Dawn nodded, watching the nurse head for the door. He rested his head on the pillow, after this, he will visit Ethan's apartment that the 'man' mentioned last night and help him look for evidence. But, it's weird, where did the spirit go, why did he leave without any word? His body is still in the freezer. He knew his grandfather wanted to move him but no funeral house would accept him. Did he go back to the cooler? This was better, anyway, he was not comfortable with the spirit keep lingering on him, and he was acting very friendly with him.
Dawn looked up as the door open. Two nurses entered, not the one from before..
Both of them smiled at Dawn before approaching the cupboard not far beside his bed.
"Are the doctors go for a condolence visit?" asked one of the nurses. The other nurse nodded.
"Yes, Doctors Regan and Lisa. That boy was in a coma for two days, and then his condition worsened. He was so young, only twenty-one."
Dawn didn't want to eavesdropping, but they spoke quite clearly enough for him to hear. They finished collecting some clean cloths, smiling at Dawn again before they went out the door.
"Yes, so tragic. I heard his mother recently lost her little daughter, and now her son. She seems completely devastated."
Dawn widened his eyes, little girl, young man at his age? How likely is it to be the same person?
Dawn looked at the IV needle that was stuck in his arm. With a slight grimace, he pulled the long needle out. He get down from the bed and approached his jacket and bag.
Not long after, the nurse finally returned with a new needle, but she stopped looking around, Dawn was no longer in his bed.
"Eh, Mr. Cardian? Dawn?" She started to worry and looked around the room, all the way to the toilet. The nurse came out of the room looking for him.
"Dawn!"
…..
A strong wind whipped fallen leaves around the flamboyant trees surrounding the columbarium. Dawn entered the courtyard of the mausoleum, located near a main road in downtown Lumino, the atmosphere strangely peaceful. Birds still chirped from the tall trees surrounding the five-story building, specifically designed to house cremated remains. Dawn stepped through the gate, unsure of himself. The place was enormous, and besides, what was he even doing here? Was he really going to try and find the little girl's spirit? His heart wouldn't settle; the thought of a sweet little girl suffering even in death unsettled her. As Ethan had said, the feeling of clinging, overwhelming emotions was agonizing. The 'man' struggled so hard to break free, so the little girl must have felt the same.
Dawn looked around. The building was eerily quiet, seemingly deserted. Five doors led into the building. At the fourth door, he saw some people emerge. There she was, she recognized the woman's face, she was Risa More, the young man's mother, and she was also the little girl's mother. She looked utterly devastated, dressed in black, her eyes swollen from crying. Dawn was about to approach, to search for the little girl who might be inside, but he stopped. Right behind the woman, a shadowy, smoky figure clung close. It was the little girl's spirit.
The spirit was attached to the woman, did she still have a bond with her mother? Even after having so many emotional spirits attached to her? How can Dawn keep the spirit away from the woman? He couldn't purify her in front of everyone.
There were quite a lot of guests walk with the woman out of the building. Dawn had to stop the spirit from following the woman. He had to think fast before they left. After get himself ready, Dawn stepped forward and approached.
"Excuse me, Mrs. More, you're here?" said Dawn. The woman and several people behind her looked at Dawn as he drew closer. The woman narrowed her eyes, trying to get a better look at Dawn. Did she recognize him?
"You?"
Dawn smiled. He had a very sweet smile, though it was hard to see him smile unless it was intentional.
"Pardon me, you probably don't recognize me, I'm from the Black Orchid funeral home, we met yesterday. Coincidentally, I had business here and met you here. I want to express my condolences."
The woman smiled. She looked at Dawn who reached out to his to her and accepted his handshake.
"Thank you. We were very pleased with your funeral home's service; everything went so smoothly. We only just managed to get a priest today to officiate Lukas's final farewell and invite everyone. Some family members couldn't make it yesterday, so we're holding the ceremony today." said the woman.
Dawn couldn't take his eyes off the black spirit at the woman's side, he admitted that the pressure was very heavy and made his chest tight. Who knows how many emotional spirits are attached to her, and who knows how long this girl has been dead? How could she stick to her mother? The figure hovered statically beside the woman, as if waiting for the perfect moment to consume her. Its entirely black eyes stared sharply and terrifyingly at Dawn. Dawn looked away. The spirit moved closer, accompanied by horrifying whispers from other spirits swirling around it.
"You smell so good"
"I really want to eat you"
Dawn clenched his fists. He looked at the woman, his gaze turning serious, leaving the woman confused.
"Young man, what's wrong? You look pale?" the woman asked.
Dawn looked at the woman, then at the black spirit which was now right in front of her.
"Can we talk? About, your daughter"
Dawn's question made the woman's eyes widen. He didn't expect Dawn to say that.
"My daughter? What do you mean by my daughter? Why are you suddenly talking about my daughter, do you know where she is?" the woman looked enthusiastic. Dawn saw several people beside and behind the woman. The woman seemed to understand what Dawn meant, which for some reason made him sure she wanted to listen. She looked at the people around her.
"You all go ahead. I'll be back with my driver, Min. Wait in the car, okay?" he said to the young woman who was her assistant. The young woman nodded, glanced at Dawn, then left with the others.
Before long, Dawn and the woman were walking towards a shady, cool garden to continue their conversation. The woman was still crying, wiping her tears with tissues, and Dawn felt sorry for her. But the dark spirit seemed docile near her, as if waiting for the right moment to consume the woman. Why would the restless spirit cling to a living person? Dawn would wait for the right moment to reach out to the spirit and banish the negative emotions from it.
"So, you lost your daughter while on holiday in the mountains? If you don't mind my asking, how long ago was that?" Dawn asked.
The woman looked at Dawn, furrowing her brow, wondering what Dawn really wanted.
"It was almost a year ago, before Lukas got sick. Em, I don't understand, is it because you are so curious about our family's story that you came and asked about this? I didn't want the rest of my family to sympathize with this matter, so I asked them to leave. But, don't you think it's very impolite to pry into other people's problems?"
Dawn pursed his lips. He knew it would be very strange to suddenly come and ask about problems outside of what happened. If he were this woman, he'd be suspicious too. It would make more sense if Dawn told what he actually saw.
"I want to ask, what, your daughter's last outfit when she went missing, was it red, with puffy bottoms and lace black shoes, white socks with cute lace and carrying a pretty big teddy bear?"