head. It was a mental exercise. He did it regularly to calm himself. He closed his eyes.

The beautiful face of May floated before him. The smell of her when he hugged her close. He smiled at the thought of how pretty she looked today. It began to grow peaceful in his mind.

The shrill sound of the telephone woke him up. He realized he had been sleeping on the sofa sitting up. Just how tired had he been? He picked up the phone hurriedly.

“It’s Celine,” the voice on the other end said. She sounded alert as she hurriedly continued, “listen, something’s up. There were detectives at my house today, asking about you. I didn’t tell them anything. But they got your phone number you gave me, they might come knocking. Thought you should know…”

There was a static beeping sound of another call coming through on his telephone. Min calmly told Celine not to worry and then switched the call to the new one.

“Hello there. I take it I’m talking with Min?”

It was a voice of a woman. She spoke with a fake charm. As someone who had studied psychology for the past 5 years, it was very apparent how fake her charm was. Min sighed.

“It is I”

“Well hello there! My name is Gwen. I’m with the police department, as you must have been informed by your psychiatrist friend.”

“I was”

Gwen was silent for just a moment, but Min knew that he had caught her off guard. She probably hadn’t expected him to say that so easily.

“I was wondering if you could help us with our ongoing investigation”

“Sure. What ongoing investigation?”

“A series of murders, unfortunately.”

It was Min’s turn for a pause. He had expected her to say kidnapping. Was this just a blunder on her part? Or was this something much sinister?

“I do not think I can be much help in this matter, ma’am.” Min said.

“Well, if we could meet somewhere, perhaps?” the detective asked.

“Sure.”

He then proceeded to write the directions to where he was supposed to meet.

*

“That fucker. He fucked me!”

“What are you saying Potts?” Smith said in a bored voice. Potts knew he had made him listen to her ravings for the past fifteen minutes, but she was genuinely angry and his bored voice did not help.

When talking with a criminal it was a matter of will. She had to be a beacon of righteousness. But that guy, Min (what a stupid little name, she thought), had completely disarmed her. He had openly verified that he had met up with the psychiatrist as if nothing was wrong with that. And that woman, Celine! She was definitely in his bag! Former student, her left foot! There was definitely something up. She could feel it in her skin.

“That psychiatrist, she had been reading books. What were those books about? Did you see?”

“I have already told you,” Smith continued in a bored voice, “they were about the peculiar case of split personalities.”

“Ha!”

Potts began pacing again. So that guy was mental. That would explain it. He killed people because he was mental. If he had hurt the kids, she swore to god she would…

“…put that mental on a fucking spike.”

“Would you give it a rest?! That a psychiatrist was reading a book on psychology doesn’t necessarily prove anything. So just shut up will you?”

She glared at Smith. He was making a paper swan. His eyes met hers and at once he crumpled up his swan and threw it out.

After that Smith and Potts went to Ramirez’s for dinner.

“Why do we always come to this place?” Smith was wondering aloud. The waitress threw him a disgusted glance then walked away with her head held high.

Potts ate her steak silently. Smith probably sensed something was off.

“Hey, I know you are upset,” He began in a consoling tone.

Potts just gave him a rare genuine smile and said something about being fine. Smith looked at her understandingly. Then he gave her one of his evil smiles that Gwen Potts had come to realize always preceded before a joke.

“No, no, I know I shouldn’t have made that origami swan. It was wrong on my part. You are bound to be upset.”

Potts laughed. It wasn’t his best joke and she usually would have countered it easily with a snappish reply. But she just felt like laughing that day. For the first time Potts was actually considering that Min was maybe innocent after all. And if he was then they would have to start from scratch in finding the criminal. And if the Abell kids were indeed with that serial killer as she suspected then she could only imagine what the killer was making them do.

Smith looked at her patiently. He noticed that her face was growing darker by the minute. He whistled. The sharp noise brought her back from her reverie.

“You know,” Smith said, cutting his piece of steak diligently, “I always wanted to ask. Why are you so interested in that kidnapping case?”

Potts looked at him for a moment. When Smith looked up, popping the piece of steak in his mouth, she smiled.

“Why aren’t you?”

The question cut in him too deep. Smith lowered his head. Two kids, children, had gone missing, maybe at the hands of a killer and he had asked such a stupid question. He realized however much Potts seemed like someone who belonged to the mafia underworld, with her cigarette and her whip like tongue, she was only more human than him.

“Tomorrow we meet this Min,” Potts said, brushing the previous matter aside, “and only then do I decidewhether he is as innocent as he seems.”

Potts had made her mind. She was a cop. It was justice that she defended. It didn’t matter that Min rubbed her off the bad way, or whether she wanted to punch the ruddy sweet smile off that psychiatrist, Celine. She will find proof. And no matter what, she will find the kids.

*

Min was standing at the terrace of a building. It wasn’t a high building, only five stories, but it was secluded and cool breeze would flow over it. That felt good. It was particularly windy that morning and Min’s black hair kept blowing away and falling over his eyes. He had come well ahead of the time scheduled and was waiting for detective Gwen. He remembered saying goodbye to May. She hadn’t replied and had just walked out. What that had been about, he wondered. Have to ask her when I get home.

The entrance to the terrace opened with a metallic sound. A woman entered, tall, extremely gorgeous. She had long brown-red hair and an amazing figure. Her red lipstick was deep and flashy. She entered with an enormous presence, but Min was seemingly immune to it.

“Hello detective,” he said to a woman who clearly did not appear as one. She perked up her lips and bared her teeth in a failed semblance of a smile.

“After so much time I spent on my make up? What gives me away?”

“The fact that you chose this spot very well. It would take a hell of a coincidence for me to meet someone else here at this terrace.”

“Hmm”

They stood there for some time. The detective then took out a pack of cigarette and offered him one.

“I don’t smoke” Min said coolly.

“You don’t? Thought you might. Mind if I do?”

Min just waved his hand airily. She smoked. There was silence.

“Well, the thing is, there have been a string of murders around this town. The last tally was six. Six deaths, all by a knife wound. Victim bled to death.”

She was observing him, he knew. He looked disturbed, but then anyone would after hearing about her talking about six murders so calmly. She pulled on her cigarette.

“What does that have to do with me?” Min asked.

“Do you fancy taking midnight strolls a lot?”

“Sometimes I do. Sometimes I don’t. Why?”

The woman named Gwen just smiled politely.

“What were you doing the night the day before yesterday? At one o-o, to be precise?”

“I was sleeping in my bed.”

Detective Gwen looked surprise.

“You know, I thought you were very clever after the talk we had yesterday. Was that just a fluke?”, she said.

“What do you mean?”

In answer, she brought out a photo from her coat and showed it to him.

“Now I’ll give it to you that the face can’t be seen in this angle, but I doubt there are too many black hoods with a rip on the left sleeve around the town. And we have a clear image of you wearing this hoodie three days earlier in broad daylight around that college near Roseburg gardens with the same rip on the left sleeve, so no point in denying it’s yours.”

He looked at the photo. It was definitely the black hood he used to wear. He could see the rip on the left sleeve she had mentioned. That was the result of the knife attack that May had launched at him, so many days ago.

“Now this picture that you are holding,” She continued, puffing smoke full on his face, ”it’s taken day before yesterday, at night one’ o’clock. The said time when you were apparently sleeping. Now tell me, how could you appear at two places at once?”

He studied the picture. It was obviously May wearing his hood. He could see her fingers stretching out beneath the sleeve. It was obviously too big for her. But he could not say that to the detective. He had to figure some way to disarm her. If he could give her some piece of genuine information…anything. He realized that the picture was taken at the supermarket. What was in the brown paper bag May was holding?

“I’m sorry,” Min said slowly, “It is me.”

Gwen Potts looked at him.

“Yes?”

“It is me. I was buying apples at the supermarket.”

From the look on her face he knew he was right. He knew that she had already checked up with the counter holder in the supermarket about what “the man in the black hood” had bought. To make someone trust you, always say the truth that the other party wanted to hear. Psychology 101. Thank god, he knew May so well.

“Now,” Min continued with renewed authority, “what does this has to do with your serial killer?”

“Yes. Well, that night a murder occurred, not two blocks away from where you are buying apples, and within fifteen minutes of the time. Now why were you buying apples so late at night? Why do you roam around at night so much anyway? Why…”

Min laughed heartily.

“And that is your theory? Just because I felt like buying apples, or that I like to go breath the cool air at night, you are going to penalize me as a serial killer?”

Gwen was fuming. She opened her mouth to say something, but he outmatched her, saying loudly,

“Next time you schedule a meeting with me, be sure to bring some conclusive proof, detective.”

Without waiting for another word, the detective turned around and walked. It sure was windy.

But at the entrance, she stopped and looked around.

“There is also another case we are looking into. Kidnapping of the Abell children. Wouldn’t happen to know about that either would you?”

Min was caught off guard. So possessed was he with the idea of the serial killer that he had forgotten all about the kidnapping. As it was, he betrayed his feelings with a slight widening of his eyes, but then collected himself.

“No idea”, he lied.

Gwen threw her card at him.

“Call me if you get some.”

And she walked away.

Min stayed there rooted to the spot though. What had May been doing at one in the night, wearing his black hood, within fifteen minutes of a person being murdered? He could not imagine his precious May doing anything bad. But she had kidnapped two children and kept them without food for a month in her storeroom. Was it so hard to believe that she could murder someone too?

The wind blew like a ghost, all around him, through him. Like a ghost of despair, that which it touched turned cold and withered away. He felt like he was withering away, as if there was something gnawing away at his flesh. He felt small and hopeless. Could he really cure May as he had once believed? It wasn’t emotional instability she suffered from. She was a criminal. And if she had killed six men, can she really be cured? What was he to do?

He hadn’t had the chance to read the book he had borrowed from Celine. But he remembered one page that he had read in her study yesterday. Split personality is often called a sickness unto death, for it is that hard to cure. Indeed, if it is the case of this sickness, then the best way possible is to link the two personalities with their common ties and to subject the patient with immense shock. That is what would be considered ‘the surest way of curing the sickness unto death’.

“Min!”

Min looked up. May was standing there at the entrance. She was dressed in black and looked furious.

“Who was the woman you just met?”

“What?” Min asked.

“Was she the woman you were talking with yesterday, late at night?”

…Sickness unto death, for it is so hard to cure…

What was this, Min wondered. Jealousy? That May could be so furious over such a mundane thing, after what he had just heard was laughable.

…subject the patient with an immense shock…

“It is unforgivable!” she continued. Was this why she had been so angry in the morning?

“Yes. It is unforgivable.”

…sickness unto death…

Are you a murderer May? Are you a murderer like my father? That was the last thought he had before jumping over the fence and falling down three stories in a pool of blood.

*

When he opened his eyes, he thought he saw the face of his mother. With time though, his eyes cleared up and he could see it was Celine looking down at him, a stony expression on her face.

“So you thought you could just up and go commit suicide?” She asked levelly.

Min grinned. He could see he was in a hospital bed. His body ached. The sunlight entering through the windows hurt his eyes. He tried talking with his mouth.

“Yeah,” his voice sounded raspy to him. He wondered whether his voice was at fault or his ears, “well, in my defense, I survived.”

Celine stood up and slapped him. Hard.

He felt so weak; he thought he would faint from the slap.

“It was just a coincidence that you fell on a car that was coming from hiking. A tent was over its roof, and you fell on the fabric. That was the sole reason you are alive. If you had met concrete I daresay we would have lost you.”

His face still resounded from the slap. Min looked around.

“May is in another room. She is sleeping. She was awake for three straight days, crying all the time.”

“How long was I here?” Min said, trying to sit up now.

“Three days. May had the misfortune to sleep just the time you woke up.”

“I’m sorry Celine.” Min said.

And finally Celine gave her trademark smile.

For a while they were silent. Min just played around with a bit of cloth. Then Celine took a deep breath.

“Why?” she asked, “why did you jump off from the roof?”

Min was silent for a moment. He thought what he should say to a question like that.

“I…,” he began, ”I read it. In your book.Sickness unto death. How it can be cured by giving her a shock. The one person she loves the most, holds dear to her the most, is me. I thought, maybe the pain of losing me could –“

“How long do you plan to lie to me?”

Min shut up immediately. There was a sudden coldness to the room which the light entering from the window could not take away.

“You committed suicide because of your own depression. If it had been any other way around you wouldn’t have been so happy to be alive.”

Yes. People who are depressed are just looking for attention. They do not really want to die. They just want to be noticed. Hence they try to kill themselves in places where their bodies could be quickly found. True martyrdom comes from giving one’s own life for a greater cause. A martyr knows no happiness. It had come from Celine’s own mouth, at a lecture some two years ago. Min had not forgotten.

Celine leaned in. Her face had a pained expression, her breathing was frenzied.

“Min,” she said, and in her voice he could sense sincerity deeper than many seas, “How can I help you if you don’t allow me to help you? I know you only want to help May. I want to help her too. So, please, I am begging you, please, tell me what happened all those years ago? What happened with May? And you?”

Min could not lie anymore. Nor could he keep it from the lady in front of him. It was too painful to remember what had happened ten years ago. But now he had to.

“It was ten years ago, during spring. My father was a tall man, black hair just like mine, which he would keep short. He wore crisp shirts, unstained. He was a man of discipline. If ever he saw me come home after the time he had mentioned, he would beat me all night. Sometimes it was just slaps and kicks. Other times he would take out his belt and hit me all night with it. He would hit mother as well, only much worse than he would hit me. Mother would cry a lot. In the morning she would pretend that nothing had happened, that all was well.

“I loved my mother a lot. She was a beautiful woman with red hair. Only they had faded and turned gray. Living in constant fear did that to you, I suppose. She would diligently cook the meals and make sure that I was fed and well. She would send me to sleep quickly. Some nights I could hear her screams come from the other room. It terrified me. Some nights my father would come into my room and pull me out of the bed by my leg. He used to hum a song when he would hit me, or use a knife to write ‘come home at 5:00’ on my chest. That tune scared me a lot.

“Then one day, when I was thirteen, late at night, my mother ran to me to usher me to bed at once. I could see her cry. I could hear voices and sounds. I could hear the shrill screaming of a little girl, the whimpering of a boy, and my mother’s weeping. Always my mother’s weeping. The next morning, I went downstairs and ate breakfast with my mother and father. He told me to study hard, and left to work at the factory. After he was gone, mother was washing the dishes. Mother had told me never to go to the basement. But it made me curious. I opened the door and went downstairs, only to see two small children, not much different than my age at the time, looking at me. There was a golden haired boy lying on the ground, unconscious. His spectacles lay a distance away from him. Then I saw the other one, a girl, half naked, her hands tied behind her back. For a moment I thought she was dead, but then she opened her eyes, and called to me for help. I ran.

“I couldn’t stop running, I ran from the house, away from my mother, away from the monstrosity of a father. But a car almost collided with me at the street. I recognized the car. I tried to run. But my father opened the door of the car, grabbed me by the hand and made me come back home. He then proceeded to throw me down a fleet of stairs, right in the basement.There was blood in my mouth, I clearly remember the taste of blood. Then he had tied my hands as well. I could not move. I was scared, very very scared.

“Mom screamed, cried and begged to let me go. He dragged her outside and closed the door. For the longest of time all we could hear in the darkness was her screams. But it was when they had stopped that we were most scared. I knew that he would come for us now. But he didn’t. We waited for an hour, then two, but nothing happened. I was awake the whole night, dreading the worst. But then morning came.”

Celine knew that he was saying this aloud for the first time. His speech must not be stopped. It had all must come out. She closed the door so that no one would interrupt them, and sat back at her seat. She was horrified, but she had to hear it out completely. Min continued.

“My real name is not Min. In fact, Min is a made up name that belonged to that boy. He was a strange one. Even when all of my tears had dried out, he would cry. He would cry all the time, his long golden hair had turned muddy. The girl, May, had gone silent though. I knew that was bad. She had turned catatonic, and that was the worst thing that could happen in this situation. Crying and weeping and showing fear was what made father happy, and if she was unable to show it, then he would continue to torture her till she did. He would have his amusement.

“Soon we heard the sound of the car going away. My mother came downstairs. She was a good woman. She had come to rescue us. She had almost untied me when the door slammed open and father came downstairs, humming that tune. My father was a devious man. He must have known that my mother would try to pull off such a stunt. He had only pretended to go to work.

“Hearing my mother’s scream from up close made me shiver. This time father had brought a baseball bat, the same baseball bat that I had used a few days ago to hit a home run. He had also brought a kitchen knife. But the only thing mother begged for was to at least blindfold me so that I did not have to see. My mother was a good woman. Father finally agreed. He ripped her skirt and made a blindfold for me. I could not see, but I could hear. I could hear my mother’s scream. He beat her till she was unconscious. The golden haired boy continued to cry. After a while, my father said something about shutting him up. His attention went to May.

“I knew her catatonia was bad. I knew it would be something most dreadful. I realized my hands were free. I tried to cover my ears. But I could still hear. And through the blindfold, I could see as if through murky water. May had turned silent. So my father untied her. Then he gave the kitchen knife to her, and tied her hands again around the kitchen knife. And he whispered to her, what I could not hear. He brought the golden haired boy closer. And then told her to do something so vile, the thought made me shudder. Worse, she did it. He told her he would set her free if she did it. And she did it. My father had his hands wrapped around hers, guiding the way to do it. There was blood everywhere. Then he had picked up the baseball bat and with it he pointed at the various organs of Min’s body. He plucked out his heart and in one fluid motion threw it to her. Her schizophrenia finally broke. She screamed a blood curdling scream. I could take it no longer. I stood up, picked up the baseball bat that was lying at the ground and hit him straight on the head, with all my might. My father died.”

Min ended his story simply. Then almost as an afterthought added,

“My mother died from her injuries”

Celine looked at him for the longest time. Min thought she looked troubled. Well, anyone would after hearing such a story.

“But your name is not Min?”

Min shook his head.

“May could not cope with the thought that she had killed the real Min. So her mind just collapsed, and got mixed up. She convinced herself that Min was not dead, that I in fact was Min.”

Celine’s frown got deeper.

There was a knock outside the door. Celine quietly opened it. The doctor walked inside. He was discharged after a bit of paperwork.

As Celine watched the reunion of May and Min, she wondered why the story May had told her the previous day about that very same incident did not quite match Min’s.

*

Min returned to their apartment. At once May went into the kitchen to cook something for her. She hummed a tune, the same tune his father used to sing. It scared him.She was wearing the black hoodie he used to wear. That scared him more.

“Why are you wearing that?” he asked, all the memories of the meeting with the detective flooding back. His insecurities grew again, but he remembered Celine’s pained expression.

May turned to him from her cooking and gave a radiant smile.

“It has your smell on it!” she laughed.

For some reason, this statement made him blush. It was a stupid reason, not at all believable, but for some reason, he began thinking he must be a fool for doubting her. How could she be the serial killer?

He opened the fridge. The first thing he noticed was apples. And with that all the doubts returned. He wondered whether this would be a constant cycle, doubts and certainty. He picked three apples and announced,

“I am going to give something to the kids to eat. They must be hungry.”

“Why? I gave them food this morning.”

“Hmm?”

“What’s with the reaction? You did tell me to give them food thrice a day didn’t you?”

“Did you give them food the past three days as well? When I was in the hospital?”

She tilted her head as if she couldn’t understand.

“You did say I must feed them thrice a day. In any case I can’t let them starve now can I?”

The man who called himself Min stood there bewildered. Again he was in a position where he was absolutely certain that this person could not harm anyone.

He took the apples and entered the store room. When he entered, Rina hugged his leg.

“Are you all right, big brother?”

Min’s mouth formed a line. Big brother?

“That woman said you were in the hospital. We thought you will not come here again.”

He sat down. Now that their hands were free and they were clean, they looked like ordinary bunch of kids. They were wearing clothes their size. He wondered whether May had bought them new clothes. They seemed well bathed as well, and someone had applied room freshener here.

But they had bruises all over their body. Those marks…

“Did ‘that woman’ hit you?” he asked.

Rina looked bewildered, whereas Roy plainly laughed.

“It wasn’t her! It was our mum and dad, see?”

“What?”

Min couldn’t understand. He asked Rina to explain. She told him her story. How they ran away from home. How they met May at the park. How she offered them a place to stay. How one day May started screaming in her sleep. She had woken up and tied their hands, locked the door from outside and had just forgotten them for a month. They were very scared of May. She would scream in her sleep. She would talk to herself sometimes.

But then big brother had come. And he had gave them good food and bed and baths.

“We are treated much better here than at home, big bro, so please don’t leave us.”

He was big bro now?

But he laughed. He had never felt better. True, this did not eliminate her mental disorientation. But this was much better than what he had imagined. Certainly, if she hadn’t hurt them (beyond forgetting about them for a month and almost starving them, but let’s face it, they themselves admitted they had faced worse at the hands of their parents) the idea that she was the serial killer seemed laudable now.

He hugged the children. He shouted over his head at May, asking her whether the children could eat dinner at the table with them. May said it was fine, and Min ate the liveliest dinner he had ever eaten in ten years. Later May went to bed, but he and the Abells watched television. He was laughing and that seemed unreal to Min.

They had a spare room, but not a spare bed, unfortunately. While the kids watched television, Min moved the beddings he had made for the kids from the store room to the much bigger bed room. He wondered whether he should hunt for a job starting from tomorrow. With his degree he should be able to get a good one. In such happy thoughts, he ushered the kids to their new bed, shut down the lights and closed the door. He then went to his bed, where May was sleeping peacefully. For the first time, he thought he could sleep soundly.

He woke up at around two a.m. though. Perhaps his body was just not used to sleeping soundly. He almost smiled, before he realized that he was alone. Where was May? Where was she? His heart clenched in fear. He ran towards the room he had prepared for the Abell kids and wrenched the door apart. The kids were sleeping soundly. He made sure. They were breathing. They were asleep. He breathed a sigh of relief. But May wasn’t here.

Where is she? He was scared. He looked at all the rooms. She was nowhere around. A thought struck his head. He went to the main door. On the shoe rack, he spotted his boot. He picked it up. He was scared. He did not want to see. He felt inside his boot.

His knife was gone.

He sat down, tears welling in his eyes. Tears of frustration. He cried silently. Just like that everything was lost. All his dreams before he slept. Gone.Gone with that knife.

The door creaked open silently. May entered, flipping the black hood back. She blinked at him.

“Oh, you are awake. I didn’t want to wake anyone.”

She was smiling. She could see Min crouching on the floor. His eyes were red. Had he been crying? May’s smile faded.

“Min..” she said, approaching him slowly.

“My name is not MIN!” he screamed. He wondered whether she would whip out that knife and kill him too, just like she had killed the other six men. Or was it seven now? More?

“Please, Min, please…”

“Where were you?” he asked in a small voice. He had already realized that Rina and Roy were standing behind him, awake now after hearing him shout.

“…please…”

“WHERE WERE YOU?” Min shouted again.

May sat on the floor covering her ears, whispering “please” over and over again. It had began raining outside. Min could hear the sounds of thunder.

He sat beside her and asked again, this time softly.

“Where were you May? Where were you? Were you killing someone? Are you the serial killer May?”

“No! No, no, no, no….I wouldn’t do such a thing, I wouldn’t, Min knows I wouldn’t…”

The rain poured heavily. He remembered how he used to like the rain before. Now he hated it.

Min hugged her and kissed her forehead. Whatever happened, he would not let anyone hurt his May. His blood was boiling. May could not go to jail. No, she absolutely could not. Her brain would be more deranged in a place like that. He gently took the knife from her hand. Then he told her to go to bed. She obediently left.

The police wanted the Abell kids as well as the serial killer. Well, he would give them to them. He motioned the kids to come with him. He could see the fear in Rina’s eyes. But she followed him, her big brother. He closed the door behind him with Rina and Roy following his tail, he led them out in the rain. Then he opened a crumpled up card, and dialed the number to detective Gwen Potts.

He wondered whether it was him, and not May, who was suffering from the sickness unto death.

*

It was 2:40 in the morning when Smith’s phone rang. When he picked up, Potts shouted at him.

“Get your car to Roseburg Gardens right fucking now!! I’m running there. Drive! And bring your gun!”

What the hell, Smith thought. He jumped at once, grabbed his gun and his keys and ran outside in the rain. He was wearing shorts and a robe and it was hell a lot of cold. He hated cold.

He jumped in his car, glad that it had heating. He revved up his engine, and drove at a blazing speed. At a street around two blocks away from Roseburg Gardens, he saw Potts running like a madman in the rain.

“Get in!”

Detective Gwen Potts didn’t waste any time, opened the door and got in. Smith drove at a hefty speed down to the woods.

“Near….fountain….dolphins…..”

“Near the fountain with the dolphin statue, you mean?”

Potts was obviously very out of breath. Just what had happened, Smith wondered.

“It was Min,” Potts said after she had regained her breath, “he called. He clearly said he is the killer. And he said he was going to kill the Abell kids tonight at Roseburg Gardens, in front of the fountain. And he hung up. Man, this is messed up. I always knew he was fishy. Shit, I hope we aren’t late. I’m gonna bust his ball, just wait and see, Smith.”

Now that she had regained her speech, was she never going to stop speaking, Smith wondered. Keep the jokes to yourself Smith, he thought in his mind. This wasn’t the time.

He parked the car far enough from the fountain. Then they both rushed to the fountain, keeping their cover in the brushes, guns raised at the ready.

When they arrived they saw Min standing there, the two kids huddled around him. Potts was about to shoot when he nudged her. Seriously, does she lose her mind when it comes to saving children? Is this womanhood? He whispered her to take a closer look.

The Abell kids were hugging him tightly. In the rain he couldn’t say, but Smith thought Min was crying. What was happening? This didn’t add up. He looked at Potts, who in turn looked at him, perplexed.

In that split second they spent in exchanging glances, they didn’t notice a man walking behind Min, with a knife in his hand raised.

*

Min had brought the kids to the largest clearing there was in the park. The fountain of dolphins was glistening. There were lights here of course, but that was the point. He wanted Gwen to find him, put him in jail as the killer. Detective would then take the kids and give them a better home, he hoped. All suspicion would be cleared from May. All he ever wanted to do was to look out for her, however messed up she may be.

True martyrs know no happiness.

Celine. He had not got the opportunity to say thanks to her.

May. He had not found the opportunity to say he loved her.

He looked down at the kids. For one moment he had thought of giving them a better home. He had pictured him and May taking care of them. How stupid, how naïve.

He looked down at the kids. He would have to explain now. He sighed. It was raining heavily. If May had been here she would have fretted about him catching a cold.

“Rina, Roy,” he began, ”I am sorry. I can’t make a new home for you. So this is what is going to happen, okay? In a few minutes, some detectives are gonna come. You don’t tell them anything about May, okay? Just tell them about me, how I was a bad man and threatened to cut you up. They will find a new home for you.”

“But I was happy with you!” Roy said.

He couldn’t reply to that, Min just couldn’t. The children hugged him. He realized he was crying. This wasn’t good. The cops would be here any minute.

He thought he heard some rustling of leaves. Maybe they are already here? He was about to raise his knife, pulling off an act, but then Rina exclaimed loudly, pointing behind him.

He turned just a second too late. His shoulder was cut deeply. He slashed at the assailant, his strike finding only air. He moved to the right, but was cut again, too deeply, in his shin. Blood was gushing out, so much of it. Already his shoulder felt numb and he couldn’t use his right hand properly.

He could hear voices shouting all around him.

“They are all around the place, I don’t know where to shoot!”

“Don’t shoot, Smith, you will hit the kids, don’t you dare shoot!”

These senseless ramblings didn’t mean much to Min. All he could see was the knife the other man with a cap over his head was holding.The man wearing a cap retraced a few steps, clearly going to deal the final blow, when there was a loud roar. The killer fell down. So did Min.

*

“What the hell, Smith! I told you not to shoot!” Potts screamed rushing where the two men had fallen. The kids were crying. They were unhurt. She looked at Smith, impressed. It must have been a miracle shot that weaved around the kids to hit that cap wearing killer.

But Smith himself couldn’t believe it.

“I didn’t shoot” he said.

“You must have shot under pressure. Rookies do that all the time.”

“No, Gwen, I’m telling you, I did not shoot.”

He pulled the cartridge off his gun. All the bullets were right there, aligned in a row cleanly.

“See?”

Potts looked at the darkness. There had been another person here, someone who took down the cap wearing scum.

“So who is the killer? Min or this guy?” Smith asked.

The kids rushed around Min. He had lost a lot of blood. He was unconscious.

The kids looked at Potts with pleading eyes.

“Please don’t hurt big brother”

At once Potts crouched down to their height, and gave them a warm motherly smile.

“Of course I won’t. Don’t worry; I won’t harm your big brother.”

She stood up again, looked at Smith levelly and announced,

“The cap wearing vermin is the killer.”

And saying that, she crouched again to have a chat with the kids.

“Man! That’s how you decide who the killer is? Is this a game?” Smith shouted in frustration, already calling ambulance.

Smith felt like not going to work tomorrow. He could see only paperwork and not any cases.

*

Min opened his eyes again. He thought he saw the face of his mother, but he knew that this time this must be Celine. He saw her loving smile.

“And I thought you only just left this hospital.”

Min grinned, like he had the last time.

“Well, you know, some people visit their parents’ at Christmas. I visit the hospital.”

Celine coughed into her hanky. She smiled when she saw Min’s worried expression,

“It’s just a slight cold, I am afraid. Compared to your injuries, this doesn’t really count”

Someone snorted behind him, and he turned to see it was detective Gwen Potts. He realized May was sleeping with her head on his lap and he almost tried to hide her. But then he realized there was no point. She really hadn’t killed anyone at all. In fact, she was completely innocent. He felt bad. He made her go through all of that and still there she was, sleeping on his lap like a cat.

“Henry Lawrence, that’s your name isn’t it?” Potts said and then she continued in a single breath, “Always hated hospitals. Never can smoke here.”

Min flinched at hearing his real name out loud.

“Who…?”

“It was me, I’m sorry, Min,” Celine said. She coughed again.

“I don’t remember telling you my real name…”

“She did some digging, all by herself.” Potts said.

Min was quiet. Henry. He did remember his mother waking him up with that name. The weight from his lap shifted. He realized May was awake, and rubbing her eyes.

“There are some explanations due” Potts said.

Celine took a deep breath.

“I know what you are about to hear is going to be hard, but it is the truth so just bear with me, Min. I did some research. Your case wasn’t covered by the newspapers; the incident that occurred ten years ago was too gruesome. And that the police was not involved in that case made it a stain on the police department, so they just waved it away. It was hard but I had my means and I can now tell you the true details of the incident you both went through ten years ago.”

May shivered.

“What does this has to do with the killer?”, Min said angrily, after seeing May’s reaction, ”Don’t say unnecessary stuff in front of her.”

“Are you going to protect her till she has to rely on you even to stand on her feet?” Potts said hotly.

Min looked at her angrily for a moment and was about to say something, when Celine interrupted them.

“It is as she says, Min, just hear me out. The one suffering from mental disorientation isn’t just May. You have also been mentally disoriented too.”

“What!” Min said loudly.

“Just listen to her calmly, boy” Potts grunted.

Celine brought her hanky to her mouth again coughing loudly. Then Celine took another deep breath.

“Well, you see, that other day when you recounted the incident that happened ten years ago, you said that it was May who had killed Min, the real Min. But I had talked about that incident at length with May here beforehand. And her story didn’t match with yours.”

Min looked at May. She looked at him but then looked away.

Potts brought out a photo, and placed it gently in front of them.

“This is what the killer looks like.” Potts said calmly.

The killer had a thin, long face. He was very pale, and had a piercing on his eyebrows. He wore black heavy spectacles and had long wavy golden hair.

“Can you recognize him, Min?”

May had looked away at one glance, but Min kept on looking.

“Min” Min said softly.

“Precisely.The real Min.Or Scott “Minutes” Adams. He is well and alive. And killing.Or was.”

“But he died!” Min exclaimed.

“No. He died in your mind and May’s mind. But he didn’t really die.”

Celine looked at how he was taking the news. Well, it was hard to refute what was in front of his eyes. She sneezed horribly and apologized, which everyone ignored.

“But he died! I watched him die!”

“May?” Celine asked, looking at her.

She was still looking down but she said in a soft voice,

“Was he the one who ran away?”

Celine nodded.

“Who ran away? What are you saying? I watched him die!” Min said loudly.

“But you didn’t! You said it yourself, remember?” Celine was saying, “you were blindfolded.”

“The blindfold fell off after a while.”

“Yes, but you kept your eyes shut, you were too horrified.”

“But I saw someone die”

Celine turned quiet.

“Yes, that’s true Min. You did watch someone die. Apart from you, your father, May, and the real Min who else was present in that room, Min?” Celine asked softly.

The answer was at his lips quickly.

“Mother”

“Yes, Min, mother, your mother whom you loved a lot. You couldn’t subject her to such gruesome death. You gave her a simple death, ‘died from her injuries’, which wasn’t a lie. After all, Min, you were never a liar.”

“But she died anyway. What difference does it make?”

“The difference comes in the mind, Min! I taught you this.” Celine said, her voice now frustrated.

It was true. Sickness unto death. His mother was the one who had died. And the wimpy, crying Min had run away.

“But then May killed my mother?”

“No, it wasn’t May who had killed your mother. It was Scott Adams. The real Min. Think, why would May call you Min, if she had killed your mother? There would be no reason to, as the real Min had fled.”

“But if Min killed my mother,” Henry thought out loud, “then, May wouldn’t be able to digest that her childhood friend had done such a gruesome deed. And therefore, in her mind, she gave the role of her friend, Min, to me, who was the only one there.”

“Now you get it.” Celine smiled.

“But May did go out late at night. She had a knife on her the other day. And…she tied the kids up.”

Celine looked at May and said, without taking her eyes off her,

“About the kidnapping. It wasn’t really a kidnapping now was it? The children were content with the way they were treated. And initially she had brought the kids to her home to feed them and give them a place to stay…”

Celine saw that Min was about to interrupt her, so she hurried on over him,

“May suffers from deliriums, Min. The kids said that she would wake up at night, screaming. Or sometimes talk to herself. I imagine that it was in her delirious state that she did what she did to the children. I also believe that she is not violent. That she tied them up was probably because, in her delusion, she was protecting them. But that is just my theory.”

“But she locked them up for a month!”

“Did she ever mention that she was suffering from recurring nightmares, Min?”

Min was silent.

“The reason why she never mentioned that was because she herself did not remember. Her mind simply eliminates what troubles her. In your presence, she felt happy and hence the nightmares stopped. But you would notice that they returned when you were gone for three days due to that tragic fall you had. The incident that occurred ten years ago will not go away so easily.

“May and you both suffered that day. You lost your mother, and May lost her childhood friend. Your minds changed the incident in a way that your minds could take. The thought of a 13 year old having to see his mother die in such a gruesome way was too much. So instead, you had the real Min die at the hands of May, which made sense since May had begun calling you Min.

“But May hadn’t killed anyone. She had only been tortured. And the thought of having to see her childhood friend cut up a woman in cold blood was too much for her to understand. So she gave him the role of a stranger, Henry Lawrence, and made you Min, a hero who had slain the giant.

“There is another thing. In the police reports your father is said to have died by a slit in his neck.”

Min looked at her.

“I had hit him with a baseball bat.”

“That had only made him unconscious.” Potts piped in.

“The only person who had a knife at the end was the real Min, Scott Adams.” Min said.

“My theory,” Potts continued, ”little Scott came back with a grudge. Probably why he kills his victims with a slice in the neck.”

And she snorted.

May looked at Min, her eyes full of unshed tears.

“Can I still call you Min?”, she asked softly.

Min smiled.

Potts nodded to Celine. They walked out of his room, giving them their space.

*

Outside the hospital, the sun was warm. Just when Celine was about to enter her car, there was a voice from behind.

“Can I talk with you for a minute?” It was detective Potts.

Celine sneezed again. This cold was seriously annoying her now.

“Sure”

They walked around the hospital a bit.

“So,” Celine began, but Potts cut her short.

“I was wondering,” Potts said in a mildly interested tone, “that it was a heck of a coincidence that Scott Adams chose to show up right there where we wanted.”

“Yes. Must be a coincidence.” Celine said carefully.

“Oh shut it! I know you were there in the rain; you have been coughing all morning. I also know you have a gun, namely Glock .35, registered to you, and I should mention the bullet we took out from Scott’s neck was from a .35, so spit it out.”

Celine was silent for a moment.

“Min is like a son to me,” she began.

“That much is apparent.”

“Well, Scott goes to the same college May does. His mind must have suppressed the memories of ten years ago the same way Min and May had. It was probably a few months back that he first saw May’s face in his college. All the memories must have come rushing back. Killing was what he resorted to. It gave him temporary relief, a kind of drug perhaps. Then I came to know that even Min had made an appearance in front of him in that very college one day. It was only a matter of time that he would want to kill them, that’s how criminal minds work. In fact, considering that all his victims where around the Roseburg Gardens’ area, we can assume his target was May all along.”

Potts looked mighty impressed. She thought this psychiatrist should consider a career line in the police department. And she said so to her, to which Celine simply laughed.

“How did you lure him out?” Potts asked.

“Oh that was simple. A letter of challenge. ‘I know your secret, come to Roseburg Gardens tonight’. Works all the time, I hear.”

“I wonder where you hear these things from. But you didn’t expect Min to show up with the two kids, did you?”

“No, that hadn’t come in my calculations.”

“You are one dangerous woman, Celine.” Potts said.

Celine laughed, now walking towards her car.

“What will happen to the Abell kids?”

Potts thought for a while.

“They will want to go to their big brother, I suppose. They were a closed case anyway.”

Celine laughed again.

Potts called Smith, and shouted at him to bring the car over at the hospital. She looked at Celine who had dropped her purse. Bloody dangerous woman.It was well that she had made a new friend. The world was full of psychos.

***