During this season in the city, the mall streets were crowded with people going to bazaars of food, clothes, mini museums, events, and almost everything. Claire wanted to taste different foods from different countries so she went to the food bazaar hallway. She would get every free food samples from different shops and wrote down something on her mini notebook. Maybe the taste, or the ingredients and everything she could take note of.
Clarence tagged along as their first ever carefree bonding. He found her very keen and passionate about her work.
They went inside the mall and saw an ocean conservation event. There was a speaker and the audience were around 30 people from children to adult.
Clarence noticed Lance as one of the audience who was taking notes in every session.
He called to Claire that he saw him and pointed to where he was. She peeked to see at the direction he was pointing, and she saw Lance from afar.
"Shall we greet him?" Clarence asked.
"Better not," she said. "He looks very absorbed."
He chuckled a little. "So he likes ocean, huh? He really seems like a nice guy."
"Anyway," Claire said, trying to change the topic. "Let's meet up with Misa and Sora."
They met up with them who was having their date from the Christmas Party's game, at the foot of the outdoor Ferris wheel.
As they were lining up to order their food, suddenly there was a commotion of people around them. They were muttering something as they were reading a post or a news from their mobile phones.
"Someone's jumping from the top floor!" said one from the crowd.
Misa immediately took her phone and showed it to them. "It's live! Someone's on the top floor."
They saw the live footage. As it was zooming in, the face of that person on the edge of the top floor can be seen though it was already dark.
Claire's eyes was narrowing as she seemed curious about it. Her eyes widened when she saw that person's face. It was a crying woman who looked like she had lost all hope - devastated.
"Sorry, I have to go! Just leave without me," Claire said all of a sudden and dashed off. "
"Where are you going?" Clarence said but she was already far away.
The mall was six-storey high. Claire immediately went to the elevator but it was blocked by some security personnel. Almost every elevator was. She hurried to the fire exit and ran up to the top floor. When she caught her breath, she walked more to reach another metal door and went outside. There were already mall staffs communicating with the lady who was going to jump.
"Hey, miss, you're not allowed here!" said of the staff to Claire as she entered the scene.
"I know her. Let me talk to her," Claire calmly said.
The staffs let here walked freely until the middle.
"Rosalie," Claire called out firmly from her lungs.
The woman on the edge was shriveling as she turned her head to the one who called her.
"You are..." Rosalie was wide-eyed when she saw her. "Claire?"
Claire smiled in relief. "Yes, it's me, Rosalie. I'm glad you remember me."
"Why have you not changed yet?" she madly asked. "You look the same even from 15 years ago!"
"More importantly, what are you doing? Are you planning to jump off the building?"
"Yes! I want to end my miserable life!" Rosalie cried, turning her back and gripping the metal bars from behind.
The people on the roof top panicked.
"Wait, don't jump!" Claire said. "I'll help you, Rosalie."
"My husband is cheating on me. I found he has another woman in this city. He abandoned me and our first child in my belly that we have been waiting for five years. It's because I've become ugly and depressed about not being able to conceive. If you can give me the secret of your youthfulness, probably he'll be back to me. But it's too late. I decided to just end this pain and have him smitten by conscience all his life!"
She let go of her grip from the railing and let her body be pulled down by the gravity. She felt weightless as she threw herself into the cold winter air.
Even the people on the ground looking on top got panicked and worried.
But Claire ran fast to her and reached her arms. Her body was pressed hard against the railing. Trying to pull not just her body but also her mind, she said, "Your husband is not your everything! Don't make him your life. You are responsible for your own life!"
Rosalie was hanging. "Don't you ever say that. You can never understand what it means to love a man with your life."
"But I can understand your pain. Killing yourself will only bring more sadness to your family. To your mother who raised you so well to live a life full of pride and love for other people. Don't you care about her? She must be worried sick about you now."
Rosalie remembered her parents' hardship just to give her a simple good life. And Claire was one of their family friends 15 years ago in the province. She knew her love for Rosalie's husband even when they were still teenagers.
Claire just suddenly left them without saying a word to them.
Back to the present situation, Rosalie was sobbing more. Her arms felt heavy and tired. Claire was already having a hard time keeping her from falling since it was freezing.
"And your unborn child, is that the extent of your love?" Claire continued. "I know you. You love others more than yourself. So please, don't waste your life. There's hope when you decide to live. Hang on to that light, even if it's just a small dot among the darkness."
The staffs seemed to be back to their mind and hurried to the edge to help Claire, but unfortunately, she lost her balance. She slid from the edge, head first, her body was plunged into the air with Rosalie going down at a fast speed. Yes, the two of them are going to fall down from the building.
The people on the top floor were already burying their faces on their hands and crying.
As they were falling, Claire felt the air getting colder and thicker. She held Rosalie's head tight in hope to brace her from the impact of falling down the ground. She looked calm but Rosalie already lost consciousness.
THUG!
And they fell down.
"YES!", "THANK GOODNESS!", "THEY'RE SAVED!" These were the words of relief from the crowd.
Yes, the two women were saved by an inflatable playground as cushion. Thanks to the social media post and Clarence's thinking that Claire went to the suicide scene that they were able to come up with this. This is also one of their many tasks as a private security agent.
An ambulance had just come and brought Rosalie to the hospital. Claire, unhurt, and Clarence went with her.
When the doctor finished examining Rosalie, Claire wanted to stay with her and she told Clarence to go home ahead.
While Claire was looking after the sleeping Rosalie, the door opened slowly. Who came inside was a man in a suit. He looked worried and broke into tears as he came forward to Rosalie.
"Honey, I'm sorry!" said the man, who was Rosalie's husband. "I'm so glad you're alive. Forgive me."
Claire watched him sobbing with disgust.
The man then looked wide-eyed at Claire. "You? You are... Rosalie's family friend? From... 15 years ago?"
Claire kept her cold stare at him. He felt a dangerous vibes from her that made his hands shiver more.
"I can't believe she would do something stupid for a man like you, Marx," she said. "Is it true you have another woman?"
He didn't respond.
"Hmph! And you don't know she's pregnant now?"
"What?" He looked at Rosalie, who had just awoken. Her eyes were sunken and her face was pale.
He looked at her. He hugged her tightly and broke into bitter tears.
"Rosalie! I'm sorry! Forgive me."
"Marx," she softly said.
He knelt on the floor, took her pale and thin hand on his and kissed it. "Honey, please forgive me. I will make it up to you and our child. Please."
Rosalie looked without emotion at him. "How about your other woman?"
"I already split up with her because I realized that you are really the one I love. But I couldn't bring myself to you again because I felt so pathetic ashamed, and unworthy of you. But I have to man up. So, please, Rosalie. Let's start all over again. I need you. I can't lose you. I love you, Rosalie."
She shook her head. "Too late. I can't forgive you."
His hands shiver more. He lowered his head. "I know what I did was unforgiveable." He then touched her face and sadly smiled at her. "But just assure me that you will live, okay? That you will not attempt to die because of a scum such as me."
Memories of them together flashed back on her mind. How she loved him since they were young, they got married and till now. She then remembered Claire's words:
"Please, don't throw away your life. There's hope when you decide to live. Hang on to that light, even if it's just a small dot among the darkness."
Tears started to fall from the corner of her eyes. "Marx!"
When he felt she was already willing to reconcile, he hugged her tightly. "I love you, honey. I promise I will be a better husband to you from now on."
Seeing they were getting back again - open to be healed and restored, Claire smiled happily at them.
Just then, the door opened. A male nurse came inside. He stood in silence.
Claire felt something different with him, but she remained seated. She scanned him from foot to his head and noticed a familiar tattoo mark at the side of his neck,near his left ear.
The nurse put out a gun and pointed it to Rosalie. Marx hurriedly spread his arms to cover his wife.
"Who are you?" he shouted.
"I'm an assassin from Hades," the disguising nurse said without any expression.
Marx looked confused. "What?!"
The assassin just kept pointing the gun at him. "Your mistress hired us to kill that woman after you broke up with her."
Marx gritted. "Over my dead body!"
"Even if you don't move, I can still kill her." He pressed the trigger of his silencer gun.
"Wait," Claire coldly and calmly said. She stood up from the bedside chair she was seated.
The assassin looked at her as if searching on his own mind. His emotionless face smirked in fun. "That's why you seemed familiar."
"Halt this," she commanded.
"You have no right, Claire the Wanted."
She just looked seriously at him.
The assassin then said, "Unless you stop me now."
She shook her head. "I'm coming to Hades now."
When the assassin heard this, he looked madly excited. "Haha. Have you really become emotionally weak? Why do the higher ups want you anyway?"
She threw him a bloodshot glare. "Just shut up already before I change my mind."
He put down his gun. "Alright. Let's go now, elected Leader."
She step forward but before leaving, she looked sternly at Marx. "If you don't treat her good from now on, I'll personally hire Hades for your life."
Marx was still nervous and shriveling from what was happening. "Yes! From now on, I'll take care of her and our child because I love her."
Her threatening look died down. She also turned to Rosalie. "Please, don't tell anyone of this."
The couple just nodded as they saw her sad expression yet serious in her decision.
She said to the assassin as she followed behind him, "There are probably footages of me from incident earlier. Delete everything that includes me."
"You can't make two requests yet."
"Do I look like I'm running away after this? I have no tech knowledge. I'm sure you know that."
"Yes. Because you are an old-school. Yet your wisdom and knowledge, experience and strength in battle is exceptional."
"Delete them now."
That hour, the social media posts of the suicide incident were being deleted simultaneously. People were wondering why it was put down from the online world - completely erasing in all the servers it was uploaded. Like it has never happened.
Before Claire and the assassin dissolved in the darkness outside the hospital premises, she closed her eyes and took a deep breathe. She remembered her brother whom she was also looking for many years; Musica, Sora, Abie and her workmates at the Hot Spring House. She even saw a glimpse of Lance in her mind. She shook her head and clenched her fist tightly.
Her deep thoughts suddenly rippled when she heard someone call her name. She looked up and saw Lance who had a canvas bag on his hand. The assassin from Hades swiftly but naturally moved away for him not to be seen with her.
"Lance?" she said.
He looked at her blue eyes that seemed so bright in the night sky.
He was hesitant to speak another word but still managed to let it out. "Why are you still out so late?"
She just looked at him with serious eyes.
She removed her wristwatch and handed it to him without saying anything.
His gut told him to take it and he did.
She lifted a corner of her lips. "Take care, then."
She walked past him.
And that very night, she disappeared from the city without waiting for the coming New Year.