10
Someone knocked the door, so I got up to open it.
Max stood there panting. His vest was soaked with sweat. There was a large bag in his hand. I smiled at him as a greeting before went to get some glass and a bottle of water.
Max sat down on a green cushion on the floor. He opened his bag, took out several papers, and placed them on the table. I sat down too and poured him some water.
“You look tired. Drink this.” I said.
Max nodded and took the drink. “T- t- thanks.”
“It’s okay.” I smiled. “Well, where should we start? I’m not good at this subject.”
“F- f- from how to reading the vowels,” Max said while looking around. “D- d- Dream, you have a piano?”
“Oh? That? I used to learn it when I was young but gave up now.”
“C- c- can I play a little b- b- before we start?”
“You can play the piano?” I looked closer at him. “Of course, go ahead.”
Max stood up. He walked to the piano slowly and opened the cover before sat down, closed his eyes, took a deep breath, then put his hands on the keys.
The first note softly floated into the air. Max paused to take another deep breath before placed his left hand on the key and pressed gently.
The song became louder, from a whisper to a scream. I didn’t know much about music, but I could feel the emotion he wanted to express.
I used to learn piano when I was young. Mom used to take me to a concert at a music university. At that time, there were many musicians on the stage, but I was enhanced by the large instrument that stood gradually in the front. The piano is a solo instrument, but its sound is so powerful that made me forgot about other instruments played along with it.
From that moment, I dreamt that I wanted to be a piano solo. It was my first dream. When we were young, we used to dream of a lot of things without caring about reality. We wouldn’t care what the society wants us to be. We’re just the person we want to be, and that’s it. When we grew up, the society takes away our life bits by bits. Reality comes to hurt us. Finally, we often chose to leave the dreams of our young self because they were worthless and useless for the present us.
Not long after I learned piano, I realized that I wasn’t good at it. No matter how much I tried, I couldn’t play it beautifully. I didn’t have any problems with the techniques, but I lacked the most important traits of a musician.
I still liked to listen to the sound of the piano. However, every time I touched the instrument, the pain would run throughout my heart. The dead dream from the past would come back and haunted me. Leaving your dream was hard but living with the shattered dream was even more difficult. It was a long time before I could forget about my past failure.
Max’s song reminded me of myself when I still played the piano. Intense emotions were sent through the notes. Max was doing the thing I could never do. Even it when hurt me, it comforted me at the same time.
Max’s perfection had never gone. He was still the same old Max.
He increased the tempo. The notes moved through time in fast speed. The gentleness turned into something fierce. The sorrow turned into the bravery. Max pressed the keys hard, spinning the audience’s emotion to the fury along the tone.
Max switched cords in a fast speed before slowed down and changed into the softer notes. He completely controlled my emotion. He made me grieve when he wanted me to be sad. He made me joyous when he wanted me to be happy. It was as if my heart was twisted and turned in his hands.
Max’s song became gradually slower and lighter. He let out a breath, touched the keys with the tips of his fingers elegantly, and let the silent replaced his song, allowing the audience to admire him.
I clapped and cheered. He might play the piano in a tiny room, but I felt as if I was listening to a world-class concert.
“Bravo, Max!” I said. “I’ve never know that you’re this good.”
Max scratched his head before bowed to me.
“You don’t have to be that formal.” I laughed. “You look like a professional pianist.”
“N- n- not at all.” Max stuttered harder than he normally was. “S- s- shall we start studying?”
“Oh, I already forget about that.”
“T- t- then let’s starts.”
Max taught me from the beginning; how to correctly pronounce the vowels, sentence structure, and basic listening. I tried hard, but I really wasn’t good on this subject.
After an hour, Max let me took a break for ten minutes. I walked downstairs and grabbed a few snack from the fridge before ran back to my room.
Max was writing something at the low table we used with a serious expression. He scratched his head until his hair was messy. Max was in Mathematic Science. He probably tried to solve some solutions.
I sat across from him, placed the snack on the table, and called for Max to eat.
“Eat. Don’t be shy.” I said while chewing on the snack leisurely. Max looked up and smiled at me.
At that moment, I saw what was on the paper. Max used a red pen to draw something. I stared at it when Max was busy with the snack. The image was clear to me. Finally, I knew what was hidden in that paper.
A man covered with several wounds was stabbing a girl with a knife. Blood splurged around the room.
Even when Max drew it simply, the image gave the intense effect as, if the event was actually happening.
When I was looking around the house with Ton, I saw Max led me to the room. Maybe Max…
“D- d- Dream. A- a- are you okay?” Max raised his eyebrows.
I stared blankly for a minute before regained my conscious.
“What?” I forced a smiled. “Why do you ask that?”
“Y- y- you look a bit pale,” Max said with worry. “W- w- will we stop for today?”
“Stop?” I repeated his words. “That’s maybe good. I’m probably too tired.”
Max nodded and put his things in the bag before left the room. We had waved goodbye before he left, leaving a lonely back for others to see.
After I had finished my last class for today, I walked to the library.
Ton waited for me at the table deepest in the right corner of the library. He was writing something in a notebook. I walked over to him and sat down on the other side.
“What’re you writing?” I asked.
“About you.” He replied. “I still can’t find an answer.”
“So, you believe me now?” I smiled.
“Something like that. The blood strain we saw the other day… it was too obvious. The smoke you told me, too. If it’s indeed like you said, it confirms that your illusion is real.”
“Of course, I don’t really care about seeing the illusion,” I said with mockery.
“But you can’t tell why you’re unable to remember them.” Ton pointed at me with the pencil in his hand. “The information you have now is still useless. If you tell it to anyone else, they’ll think you’re crazy.”
“But you still believe me,” I said with confident.
Ton looked up at me expressionless. “Yes, I believe you. Are you satisfied now?”
I sat still. From the first day I knew Ton, this was the first day I saw him this serious.
“And… what did you write?”
“I write about the door knob, trying to figure out what its condition is and how can I find some relation to the other images. The three images in your hand aren’t enough for you to remember anything more, right?”
I nodded, so Ton continued.
“Even if I know the condition of this photo, when comparing with the other two, I still don’t understand what the key that ignite your memory is.” Ton sighed. “We are seeking some invisible information.”
“Just the condition isn’t enough?” I asked.
“No, it’s not. Your case isn’t like those cases the police generally handle. Their investigation starts from the evidence they have, then link to other factors, then to the attacker, but your…” Ton paused. “We’re start searching from your memory. We don’t have any solid evidence. I have no idea how to find the next image. We’re the investigators who have nothing to investigate.”
“Well, you’re right.” I nodded. “But why do you become this serious?”
“You don’t want my help?” Ton raised his eyebrows.
“It’s not like that. I’m glad you help me but…” Ton stopped me before I could finish.
“You don’t have to feel guilty. I’m just interested.”
I thanked him before adjusted my glass to hide my embarrassment. “Thanks…”
“It’s fine.” Ton knocked the pencil with the table. “Give me some time. I might be able to think of something.”
Ton looked at his notebook thoughtfully. I sat there silently for a while, feeling uncomfortable that my problem became his burden.
“Uh… can you remember what I’d told you about I saw Max in that house?”
“Yep.” Ton replied without looking at me.
“Um… yesterday I was studying with Max. After we’d finished, he drew something weird.”
Ton looked at me raising his eyebrows. “Something weird?”
“Yes, when I left the room to find some snack, Max drew a strange picture… It’s a picture of someone with many wounds covering the body stabbing a woman with a knife.”
“Stab with a knife?” Ton’s voice rose a little. “Do you think Max does it?”
“I’m not sure.” I shook my head. “I don’t want to suspect Max… but everything seems to point at him.”
Ton rubbed his chin and looked at me thoughtfully. He put the notebook into his bag without saying anything more before searched for something and handed it to me.
“What is it?” I asked.
“The photo of I grabbing the door knob.” Ton said. “It should be useful in the future. Just keep it for now.”
I took the photo and put it away.
“About Max, I think we can’t confirm anything yet.” Ton shook his head. “Bill came to see me today. We were almost got a fight.”
“Again?” I shook my head. “We should seriously report to the police.”
“Not necessary. It was just almost. Nothing actually happened, but that’s not the point.” Ton put his face nearer. “Today, Bill came to curse at me about that I took you to your old house.”
“What!? How come he knows about that?”
“He said that the day we went out he went to your house and your father told him that you were out with a friend.” Ton leaned on the chair. “Why does he so sure that I was out with you?”
“Do you think he followed us?”
“From his actions, I don’t think so.” Ton shook his head. “But it’s something that can fake after all.”
“Bill is so annoying, but I don’t think Bill followed us. Just seeing you with me, he already believes that we disappeared to do something nasty.”
“Your ex is crazy.” Ton smirked. How come did you agree to go out with him?”
“I don’t know.” I shrugged before asked him. “Is this the reason you said we can’t be certain about Max?”
Ton nodded before explained more. “Between Bill and Max, you will suspect Bill first, right? Bill used to break into your house anyway.”
I nodded, so Ton continued.
“Max can be suspicious too, but now it’s too soon to conclude it’s really someone close to you. The attacker can be anyone. However, one thing is certain. That man knows what we are doing otherwise he wouldn’t go to burn the kitchen to cover the blood stain.”
“If it’s like you said,” I rubbed my chin. “This person must know about the photos.”
“Have you told anyone else about this?”
“No.”
“Really not?” Ton asked.
“Really,” I replied.
“If you haven’t told anyone else, then it must be someone who sees your actions and then immediately knows everything.” Ton bit down on the pencil. “I remember that Bill seemed a bit strange when we fought with him. It was like he knows something. Does he normally good at lying?”
I shook my head. “Not at all. I could catch him every time.”
“Then Bill is suspicious. How about Max? Is it possible for him to know about the photos?”
“I don’t think so.” I lowered my head. “Probably not…”
“I know you don’t want to suspect Max, but we have to collect every possibility. Since he was your neighbor when you were young, he should know a lot about you.”
“That’s true… but…” I said hesitantly. I might not want to accept what Ton said, but I couldn’t deny that it was true.
“And you saw him when we were at your old house as well.” Ton said. “Sometimes, the illusion we saw isn’t completely out of reason. Worry or memory can cause us seeing the illusion, too. For example, before my grandma passed away, she also thought that I was my mom.”
“But Max doesn’t have any lead intention.”
“That might be right, but I don’t want you to ignore what you saw. Well, let keep it aside for now. Comparing with the lead intention, Bill has higher possibility to be the attacker. You haven’t had any conflict with Max, right?”
I nodded.
“And do you think Max secretly likes you?”
My face was burning hot. Ton looked at me for a moment before smiled.
“You’re really easy to read.” Ton laughed. “It seems that he does.”
“N- n- no.” I lifted my hand to stop him. “Never.”
“Oh? Okay.” Ton smiled. “Does it means that you don’t know whether he likes you or not?”
I nodded.
“Then, it means that… you like him.”
“E- e- enough! Enough already!” I shouted. People around us looked at our direction. The librarian also pointed at the rules plastered on a wall. I shrank down and nodded as an apology.
“That’s it. Just the way you talk says it all.” Ton laughed. I looked at him with threatening eyes.
“Ok, ok. I’ll stop now.” Ton leaned back. “But well, if Max likes you, he can also be a suspect, but I don’t think it’s him. Even if he really love you, there’s no reason for him to stab you. I think that’s… a bit harsh way to confess.”
Ton rubbed his head. I knew immediately that his headache came back again.
“But this is the conclusion in case someone close to you is the attacker. He can be a complete stranger too. I want to repeat again that Max and Bill both have the possibility to be a suspect.”
“I understand.” I nodded.
“Let’s stop it for today. Ton sighed. “If I can find something more I’ll contact you.”
Ton stood up. Before he left, I called him.
“Ton.”
“What?” He turned to smile at me.
“If you’re searching the attacker from people who knows about this,” I said. “It means that you can be the attacker, too, right?”
Ton looked at me with surprise before laughed.
“Yes. I can be the attacker, too.”
I heard the sound of siren and people shouting.
I walked out of my room sleepily. I was irritated every time I had to get up earlier than usual. Six in the morning was way too early for me.
I came downstairs and opened the door to outside. A lot of people gathered in front of my house. The police were staring at something on the wall.
Everything seemed out of place.
Dad was standing there squeezing his forehead with his fingers. I walked up to him in confusion.
“What’s going on here?” I asked.
Dad didn’t answer me. He just pointed at our house’s wall with his chin. I followed his lead and was shocked with what I saw.
A lot of white jigsaw pieces were neatly put into English alphabets. Each word became smaller from the top. Every piece was painted red. The paint dripped down in lines.
The color of blood.
I looked at it shocking. My shaking finger pointed at the words in front of me. My lips moved without me realizing. Every word was soaked with fear.
Stop
Or
Die
The police were discussing the teenagers who caused troubles around the neighborhood, but I knew immediately that this wasn’t a typical prank.
This was the message for me.
It was a threatening…
The threatening message to bring me death…