November 15, 2010
Kathrina never slept after he left. She fervently wished she could nod off, but God couldn't grant even her smallest wish. If she wasn't wrong, it had been two days since he left, which meant this was precisely a month since her 15th birthday.
A month ago, she was just a kid ready to spread her wings, but now her wings had been clipped brutally by someone who claimed he loved her. The innocent her was long gone. Now only her dirty body remained in this world.
She was shivering due to the cold water, or maybe alcohol or something else she didn't know. As the man had instructed, she continued to remain in the bathtub for a total of two days. She went for two days without eating or drinking anything. Still, she did not experience any feelings of hunger or thirst during that time. Perhaps she had started to lost the capacity to feel anything at all.
She waited and waited until, eventually, her body gave in to deep sleep. Then, she finally slept with a peaceful face, as if she had found her peace.
The sky lost its color to black, and rain started to fall bit by bit. The sound of rain mixed with the ambulance siren could be heard. Not long after, several people entered the cabin in haste. They searched the whole place carefully.
"Here."
Someone else shouted from the bathroom to alert his team. He turned his attention to the young girl who was dozing off in the tub. Her lips were a purplish color, her eyes were swollen, and her face was pale. A rope was wrapped around both of her hands and feet. Her clothes were intact, as if nothing had happened to her, yet he believed they came too late.
"Kathrina Reed, we found her."
***
"How is she doing?"
A concern could be heard in the question posed by a young man named Kale. His eyes couldn't help but wander over to the girl sleeping soundly in a hospital bed. The girl seemed at peace as if she had no burden. But he knew it was only a fake reality. His sister was not okay. He saw the terror on her face when she first woke up yesterday.
What surprised him was, despite feeling scared, Kathrina didn't scream. Instead, she only looked restless while everyone was busy examining her. Even though Kathrina hadn't spoken, he and his family were still trying to strike up a conversation with her.
"Better than yesterday. She asked for a hug this morning."
The response came from his mother. There was a sign of exhaustion mixed with guilt in how she answered.
"How about the case? Have they found the culprit?"
"No, they haven't. They wanted to talk with her, Kale." His mother said while sobbing, "They wanted her to remember everything she did with the culprit. They wanted my daughter to describe every single thing, Kale. Everything."
Kale embraced his mother and held her in his arms. His mom's body shook uncontrollably. It had been like this since last month. His mom always got hysterical when she thought about Kathrina. Kale's heart bled each time his mom cried in agony. He, too, wanted to go crazy but couldn't. His mom and dad need him to be a pillar. They needed someone to hold on to. So, he had to be the calmest in this situation.
"We should let them talk to her mom. It will help them to catch the culprit. We don't want Kathrina to live in terror, don't we?"
He felt his mom nod in his arms. Kale exhaled with relief. Now he only needed to talk with his sister.
***
As soon as Kale entered her ward, Kathrina noticed an odd sensation in her stomach. She looked at him and saw that he was holding a cup of coffee in one hand. She became paralyzed with shock, and dread began to spread across her body. It must be a figment of her imagination. The man won't be here. She was safe. There was two police officer in front of the room, and they should arrest him. Why would they let him pass so easily? Did they work for him?
"Kath?"
That voice. The man was here to take her back, and no one would help her.
"Kath, hey…" Kale reached out and touched his sister's stiff body. Feeling alarmed, he pressed the button near her bed. "Kath, can you hear me?"
Kathrina was gone in her mind. She could sense the man's hand stroking every inch of her body, and he laughed at her with a satisfied expression. Why couldn't she die? Why did he have to torture her like this? It might be better if he finished his needs and killed her.
'See you soon, Kath.' His words kept ringing in her ears as a sign that she would never be free from him, and now he came to claim her as his.
Tears began to roll down her face as she felt him touch her hands and feet. He wanted to tie them again. She tried to kick the hands that touched her, but her strength didn't match his. In the end, she always came as a loser.
"Sleep, sister."
Kale's voice broke, and he blinked his tears. He was unable to bear seeing his sister in such a state. He wanted his carefree sister back. He needed to solve this. He had to slay his sister's demon, or he would go crazy.
***
Dorhaven, November 29, 2010
During the entire conversation between Kathrina and the investigator, Kale, his mother, and his father remained silent. The day before, she had granted the detective the chance to talk with her. His family still forbade her before, but she explained that she wished to be liberated from her nightmare, so they accepted her wish.
She began by stating, "The one who took me is a man," Her gaze kept drifting toward the windows. She didn't want to look at her family or the detective at that moment. She didn't want to burden herself with their guilt and pity. She had had enough of those. "I think he should be in his early twenty."
The tranquility in the room was shattered when her mother let out a loud gasp. She gave her mother a long, comforting look and smiled reassuringly. After that, she looked down at her wrist, and there was a horrible red mark on it. Following that, she maintained her silence for a couple of minutes. No one else dared to open their mouth. They were waiting for her patiently.
"He said he knows me and also claims he loves me. He never hit me. He feeds me, helps me bathe, and hugs me to sleep." She stopped to calm her beating heart. "Nothing else happened. He always…." A shudder ran through her as she thought back to the moment when he touched her private part. She bit her lips, trying to stop herself from crying. "He always touches me."
"Where? Did he try to touch you there?"
"He did."
Once again, her mother let out a loud gasp of shock. She glanced at her family. Their complexion turned pale. She knew that her last words managed to shatter their heart. She mouthed the words it's okay, hoping it could give them consolation.
"Detective, I think it's enough for today. My family needs to rest. If you still have questions, please wait until my family is ready."
"Okay, thank you for your time, Miss Reed. We will see you again. I hope you will feel better soon." The detective stood from their chairs. He gave her a nod before leaving her ward.
After the detective left, the room went completely still. She waited for her family to make their move, but they stayed in the same place.
"I want to be alone."
Kale stared at her for a while, his face devoid of any expression. "Can I trust you with yourself?"
As a response, she hummed softly. She had no more energy to carry on the conversation. She only wanted to cry her heart out, and for her to do so, her family had to leave her. She didn't want to give them more pain.
"Okay, if you need anything, just call me."
As soon as the door was shut, she detected her mother and dad weeping. It was the most heart wrenching sound she had ever heard in her life. She didn't hear her brother's voice, but she was sure he was crying in silence. Her heart broke to pieces for them and also for herself.
Kathrina's eyes began to burn, and she started to choke on her tears. Finally, she changed her position to lying on her stomach. She used the pillow to muffle her voice. How could she bear to go on living in such excruciating pain? How could she face her family without letting them know their beloved Kathrina had died?
Tonight, no dream came to the Reed family as they spent their time awake and drowned in their sorrow and guilt.