"I missed you." Elena smiled. The resemblance between both of them was so uncanny to the extent that it looked like they were looking into the reflection of each other.
"You're fine now, why do you still intend on staying here?" Elizabeth ignored her sister's words and asked a question instead.
"Considering the things you've done, you shouldn't be saying that to me." Elena pointed her finger at Elizabeth with a pained look on her face.
"Elena…whatever happened in the past was a mistake and…"
"Is that what you try to make yourself believe? A mistake? I warned you, Elizabeth, but what did you say?! Huh?!" Elena snapped, interrupting her sister's words. She yelled angrily and banged her hands on the table.
She sighed after letting out her anger, with her hand massaging her temple, she muttered a question in a calm voice, "Why did you suddenly come here? You've never done that before."
"I don't see any problem with visiting my older twin sister." Elizabeth sat on the couch opposite Elena.
Over the years, Elizabeth had made sure Elena lived a comfortable life even though it was in an asylum.
"You never accepted that I was older before, what's with the change?"
"I've grown up, Elena, and I want you to do the same. These things you take won't help you, it would only worsen your health…physically and mentally." Elizabeth said, stood up and walked to the door.
Elena seeing that her sister was about to leave, she quickly stood up and said aloud, "I had no hand in what happened that day but the flames still hunt me and I know it's the same for you. Forget it and…live a happy life, Elizabeth."
Elizabeth chuckled at her sister's words and replied, "I don't know what you're talking about, Elena. Whatever you saw that day was due to the effects of whatever drug you were on."
She turned around and gave her sister one last smile before leaving the room.
"Don't tell me that! I know what I saw! You also said it was a mistake just now!" Elena yelled but her screams were cut off when Elizabeth closed the door with a bang.
The smile that was on her lips slowly faded away, her eyes muttered and her nose stung.
She held in the bitter tears that threatened to pour out of her eyes, clenching her mouth with both hands, she stilled the urge to throw up.
The memories of that day was clear but she had muddled it so much with lies that even her dreams has been altered and all she sees are the lies she tell to herself.
Elena slumped on the door and continuously muttered, "I didn't mean to."
The ringing cell phone inside her coat pocket dragged her back from the memory lane she was about to walk through.
"Hello."
"Oh my God, why's your voice so hoarse? Are you okay?" Layla's worried voice came from the other side of the phone.
"Cough. I'm fine." Elizabeth coughed once to clear her throat.
"O-kay, have you found any clues?"
"...No, has he said anything yet?"
"The old guy keeps screaming demons and 'Why did they kill him?' Honestly, it's beginning to creep me out. Why don't you come over for a second."
"I'll be there as soon as possible." Elizabeth turned around and took one last glance at the door of her sister's room before leaving.
"Where have you been? I searched the whole ward for you." Layla ran to Elizabeth as soon as she caught sight of her. Both of them quickly made their way to the old man's room.
The man was still screaming, some nurses were in his room trying to calm him down, the old man yelled and swung his limbs frantically.
"Why don't I try talking to him?" Elizabeth turned to Layla who gave her an affirmative nod.
Elizabeth walked into the ward and calmly dismissed the nurses who had already restricted the old man's movement with restraints.
Elizabeth shut the door to avoid outsiders eavesdropping on their conversation, she sat opposite him. Unlike Elena's luxury room, this one looked more like an interrogation room with two chairs, a table and one thin mattress, probably because of the patient's mental state and money of course.
"Hello, Mr. Vincent Nicole." Elizabeth greeted but her greetings were left unreplied to.
Elizabeth ignored his unresponsiveness and decided to do all the talking.
"I heard you were a really good police during your time of service."
"..."
"Such a person wouldn't want innocent people to keep on disappearing, would they?"
"I understand how you feel…in the report file, you made a statement saying Detective Vincent Nicole was the one who instigated the body hunt but Detective Gary Dennis simply never returned with you."
"..."
"That part of the report was written with an invisible ink, right? It took me a really long while to figure out." Elizabeth chuckled to herself.
"..!"
The old Vincent raised his head slightly with unfocused eyes and muttered the name 'Gary'.
"Should I tell you a secret?" Elizabeth continued, "I'm not all that perfect, at least not as good as you. Hiding behind the facade of a good officer to hide my guilt. Doing great things and saving people as a means to pay for my crimes. Aren't I the worst? I can't even look my sister in the eye."
Elizabeth chuckled when the old man did not make a single sound, she raised her head up and caught the old man was staring straight at her.
"Do you understand me now?"
"For once in my life, I want to help people genuinely and I have a friend now who I also want to help. If you don't tell me what you know about those disappearances, I won't be able to help them and I'd just die of guilt." Elizabeth decided to strike the rod while it was hot.
Even though Elizabeth's main goal was to convince this man, she had unknowingly poured out her true feelings.
"It was…all…my fault." A low cracked voice came from the man's lip.
"I was new to the place…and I found an interesting case, one good enough to promote me. My greed, it killed Gary."
"You have to tell me exactly how Gary died."
"Gary? Did Gary die?" The old Vincent looked around and blinked rapidly.
"What are you saying, Mr. Vincent? You don't know that Gary died?" Elizabeth's eyes widened.
"No. Gary disappeared…his body wasn't found…he did not die…no." The old man shoke his head continuously.
"But, you said he was killed…by demons?" Elizabeth pried deeper. She believed that such things cannot exist and even if they did exist, why go for one set of people?
"That forest…he went missing there. He was dragged into the shadows…and I, I ran away." The old man began the sob loudly.
The information he just gave was quite ambiguous, with no meaning and at the same time a lot of meaning and how is she to tell that the words of a sick person were true.
"Is there any other information you would like to add?"
"..."
"Maybe we can find Gary…dead or alive." Elizabeth muttered the last part under her breath.
"..."
The old man gave no response, his head was lowered and his unfocus eyes were wide open.
Elizabeth nodded at him and stood up.
The lead she got couldn't be trusted but they would have searched the woods anyway.
Elizabeth glanced at the silent man before leaving his room, only heavens know what kind of trauma he went through to turn him into something like this.