(Disclaimer: Tigreb perspective)

As he was leaving, I said: "Sir, before you called me by my name. Can I call you by yours also?"
"Well, since we are in this situation, fine. My name is Max." And just like that, he left, closing the door.

His necklace had a simple golden chain and a beautiful pendant that looked like a cylinder.
"He must be crazy giving something so precious to someone else. I should really take care of this. He'll kill me if I lose it."

Then my eyes raised. The spacious room that felt so cold before had now a sense of warmth. Still, I was feeling uncomfortable, so I turned off the lights and started to imagine my house. I felt a little safer. Holding my hand to the necklace I was wearing, I fell asleep.

I woke up to a knock at the door and the sound of a key unlocking it. A woman in a blue uniform entered with a food tray.
"This is your breakfast, miss. Hope you enjoy it. Do you need anything else?" she said.
Looking at the tray, I stayed silent.
"Then with your permission, I'm leaving."

"Stop! I have a question." My mouth couldn't keep that unspoken.
"Is Max eating also?" I asked.
"I'm afraid I cannot answer that question." She replied and left the room, locking the door again.

There was a simple toast and a glass of milk on the tray. I was angry and thirsty, but I didn't touch a thing. I felt too empty, and then I remembered that the only thing that made me full early in the mornings was that little bottle of orange juice. Suddenly thinking of that, a tear rolled down my face.
"All this time he was locked in a room, while I was walking the streets all around. Even I was unhappy, even though I could see so many things, but imagine how lonely he must have felt standing for weeks in his room?"

I felt a little pain in my chest. I felt suffocated and tried to breathe, but it was hard. I went to the bathroom and tried to get some air from the little window there, since the balcony door was closed.
I started calming myself, splashing cold water on my face.

I decided to take a shower. There were some clothes and new towels on the shelf, with a note saying, "Use what you need."
I did just that. I chose a simple shirt and some sports pants.
I felt a little better then. I walked around the room since I had nothing to do.
There was a clock hanging on the wall. I hadn't noticed that before. It was 10 o'clock now. The hours passed by itself. For as boring as it was, time moved pretty fast.
Once in a while, I heard footsteps from the corridor, but I wasn't able to catch a single word.

When the clock showed exactly 1 pm, the woman from before entered the room again. "Miss, this is your lunch," she said as she exchanged the trays.
"I don't want any food, for as long as he doesn't eat also. You can take those things back," I said.
"You know this won't do you any good. You will need the energy," she said.
I stayed silent.
"I'll leave the tray here. Feel free to eat it if you want. If you really need to know, well, breakfast and lunch also, have been served to young master's room, but don't let anyone hear what I said now," she said.
"That is good then. Thank you! I won't say a word."

I felt a little better now, knowing that he wasn't being starved. I ate the food and went to sleep. I woke up after 2 hours. I must say everything here was like a first-class hotel, but the only difference was that I was locked there.
After a few minutes, I heard the door opening. I got up. Max's father entered.
"Miss, how are you doing?" he asked.
"Where does he think he gets the right to ask that? This man is crazy," I was thinking to myself. I wanted to curse him in every way possible, but I had promised to stay silent, so I did.
"I know you must hate me. You must be confused, I'm sure of it. That is why I wanted to speak to you and explain that, in fact, I don't intend any harm to you," he said.
"I will listen to what you have to say, but I really hate the idea of being locked here," I replied.
"Of course, I understand. How about a walk in the garden?" he asked.
"That would be good," I answered.

We left the room, walking slowly. That whole mansion was so beautiful. I hadn't seen that before, but still, my mind was more focused on the old man.
"You know my son, don't you? You saw that sense that day. I understand you must have been terrified, but you didn't say a word to the police. That boy must have threatened you with your life, didn't he?"
I didn't answer.
"After some seconds, he added: "Well, you are right, this is not important now. I will go directly to the point. I want you to convince him. Tell him to listen and obey."
"Sir, what does it make you believe he will listen to me? That looks a little crazy if you think about it," I interrupted.
"Yes, I know it is crazy, but I know my boy well enough in some things. You are the first and only witness he let alive. Do you really believe he did that just because? He might not have understood himself, but I'm sure you matter to him. I don't really care too much if it is the same thing for you, but I am asking you this as his father. Make him listen."
"What do you want him to do? I don't think at all that he will listen to me, but I need a context of the problem in order to solve it if I decide to."
"Then let me tell you the context. I want him to apologize to the man he shot that day. He is not doing it because of an old grudge, that is also the reason why he shot him. I heard you meet this man. I'm talking about Kale. The only thing he should do is to apologize to Kale, nothing else," his father said.
"That man, I know nothing about him, but I'm sure he is not doing it because of a strong reason," I said.
"You are right, that is what everyone would think, but he said that Kale should be thankful that he didn't kill him, that he should be thankful that he was shot in his stomach. No matter the reason, do you think it was right for him to say or think that?"
... "He spared his life? Max was a killer and I am forgetting this quite a lot. He kills and does not give a shit about that. He might have that scare because of Kale, but did he want to kill him because of that?!" Those thoughts burned me inside.

I wasn't able to say anything.
"I understand your silence; you can think about him and give me an answer in the morning. If you manage to do that, I will let you go, and I am sure to pay you a lot for your service," he said and then added: "Also, I think you won't try to go away. Your room will be opened."
"Sir! I have to talk with him. I can't decide if I don't do that first."
After a little thought, he accepted.
"I will provide you that. Boys take the lady to his room," he said and left.

..................


© All Rights Reserved Tigreb

#writco #writcostory #writcowriters #Tigreb