| |
I’
m in my childhood room, except the room doesn’t look real. Am I dreaming? I feel like I’m floating. Knock, knock, knock. Is there someone at the door? My room has no door. It looks to be a house of cardboard. The kettle is seeping. My tea is ready. I'm having a tea party with my stuffed animals. Dad is here too, but something's not right. He never played with me, so how can he be here.
He's laughing. I bring the tea. He looks up and smiles. This isn't Dad; It's Mr. Tsunoda. Knock, knock, knock. Annette’s drawing is in my coloring book. Who told her she could do that? I try to snatch it away, but then I notice Andrew sitting beside her. They look happy. Everyone looks happy. Knock, knock, knock. Something is not right. Then I hear it. Click, click, click. Heels! Someone is following me. I scream for help and begin running. Why is no one paying attention? No one is looking at me. The door won't open. Click, click, click! She’s getting closer. Someone open the door. Please. Someone let me out of this nightmare. I can’t wake up. KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK!
I sit up with a startle. Someone’s knocking at the door. I was out of breath like I had been running. I quickly got up and went towards the door. The door opened to reveal Detectives Ocon and Sofia. Their faces had grave expressions on them. I immediately ushered them in. "Ms. Frietz..." "Victoria. Call me Victoria." "Victoria, we have bad news. Doctor Tsunoda's body was recovered from the river. From the condition his body is in, it has been quite a while since he passed away. All signs are leading toward suicide.
We are looking for any motive for his sudden actions, but we have, so far, found none. No signs of resistance can be seen on his body. I'm afraid we will close the case as a suicide. His body is in the cold room in the hospital. We will be cremating him tomorrow. If it's not too much for you, you should come by at around 9 in the morning." Suicide? My ears began to ring. I could not make sense of anything anymore. How could he have simply just vanished? The Doctor Tsunoda I know would never have done that. But did I know him? In my train of thought, I forgot the detectives were still sitting there. “We will take our leave now.” I heard the door open and shut. I felt something wet dripping down my cheeks. Tears? Am I crying? Why am I crying? I couldn’t stop sobbing. I could not fit enough air in my lungs to help. My hands would not stop shaking. Why is everything happening right now? Why can’t I leave? Someone, please open that door for me. Please, anyone. Please. The flowers in the vase had died.
