《Drunken Psychic》 Chapter 1 - Psychic Chapter 1 Psychic It was like any other night at the bar. A desperate man comes into the bar and asks to meet with our psychic. The man enters the room and gives him a test to see if the psychic is truly a psychic. ¡°Can you tell me my past?¡± The man asked ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­¡± the psychic takes a look at the man, he looks at me and signals with his eyes to lower the temperature. I did just that and made it a bit colder, once the cold air came out the psychic looked at the man once again. ¡°You used to be fat, you have social anxiety and worry what people might think of you¡± ¡°T-that¡¯s right¡± And just like that the man trusts the psychic, it¡¯s happened so many times yet I always have to wait till he tells me how he figured out his past. ¡°My girlfriend died recently, I had a feeling she was having an affair. I can¡¯t get over it so I just want you to answer honestly, ask my girlfriend if she was having an affair¡± The psychic looked deep into the man¡¯s eyes and began having a ¡°chat¡± with the man¡¯s girlfriend ¡°She was acting suspicious before her death, she said she¡¯s sorry¡± ¡°Yeah she was, she kept on saying that she was hanging out with her friends, but when I called them she was never there¡± ¡°Can I see a picture?¡± The man pulled a picture out of his suitcase, he had one where they were young and one before her death ¡°She¡¯s telling me something¡± He grabbed the picture as he began to say everything the girlfriend was telling him ¡°She wanted to propose to you, she was finding a ring that could fit you¡± ¡°S-she wanted to propose?¡± ¡°Yes, she¡¯s telling me something else¡± ¡°What is it?!¡± ¡°10 more bucks¡± The man handed him 10 dollars, he was eager to hear what was coming next. Like always they¡¯ve been completely fooled. ¡°She says that it might be selfish, but she doesn¡¯t want you to date anyone. She wants to be the only one for you¡± The man began to cry a bit, he tried to hide it, but it became obvious when he kept on ducking and wiping his eyes. ¡°She hopes that you will wait till you can meet her again¡± Just like that the man made his way outside, before doing so he bought a can of beer to take home. It¡¯s his choice on what he wants to do, if he wants to quicken the wait or if he¡¯ll continue his life without her. It¡¯s all up to him. ¡°How¡¯d you figure out Mr psychic?¡± ¡°Call me Liam, Liam Lewis¡± ¡°Liam, my name is Alex Mendez¡± ¡°Alright let me tell you now how I figured it out¡± He¡¯s said before, he only reveals this info to me. I¡¯m the only one he can trust. I¡¯m the only one who knows he¡¯s a fake ¡°Let¡¯s start with how I knew he used to be fat, he constantly pulled on his shirt and kept on covering his stomach, he¡¯s a skinny man yet continued to do it even after it got cold¡± Makes sense ¡°When I kept on looking at him he had bits of sweat on his forehead and his palms which would mean he¡¯s quite anti social. Now for the girlfriend¡± Liam smiled a bit, my guess? He probably lied about the man¡¯s girlfriend proposing to him ¡°The man had a brother in the picture they had as kids, the girl seemed to be closer to his brother then the boyfriend¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°The picture before her death showed her to be rather uncomfortable when they were holding hands, she also seemed to be looking more at the person holding the camera then the camera itself, my guess is that the brother was taking the picture¡± ¡°Why would you lie to him?¡± ¡°Sometimes lies are good, as long as you don¡¯t use them for bad then I believe it¡¯s good to lie about some stuff¡± ¡°What about his brother? Won¡¯t his guilt get the better of him and reveal the info to his brother¡± ¡°It depends on what type of man his brother is¡± So he¡¯s leaving it up to fate? ¡°Liam I wanted to know if you¡¯d be down for some drinks¡± Luckily for us the bar is right next door, I finished my shift a while ago and Liam seems to be done for the day. ¡°Sure¡± We both made our way to the bar and as soon as we sat down Liam began to look a bit weird ¡°I-I gotta go¡± We haven¡¯t even ordered drinks and it seemed like Liam was shaken by something ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Y-You wouldn¡¯t get it, I-I have to go¡± seems like even I don¡¯t know some of your other secrets. ¡°Fine, just go, however I do hope that you¡¯ll tell me someday¡± ¡°Tell you what?!¡± His tone changed, his legs began to shake and he began to sweat more ¡°Nothing, you just get going¡± I smiled ¡°¡­¡± He didn¡¯t say anything, he left me and got a taxi. I¡¯m not sure what¡¯s wrong with you, but I can¡¯t help but get worried. The next night came around, he went into his ¡®psychic¡¯ room. I¡¯m not needed till a customer asks to meet him. ¡°Hello?¡± Some lady was trying to get my attention ¡°What would you like to get?¡± ¡°Ehm, un little red wine¡± her English was bad, her first language seemed to be Spanish I interpreted her request as, a small amount of red wine ¡°Nadamas hablas espa?ol?¡± [¡°You only speak Spanish?¡±] ¡°Si, mi familia vive aqui entonces vengo nadamas para vesitarlos¡± [¡°Yes, my family lives here so I only came to visit them¡±] Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. ¡°Mi nombre es Alex Mendez, cual seria el tuyo?¡± [¡°My name is Alex Mendez, what might yours be?¡±] ¡°Maria Montes¡± ¡°Que bonito nombre¡± [¡°What a pretty name¡±] Something about her, her smile and the way she talks, I¡¯m pretty sure I¡¯ve fallen for her. It¡¯s within the rules of this bar that one must not fall in love with the customer, however I wanted to know more about her. Maybe I can help her perfect her English while I¡¯m at it In the end I ended up getting her phone number. It was a successful night at the bar, however something felt wrong, almost as if I was forgetting something. A sudden door slammed and I could see Liam exiting his room, seemed like it was an uneventful day for him. He looked better now than last night. ¡°Hello¡± I decided to approach him ¡°Listen I¡¯m sorry about last night¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine, we all have days where we are stressed¡± ¡°Well, yeah¡± ¡°So? Do you want some drinks¡± ¡°Uhm¡­¡± Liam checked the time, he had something written in his phone, 10 minutes from now he had some sort of appointment ¡°I can¡¯t right now¡± He looked disappointed, seems like he truly did want to hang out. Liam began making his exit, the comparison of the him from tonight to the one of last night is a huge difference. He walks without shaking and he doesn¡¯t seem so stressed when he calls out for the taxi. I made my way to the exit soon after, before going home I decided to stop by a small store next to my apartment. I ended up buying a pack of condoms, things are going well with Maria. These are just needed when the best case scenario occurs. Chapter 2 Little Miss. Direction The next day came around and unlike yesterday we had a customer in the psychic room. The lady was dressed quite lewd, she looked like one of those hookers that you¡¯d see at some dodgy roads. The lady took a seat and put her purse down, seconds later she grabbed her purse and put it on her lap. She quickly grabbed the water bottle that had its own little section in her purse. The lady then put her hands on the table, her left hand was slightly hidden while her right hand was closer to the psychic. With that being done the lady finally began to talk ¡°What do I do on a somewhat daily basis?¡± It wasn¡¯t a weird question, however from what I¡¯ve seen even I can make certain conclusions. She wears lewd clothes and when she put her purse on her lap a key from some motel was sticking out. She also has a ring tan on her ring finger. My conclusion is that she¡¯s a hooker that¡¯s keeping her job a secret from her husband. ¡°Well I seem to not be picking up on anything at the moment¡± Liam said something which wouldn¡¯t make much sense, why didn¡¯t he make the same deductions that I made? Liam stood up and signaled me to go outside. ¡°She¡¯s clearly a hooker that is keeping her hooker lifestyle hidden from her husband¡± I told Liam my deductions in hopes to help him ¡°I know, I got the same conclusion, however something about her just seems wrong¡± It seemed that Liam understood and made the same deductions I did, only problem was that Liam felt something off about her. From my point of view nothing was necessarily odd about her, excluding her cheating on her husband. ¡°Well if the evidence point at her being a hooker then it¡¯s best to follow the evidence rather than going off on gut feeling¡± ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right¡± Liam still seemed to be somewhat put off by this, however he agreed to what I had to say and went back to the room Liam sat down and began to speak about the ladies secret ¡°You¡¯re not a hooker, something is telling me that you wanted me to believe you are such, but in truth there is something else about you¡± -Huh?! Seemed as if Liam decided to go off on his gut feeling rather than the evidence provided, for me it seemed like the wrong move. ¡°That¡¯s right, now please tell me my actual daily routine¡± Liam stayed quiet for a bit, he seemed to have been scanning through everything, the ladies body and the purse on the ground. Anything that would help him get a clue as to her actual daily background would help. I myself also began to take action, I got closer to the two of them in order to get a better view of the stuff inside the purse. A book by an unfamiliar name was there, the name was something about a drugged up animal. If I was to tell this to Liam by asking him to go outside yet again, it would lead to the lady becoming somewhat suspicious. I instead decided to play a game of charades with Liam, by playing this game I¡¯ll tell him what I know without any suspicion being made. And so my acting began, I started by sitting down and opening an imaginary book. I then made two bunny ears using my hands and later on ¡°injected¡± something into the animals, from there I just acted like I¡¯ve gone a bit rabid. From the hints provided it seemed like Liam picked up what I was putting down. ¡°I can tell that you¡¯re daily routine involves writing a book of sorts¡± Liam seemed to have gone with the approach of writing a book rather than reading one ¡°What kind of books?¡± ¡°S-some sort of drug, maybe an ¡°animal¡± getting into drugs¡± ¡°Why would you say ¡°animal¡± like that?¡± ¡°Well I can sense that there¡¯s some other implications being involved, though I can¡¯t get a good read on it¡± The lady smiled, she reached over the desk in order to shake Liam¡¯s hands. ¡°I don¡¯t really do hand shaking¡± Liam chuckled a bit out of awkwardness ¡°You¡¯re a germaphobe?¡± ¡°Uhm, yeah I guess you can say that¡± ¡°My names Lia Moore, I believe your name was Liam Lewis¡± ¡°That¡¯s correct, it was lovely to meet you Miss Moore¡± ¡°Call me Lia, I¡¯ll make sure to comeback at some point, or maybe we will just happen to meet out of coincidence, or maybe we will never meet again, who knows¡± A weird way to end the conversation, as she made her way to the door and then to the exit I made my way over to Liam as I wanted to ask about some of the choices he made which were either heavily against or just fifty-fifty ¡°About your decisions¡­¡± ¡°You want to hear my reasoning?¡± ¡°Yeah¡± Liam smiled as he checked his phone, the same reminder he had last time was on his phone again, it was at the same time as well. ¡°Okay let¡¯s see, when I felt something I knew it wasn¡¯t all just gut feeling. I took my time to think about what happened in that event and realized how everything was deliberately given to me, the purse that for some reason she put on her lap even though it was obvious how easily it was to get the water out of its little pocket, she could¡¯ve easily done that when the purse was on the floor¡± ¡°Maybe she was nervous? People tend to do things without thinking when they¡¯re nervous¡± ¡°She didn¡¯t once looked nervous, she never dropped a sweat nor did her voice ever change in anyway¡± ¡°So you believe that she used the water bottle as an excuse for you to see the key sticking out?¡± ¡°Yes, that and the fact that nobody would leave such thing sticking out and if they did leave it by accident she would¡¯ve noticed it when she put the purse on her lap¡± ¡°Was that all?¡± His reasoning was logical, and I¡¯m not bringing any suspicion to his reasoning, I just wanted to know if he caught on to anything else. ¡°No, she also put one of her hands closer than the other one. Almost as if she was telling me to look at that hand that¡¯s out in the open¡± From there he saw her ring finger and most likely believed it was all a ruse, this man truly is a hidden genius. ¡°One more thing, why did you believe the lady was a writer rather than a reader?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of a book about some drugged animal¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± With that, Liam made his way to the exit. I didn¡¯t bother inviting him as he has some sort of appointment to get to in 10 minutes. My shift was also over, so I made my way to the exit and took a quick look at the rules the bartenders and other workers need to follow. The rules are as followed, 1. don¡¯t make any moves of any sort to any customer, 2. Keep all stalls clean at all times as well as other environments, 3. Keep all illegal substances away from this place, 4. Don¡¯t drink any alcohol during your shift The rules are simple and easy to follow, ironic coming from me who¡¯s currently breaking rule number one. Chapter 3 Getting involved with your life Last night was an amazing experience, I woke up this morning and had Maria right next to me. I¡¯ve been teaching Maria some English through messages, she still needs some more teaching however it¡¯s going well so far. As a matter of fact, today Maria and I will be going together for her job interview. Maria stood up and made us some scrambled eggs with a sliced up sausage. Once we both finished we made our way to her interview, the job was low paying which made sense since she¡¯s yet to even get a green card. The interview was quick and uneventful, she got accepted and her job was making ice cream. Maria decided to then take me to a local sushi restaurant, it was a cheap place which made sense since she isn¡¯t really making money at the moment. ¡°I forgot to say, but when do you start working?¡± ¡°Tomorrow¡± Maria turned and looked at her phone ¡°Is something the matter?¡± ¡°No, I have a text from my mom¡± Her English has improved atleast, she shouldn¡¯t struggle that much on her job ¡°What did she say? Or am I asking to much¡± ¡°Its fine, she asked for a family meeting¡± ¡°Oh¡± Is it too early for me to go meet her parents? We started dating yesterday, but we also already did the deed so maybe things between us just develop quickly. ¡°Want to come?¡± Maria was the one to speak up about this topic ¡°Yeah¡± she gave me the opportunity to meet her family. Of course I¡¯ll say yes, because I want to be more involved in your life. ¡°Okay let¡¯s go¡± ¡°But the food¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine I¡¯ll pay¡± She put the money on the table and we made our way out of the restaurant. Should I have let her do that? She¡¯s struggling with money. Why didn¡¯t I decide to help pay? ¡°It¡¯s fine¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°I can tell what you were thinking¡± She¡¯s quite perceptive, she reminds me a bit of Liam. Which is a weird thing to think about ¡°So how should I introduce myself? I don¡¯t know any Spanish¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine they live here for long time, they know English¡± I forgot that she had mentioned how her parents have lived here for a long time, if I remember correctly she also said that she comes to visit them every once in a while. Would that mean that she never bothered learning any English while she¡¯s been here, also why would you need a job if you¡¯re only here for a trip. Unless you¡¯re planning to stay?! We made our way to her parents place, they lived in a small one story house. The inside of the house was clean, you could tell they recently cleaned it as it¡¯s still a bit wet. ¡°Greetings¡± what I assume to be Maria¡¯s dad welcomed me and shook my hand ¡°Hello sir¡± ¡°Call me papa¡± The man smiled ¡°-Okay! Just call him George¡­¡± Maria quickly moved away from his father and made her way to her mother ¡°This is Mother, her name is Isabel¡± I shook hands with her. Her hands were rough, compared to the father it would seem like she¡¯s more of a physical type then her husband ¡°Greetings, it¡¯s always nice to see my daughter with a boy¡± She was also the more serious type, both showed love in different ways. We all sat down at the table while Maria¡¯s father brought out the food, it was rice with chicken. The smell was pleasant and so was the look. Before we ate everyone decided to say some prayers, everyone went around the room and said something about their gratitude or what they look forward to seeing in the future. Maria¡¯s father was the first one to stand up and say something ¡°Thank you god for giving us this wonderful lifestyle and we will forever take it for granted¡± Next was the mother ¡°Thank you god for the amazing family you gave us, as well as the addition of someone who¡¯s managed to make his way into our little girls heart¡± Then came Maria ¡°Well I¡¯m glad about everything that has happened and I¡¯ll make sure to make the best I can with everything I have¡± Maria sat down, both her mother and father had a weird glance at her while she sat down ¡°Well since you¡¯re new we don¡¯t expect you to say anything, how about we all just eat¡± Maria¡¯s mother smiled I didn¡¯t really mind skipping my turn, I wasn¡¯t really sure what I would say, my grandmother was a religious woman so I did pick up a couple of traits from her. Multiple hours went by, I was offered to drink to which I accepted. In the end I decided it was best to call in sick and have someone else cover for my shift, however during that time I seemed to have lost sight as to where Maria went¡­ Chapter 4 Hello Liam Lewis The bar was booming tonight. The reason for such busyness was that a huge football game was going to occur, it was the 2014 World Cup. Moments like these are best for not only the bar, but for me too. The reason as to why this is so great for me is because nobody is really looking at getting a psychic reading. It¡¯s basically a free night for me. I took a look at the time and I allowed myself to enjoy the game alongside these other people. ¡°You like football?¡± The man¡¯s breath reeked of alcohol ¡°Yeah¡± The man grabbed me by the shoulder and pushed me closer towards him. ¡°Do you mind?¡± The man pulled his hand away and walked off laughing, the game barely started and people are already too drunk to even enjoy the game. ¡°Jesus¡± I murmured to myself I decided it would be best to just go to my apartment and call it off for the day, however before I did that I ended running into a good looking lady ¡°You are the psychic?!¡± The lady pointed at me, she too seemed to be drunk even though she just entered the bar ¡°Yes I am¡± ¡°Can you read my mind?¡± Even if I was to read her wrong then it won¡¯t really matter since she¡¯d most likely forget once she gets sober ¡°Yeah I can¡± The lady grabbed my hand and pulled me to my ¡°office¡± How did she know this was the psychic room? Sure it says it in big words, but she didn¡¯t even bother to look around. I¡¯ve also never seen her before. ¡°Okay tell me my future¡± ¡°I don¡¯t do that¡­¡± ¡°Then what do you do?¡± ¡°I can talk to the dead, maybe I can read into the future though it¡¯s limited¡± ¡°Then tell me about my relationship¡± Another bad thing about being drunk is that sometimes you do random stuff just for the sake of doing it, being drunk can lower someone''s guard however it can also add unpredictability to the person''s actions. ¡°Sorry, but you need to tell me in advance¡± ¡°Oh so you aren¡¯t psychic?¡± The lady seemed to have now been spewing nonsense. ¡°I am psychic¡± I decided to just tell it to her straight, hopefully this would just cut our conversation short. ¡°Well¡­ I don¡¯t really believe in such stuff¡± Well this isn¡¯t much of a surprise, many people come in as nonbelievers then become believers. Some of them even get into a bad habit of constantly contacting psychics, this ends in them throwing away money on things that don¡¯t exist. I do tend to feel bad for those people, however it¡¯s apart of my job and in order to do good in that job I must separate my emotions from my work. ¡°Most tend to be non believers¡± ¡°Then make me a believer¡± The lady smiled Her smile seemed to be telling me something along the lines of ¡°I don¡¯t think you can make me a believer no matter what¡± it¡¯s almost as if she¡¯s challenging me, this lady is strange ¡°If you can tell me your name then I can make sure to get you an appointment at some other time¡± I decided not to accept her challenge and instead delay it to another time ¡°My name is Maria Montes, however I plan on staying till you tell me about my relationship¡± Her English was good however her accent seemed off, it¡¯s obvious by the name that her origins are most likely Mexican however she wasn¡¯t born here nor has she been talking English for a long time. ¡°You were born in Mexico and just recently learned English¡± ¡°Impressive, but you can just tell from my voice, and that wasn¡¯t the question I asked¡± Not much information was given to me to begin with, it¡¯s impossible to figure out if her relationship was from Mexico or from here, her partner could¡¯ve taught her English however she herself could¡¯ve also just started learning English by herself My time was also starting to run short ¡°So¡­ are you busy soon?¡± ¡°Yeah I have a really important appointment to get to¡± ¡°I see¡± The lady stood up ¡°Are you leaving?¡± ¡°Put my appointment for next week¡± The lady grabbed my hands and tugged them for a good while before leaving I stood up and took a look at my hands, she ended up leaving a mark on them. With that my night was coming to an end ¡°I cut it close today¡± I look at the time to notice how only 2 minutes were left I went over to my bathroom and opened up my mirror cabinet ¡°I don¡¯t know what I would¡¯ve done without you¡± I pulled out some pills and took them This is the one good thing my mother has taught me, the one thing that has made me proud to be a part of the family that I am. My sweet stress relievers¡­ Chapter 2 -My Two Worlds Chapter 1 Maria¡¯s Soliloquy I was 8 at the time, as of today me and my parents began going to church. Childish or not I began hating the thought of going to such place every Sunday and waste one hour of my time to do mostly nothing I didn¡¯t understand a single thing they were saying nor was I a big fan of the singing, overall church was a boring place compared to home or even school. Why do I have to be religious? Why do I have to believe in such things? Why can¡¯t I just live life like before? Why do I now have to thank god after every meal? All of this is such an unnecessary hassle However maybe believing in god isn¡¯t such a bad thing, my uncle was the one to put those thoughts into my head. He was the one that made me believe in God before he passed away from cancer. He¡¯s the one that had possibly made me change my view on this whole scandal Chapter 2 Troubling Girl ¡°Maria wake up¡­¡± I could hear the teacher next to me, however instead of putting my head up I decided to keep it down. ¡°Maria, last chance¡± with my final warning I decided to put my head up ¡°If I see you sleeping in my class ever again I¡¯m going to call your mother since you¡¯re clearly not getting enough sleep at home¡± ¡°I¡¯ll stay up¡± I¡¯m not a troubling kid¡­ maybe that¡¯s a lie, but I know exactly why I¡¯ve become such a thing in the first place. It¡¯s thanks to my parents and them being so strict because of stupid church. Any little thing that I do gets criticized and labeled as ¡°siding with el Diablo¡± . Most parents who have religious beliefs don¡¯t even act like them, it seems like my parents are just a special breed. The only time I enjoy my life is at school, I get into a little trouble and my friends laugh at me and new cool people get to talk to me. School has become the only place I can enjoy myself. Only problem would be keeping my cool school life and this religion thing separate, if those two things were ever to collide it would cause a whole mess for both sides of my life. ¡°Hey Maria!¡± The person on my left is the one who called me out, she¡¯s called Isabel ¡°One more year of High School, it¡¯s kinda crazy when you think about it¡± It was a crazy thought, to think that my life as a high school student is about to end. If I could I¡¯d choose college, even if I fail, as long as I enjoy my life as a student longer then it would be fine. Only problem with that is the fact that my grades aren¡¯t that good. I can already tell I¡¯m going to get yelled at after my parents figure out my grades. ¡°Hey Maria, what are you going to do during summer?¡± ¡°My family is planning on going to the beach¡± that¡¯s a lie, the only things going on in my house is a stupid activity and going to church on Sunday ¡°?Really? What beach¡± ¡°Uhm, it doesn¡¯t really matter right now, we still have five months till school ends¡± ¡°I see, well my family was also planning on going to the beach so I was wondering if you¡¯d be down for both of our families to go¡± ¡°I¡¯ll tell them when I get home¡± I smiled ¡°Sure, anyways I gotta go¡± Isabel made her way over to what I assume to be her boyfriend or someone she¡¯s trying to win over, either way the option of both of us going to the beach is out of the table. I don¡¯t have a normal life like you Isabel, I can¡¯t just go to a beach and enjoy myself. What was she thinking when she asked me if I¡¯d be willing to go with them? Thanks to her I now have a problem that I have to deal with. ¡°Hey Maria¡± A man walked over to me, his name was Paul, originally from America and moved to Mexico at the age of 10. He''s my beautiful boyfriend. I met Paul one time I snuck out of the house and went to a party, I got a bit drunk and made some close friends. Out of all of them Paul seemed special. I don''t know why or how, but it seemed as if the alcohol helped me pick good men. School was over and Paul asked to walk me over to my house. Such an event happens every once in a while and like every time this happens I have to decline like I always do. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Paul, but my family is a little crazy when it comes to seeing a boy next to me, I¡¯m currently trying to talk them down a bit but it¡¯s gonna take awhile.¡± ¡°I see¡± It¡¯s a response that doesn¡¯t make it seem as if I¡¯m the sole reason for declining such a request. Instead it puts the blame on my parents without outing them as the weird people that they are. My current condition is perfect, I¡¯ve managed to figure out where most people live and make sure I don¡¯t make any sort of connection with those people, if they don¡¯t know who I am they shouldn¡¯t care about my weird parents'' hobby. I arrived at my house, I opened the door and noticed my mothers pair of shoes. She must have had barely any work today. ¡°Hey sweetheart¡± My mom calls me out and waves me to come sit at the table, like always my dad comes in with the cooked up meal ¡°How was school¡± My dad asked ¡°Good¡± ¡°Well you better eat up sweety as you know what comes after this now don¡¯t you¡± my mom smiled ¡°Yeah I know¡± Over the time I guess you can say that I got good at hiding some of my emotions However the one thing that still gets me nervous is the event that comes after I¡¯m done with my food. I grabbed my spoon and brought the food closer and closer to my mouth If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°Maria¡­¡± My dad called me out, of course I didn¡¯t forget I¡¯d just rather not do it. With no other option I stood up and got ready to say the most basic line imaginable ¡°I thank god for the life he has given me, I¡¯m happy that god managed to bless me with the luxury of having food¡± with that I sat down ¡°I¡¯m proud of you¡± my dad stood up from his seat just to pat me on the back. I smiled at him I took my time eating however with my final spoon approaching I could feel a certain feeling within me ¡°Well get ready¡± ¡°Yeah¡­¡± ¡°Oh by the way, your uncle is coming over¡± ¡°Okay¡± My uncle is someone special, he¡¯s the only one that doesn¡¯t get filled with rage the moment I say something that is in ¡®The devil''s language¡¯ It¡¯s like a virus spread across my whole family, my dad and mother have been fully controlled by this virus while my uncle is suffering from an illness still not fully controlled. As for me, I took the vaccine. I finished changing and with that I left home. ¡°Well let¡¯s go¡± my mom is the one who tends to take control over this whole thing, me and dad are just sitting in the sides while we see her work We approached our first victim. My mother knocked on the door. Only three knocks were needed before the people in the house responded. ¡°Hello! We came here in order to help you get closer to god¡± The moment the lady opened the door I could see an expression of annoyance, that expression of course quickly changed to a willingness to listen, but not willing to learn. In the end the lady ended up faking some excuse to cut the conversation short, the next couple of houses were the same. In the end nothing much happened. Just like that the next day began Chapter 3 A different view for you only ¡°Hey Maria¡± my uncle was parked outside the school It¡¯s not been that long since I¡¯ve last seen him, however he¡¯s changed a lot from that last time. I opened the door to the car and made my way in. ¡°You¡¯ve lost some hair uncle¡± ¡°You¡¯ve noticed¡± ¡°Yeah¡­¡± ¡°My job has been quite stressful lately, they saw how much I was struggling and decided to give me a break¡± ¡°Well that¡¯s good¡± ¡°?What about your boyfriend?¡± ¡°?How did you know?¡± ¡°Before you noticed me you waited and kept on fidgeting with your fingers¡± My uncle is quite the genius, he¡¯d always have been the smartest in the family. ¡°Well let¡¯s go¡± my uncle started the car and turned towards me, he must have noticed I got nervous as he ended up putting his hand on top of mine. ¡°I¡¯m fine uncle¡± I tried pushing his hand away however it wouldn¡¯t budge ¡°Please stop calling me uncle, call me by my name. Call me ¡± Right I tend to call him uncle, maybe it¡¯s because I don¡¯t see him that often. It doesn¡¯t feel right to call him by his name. ¡°?How about I teach you something?¡± ¡°?Teach me what?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll see¡± My uncle smiled as he stepped on the gas pedal Soon we made our way home. Just like always, my dad was cooking. However he didn¡¯t seem to have finished his cooking. Which as odd as it may sound, it¡¯s weird that the food isn¡¯t ready by the time I arrive. ¡°?Is something the matter?¡± My uncle walked over to my dad putting one of his hands over his shoulder. ¡°No¡­¡± ¡°Did you try to make the best dish imaginable because I¡¯m here?¡± My uncle claimed that after he noticed some extra food of the same dish hidden in the fridge My uncle decided to stop the conversation as he made his way over to his seat, he waved me over to take the seat right next to his. I was planning on changing first since my dad wasn¡¯t finished cooking. However since my uncle asked me over it would seem as though I would have to join in. ¡°So, what do you plan to say¡± ¡°The same as usual¡± I don¡¯t need to ask what he¡¯s talking about, it¡¯s obvious what he means ¡°?Do you hate it?¡± ¡°Yeah¡­¡± My uncle stood up from his chair and made his way over to the restroom. The moment the door shut, my father came over with the food. The moment he placed down the food and sat down I realized that my mom hadn''t arrived yet. ¡°Is she working?¡± ¡°Yeah she¡¯ll return soon¡± For a slight moment I was happy, the thought of finally skipping a day of this routine was something I¡¯ve always hoped for. ¡°Your uncle isn¡¯t coming out¡± ¡°Yeah, maybe he has a bad stomach¡± My uncle had been in the restroom for 10 minutes now, my dad seemed to have gotten a bit inpatient. I decided to end it quickly, if my uncle isn¡¯t here then that¡¯s better. I like it when it¡¯s fewer people who watch me do this. ¡°I thank god for giving us the luxury of being able to place food in our table¡± it was shorter than last time, but that shouldn¡¯t matter My dad gave his thanks and we started to eat, soon after my uncle would come out. He decided not to eat and instead sat on the couch watching some cartoon. Once we both finished our food my mom ended up arriving from work, she too refused to eat. Not because she isn¡¯t hungry, but because she wouldn¡¯t want to be late for their favorite event. I got up and placed the dirty plates in the sink, I then made my way over to my room and changed out of my school uniform. ¡°Well let¡¯s go¡± my uncle was the one to first exit the door, he had a smile on him. Hello our first victim of the day. My mom knocked on the door two times before the man opened the door, before opening he checked through the windows. He was annoyed when he first noticed us and he¡¯s still annoyed, he¡¯s not even trying to hide it. My mother however didn¡¯t seem to care. their mood didn¡¯t matter, If he was mad, sad, or happy it doesn¡¯t matter. The man didn¡¯t last long, he shut the door only a few seconds after my mother spoke. After that we made our way to a couple more houses, once the sun went down my mom and dad made their way back to the house while my uncle brought me to a local park. We sat down on a bench right next to the swings, some kids that looked to be 10 were swinging there, though they got off shortly after we sat down. ¡°I want to help you. I want to give you a new perspective to this whole situation¡­¡± My uncle looked at me and then turned to the swings ¡°I don¡¯t want you to follow them.¡± The same kids came back, they¡¯ve brought someone younger than them. ¡°You see, I want to create a different perspective just for you¡± The little kid sat next to the others, he was struggling to stay still in the moving swing. ¡°A perspective that will allow you to do the same thing as your family while not hating it with your guts¡± The mother of the kids seemed to have noticed that the little one was struggling, so she carried him over to one that is more suited for him. The kid began swinging without having the risk of falling off. ¡°I want you to create your own image of god. Man, Woman, object, animal. It doesn¡¯t matter, you design your own god and give him certain goals or reminders. Make that god remind you of all the possible good that can come from supporting god even if you don¡¯t believe it¡± Thanks to my uncle''s words I made a god, it was a woman. She had curly long hair and always wore casual clothes. Was this childish? Maybe. However, it might work out for me¡­ Chapter 4 Just one knock was needed I woke up earlier than usual, I finished changing and began brushing my teeth. My bathroom is usually clean, however my uncle is quite the messy person. He somehow managed to get some rice on the clock¡­ ?How do you manage that? ¡°?Ready for school?¡± Yeah¡­ ¡°Call me Robin¡± Robin is my god, the one that¡¯s purpose is to give me a new look to this whole worshiping god thing. ¡°Hey Maria, we better get going or else we might be late.¡± Yeah¡­ I finished brushing my teeth and made my way over to the front door. I don¡¯t usually tell them that I¡¯m leaving¡­ ¡°Better tell your dad that you¡¯re leaving¡± Yeah¡­ I decided to listen to Robin. ¡°Dad I¡¯m leaving¡­¡± I waited a bit, no response. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if he responded or not, let¡¯s just go¡± My uncle is probably asleep, no point in telling him goodbye. I made my way to the school, on the walk I bumped into Paul. ¡°Hey, would you look at this¡± ?Paul? ?Why is he here? I usually don¡¯t bump into him¡­ ?So why did I bump into him today? ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it Maria, just enjoy your walk¡± Robin spoke up. She¡¯s right, I should just enjoy the walk with my boyfriend, I shouldn¡¯t be questioning him. This is just a coincidence after all. Nothing eventful happened during our walk, instead we just held hands till we eventually let go and made our way to our separate classes. A math test occurred today, throughout the tests Robin was giving me some of the answers. Once the test was done we all left to the cafeteria, Isabel came over to my table and sat down. ¡°?So what about the beach trip?¡± Isabel looked quite excited. ?How should I do this? ¡°Just tell her that they canceled¡± Robin spoke up ¡°We actually ended up canceling, believe it or not my mom is going to go out of town for work¡± ¡°Ah, that¡¯s too bad¡± Isabel had a disappointed look, after that we didn¡¯t really talk. All we did was eat our food. Once lunch was over we took an English test, it was a struggle though I did take some notes on this last night, Robin helped me remember those notes. Once that test was over school ended. I walked over to the front entrance and noticed my uncle was parked, I texted Paul that my uncle had picked me up so he wouldn¡¯t feel like I was avoiding him. ¡°Texted your boyfriend that I picked you up? Is it so he doesn¡¯t feel like you¡¯re ignoring him¡± ¡°¡­¡± I didn¡¯t even feel like asking how he knew ¡°I know you¡¯re curious at to how I figured that out, so I¡¯ll tell you¡­¡± my uncle looked at me and noticed my annoyed expression, he laughed it off and began explaining ¡°You didn¡¯t text him last time you came in the car, so you made sure to text him this time¡± he smiled before starting the engine. We arrived home and saw both my mother and father already dressed and ready to go. ¡°?Are we not eating?¡± I asked ¡°No, your mother has a night shift to get to. So instead we are going to do our thing right now¡± With that I quickly changed and made my way over to the entrance. My uncle seemed to have changed faster than me as he was waiting outside the house. Some uneasy feeling rushed over me, I shrugged it off and stepped outside. We walked for about 15 minutes until we finally found¡­ Our first victim of the day. My mom stepped up and knocked at the door, she only needed one knock until a familiar voice was heard ¡°?I¡¯m coming!¡± T-that voice¡­ ¡°Don¡¯t worry Maria¡­¡± Robin tried to console me ?No! I knew something was wrong, why was I so easily swayed? The footsteps got closer until he finally reached the door knob, he twisted it slowly and opened the door. I could see his face. It was Paul. ¡°Maria?¡± Before I knew it I began to run, my two worlds have now officially collided. The one thing that I didn¡¯t want to happen has happened, and it¡¯s all thanks to her. ¡°Wait!¡± Both Paul and my uncle called out to me. However I didn¡¯t stop, I instead made my way over to the park. I sat in the swings, I¡¯m sure my uncle would¡¯ve found me. However I¡¯m also sure that he¡¯s just giving me my own space. In the end I threw away Robin, I didn¡¯t want her, she was the reason my two worlds collided. The aftermath ended up with me secluding myself. I don¡¯t know why, but I felt like I shouldn¡¯t be dating him anymore, so I broke it off with him. I know I made the wrong decision, maybe that¡¯s why I decided to speed things up a bit with him¡­ maybe with him I¡¯ll tell him my family''s past instead of making him find it out. Chapter 5 To prove I¡¯m a psychic I woke up one day¡­ It''s been a week now, I still remember. I have an appointment with him I waited till the sun set and made my way to the bar, I asked for the psychic and they let me enter. He was sitting down, nobody else was in the room. ¡°To prove that I¡¯m a psychic I¡¯ll start off by revealing some stuff about your past¡± he smiled ¡°Sure¡­¡± I didn¡¯t really care, I feel like my past doesn¡¯t affect me anymore. Ever since that incident I decided to be my own person, I don¡¯t try to blend in, I follow what I want to follow without following anyone in particular. ¡°Well then, let me begin¡­¡± Chapter 3 -A hurtful past is never to be forgotten Chapter 1 To prove I¡¯m a psychic ¡°To prove that I¡¯m a psychic I¡¯ll start off by revealing some stuff about your past¡± ¡°Sure¡­¡± ¡°Well then, let me begin¡­¡± 7 days ago¡­ I arrived at the bar. The event from yesterday was quite the surprise. I have one week to prepare, my only option is to stalk her. However I don¡¯t know anything about her. It¡¯s impossible to stalk her ¡°Hey Liam!¡± Alex came over, I must have a customer then. ¡°Are they waiting?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± It wasn¡¯t a customer. Then why is he interacting with me? Well I¡¯m not really going to complain, I¡¯ve always wanted to have a friend in this workplace. ¡°What¡¯s wrong then?¡± Alex seemed to have this look in him, he was worried. ¡°Well I haven¡¯t seen my girlfriend since yesterday, I was drinking at her parents house where all of the sudden she vanished. I saw some empty beers where she was seated.¡± ¡°Well¡­ why don¡¯t you tell me what she looks like¡± ¡°Uhm¡­ well, I¡¯ll just call her again¡± before saying that Alex''s eyes darted over to the note. It¡¯s the rules that bartenders have to follow. Is it possible that he broke a rule? ¡°Well you do that. I¡¯m going to sit in my room¡± I made my way past Alex and sat on my chair. I looked in front of me and recalled that moment from yesterday. ¡°Something is off¡± I muttered to myself The more I think about it the more I realize. Alex was worried to tell me something because he broke a rule. That lady was drunk which Alex also said that her girlfriend was drunk. Lastly, that lady knew exactly where my room was even though I¡¯ve never seen her. With that it could mean that Alex is her boyfriend. That could be enough to make her believe in psychics. However, I want to gather more information. Mainly because that lady has intrigued me. I took a look at my hand before standing up. I made my way over to the bar and sat down next to some people. Any time I enter the bar I would always see them. It¡¯s possible that they¡¯ve seen the lady and can possibly confirm whether both Alex and her have met. Before doing so I wanted to get a drink. ¡°Excuse me¡± I sat in the empty seat next to them and put my drink down on the table ¡°I was wondering something. I¡¯ve been here for a while and I¡¯m kinda feeling something¡± ¡°I know what you mean¡± the man laughed and turned his body to face me. ¡°So, you know any one?¡± ¡°Well what¡¯s your type?¡± ¡°Hispanic¡± ¡°Let me think¡­¡± the man thought about it for some time before finally coming up with an answer ¡°I saw a cute Mexican girl with curly hair, though I bet that hot bartender got her first¡± ¡°They were chatting a lot?¡± ¡°Yeah man, maybe you can try chatting her up though she¡¯s stopped coming after that day.¡± He didn¡¯t see me with her. It¡¯s likely that nobody saw me that time, the game was getting everyone¡¯s attention it isn¡¯t that much of a surprise ¡°Nah, I bet that girl wouldn¡¯t even find me attractive¡± ¡°You¡¯ve got nice hair, I¡¯m sure you can pull some Mexican chick¡± ¡°Was she the only one?¡± ¡°Yeah, well the most recent beauty of course¡± ¡°I see¡± I stood up and made my way outside. Is Liam still trying to call her? ¡°Hey wait up man!¡± The man stood up and walked up to me. ¡°What ''s up?¡± ¡°I was wondering what your name was¡± ¡°It¡¯s Liam Lewis¡± ¡°Mine¡¯s Mark¡± Well hello Mark. I¡¯m sure you don¡¯t know this, but your breath reeks of alcohol. I hate people who are extremely intoxicated. No self control. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. ¡°Just Mark?¡± ¡°Yeah¡± ¡°Well I have to go Mark, I¡¯ll see you around¡± I waved Mark off and made my way outside. How am I going to enter the bar now? That thought didn¡¯t occur to me till now. I guess I can try to just ignore him. I would think that most drunk people wouldn¡¯t remember much. However he seemed to have quite the memory or maybe he just wasn¡¯t that drunk at the time. I decided to push away that thought and approach my next task. That next task was proving to Alex that I¡¯m a worthy enough friend to keep his secrets¡­ I waited outside the door for a bit till I saw Alex put up his phone, he never opened his mouth so it¡¯s safe to assume that she didn¡¯t answer. ¡°Alex, I think I may know who your girlfriend is¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Do you truly want me to explain? Did you really think you can hide the truth from a psychic¡± I brought my right hand up to the side of my head. It¡¯s something I saw in a TV show, psychics tend to do that apparently. ¡°I see.¡± Alex smiled, he ended up confirming my suspicions. I¡¯ve lucked out. I have the key to beat that woman quite easily. All I need to do now is ask a couple of questions. ¡°Alex, is it weird if I ask what she and her parents are like?¡± ¡°Uhm¡­ well not really, I guess¡± ¡°Then can you tell me?¡± ¡°Why though?¡± ¡°Well I¡¯ve had an experience before with a lady''s parents and let¡¯s say it didn¡¯t go so well¡± ¡°I see, well nothing much really happened. We praised before eating and then started to drink once we finished the food¡± ¡°So they are a bit religious?¡± ¡°Well they had some religious equipment or whatever in their home¡± ¡°Okay, but why drink? Doesn¡¯t that sometimes go against a certain religion?¡± ¡°Maybe, but they didn¡¯t seem to mind¡± ¡°Nothing else happened?¡± ¡°Well when Maria was giving her praises she failed to mention the gods name, she basically didn¡¯t praise them which made her parents have this certain type of look to her¡± ¡°Disappointment?¡± ¡°Not really. I don¡¯t know how to explain it¡± ¡°So how did you handle that situation?¡± ¡°Nothing much, they gave me a free pass since I¡¯m a guest and they didn¡¯t want to put me on the spot¡± ¡°Are you glad that they did that?¡± ¡°My grandma was religious so I learned a thing or two by living with her, however she never forced me to do what she does.¡± ¡°Living with your grandmother?¡± ¡°Yeah my parents¡­¡± ¡°My bad, I shouldn¡¯t have pried¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine¡­¡± The mood changed drastically after the mention of his parents, maybe it¡¯s best that I leave him be for now. If he ever feels like opening up then I would gladly be the one to be there and lend him an ear. I left Alex sitting by a bench outside the entrance. I¡¯m sure the supervisor wouldn¡¯t mind, after all the bar fell off quite a bit after the game that went on yesterday. I walked over to my room and took a seat, I think I¡¯ve messed up. I raised my hand, it was my right hand. She grabbed it that day. Chapter 2 Never letting go ¡°Maria!¡± I heard a familiar voice. I didn¡¯t open my eyes, I just let them get closer and closer towards me. ¡°Alex¡± once I heard them right next to me I decided to speak up. Still I decided to keep my eyes closed ¡°Were you asleep?¡± ¡°No¡­ how did you find me¡± The location I was in was isolated, it was a small rundown park. The swings are broken and the slides aren¡¯t even slippery. I myself was laying down on a bench ¡°I¡¯ve known about this place, I just thought that you might want some alone time so you¡¯d come here¡± ¡°Why not the apartment?¡± Am I interrogating him? ¡°Well that¡¯s where I first check¡± I felt Alex lightly push me over to the side, I could feel him sitting down right next to me. ¡°When will you open your eyes¡­¡± ¡°I¡­ my bad¡± I opened my eyes I don¡¯t have any reason for my eyes being closed, nobody should have a reason for such a thing, but if I was to make up one it would be because I didn¡¯t want to see you. I¡¯m afraid about being lied to by someone as close as you, I don¡¯t want to be played like a fool. However I also don¡¯t want to figure out your lies. I just¡­ ¡°Maria how about we get going, it¡¯s too dark to be out here¡± ¡°S-sure¡± ¡°Maria¡­¡± Alex looked at me, we both stood up to which he ended up holding my hand ¡°I won¡¯t ever let you go¡± I had a smile, it reminded me. I was drunk when I first met Paul, but I wasn¡¯t technically drunk when I met Alex. I was at a bar, but not drunk. Maybe me being drunk doesn¡¯t help me pick the best boyfriend. I compared them, it¡¯s probably wrong to do so. However Alex is better, maybe it¡¯s because of the circumstances¡­ I¡¯m more free then I was back then. Still that doesn¡¯t matter, I¡¯m with Alex now and I wish to forever be with him. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for leaving you¡± I tightened the grip of my hand. Chapter 3 The reveal 7 days have passed since our deal, now is the time for the reveal to occur. If he¡¯s a psychic or not. It doesn¡¯t change much, from my POV this seems like a drunk mistake by me and an ego hit for him. I was the one to rile him up, I guess it just depends on how far he goes when it comes to convincing me as a psychic. I arrived at the bar, instead of entering the room I decided to go and hug my boyfriend first. ¡°Hey Maria!¡± He said it quite loud. ¡°Don¡¯t say it that loud, I get embarrassed when many people look at me¡± ¡°Oops¡± I chuckled a bit before letting go of him. ¡°Where are you going?¡± ¡°To the psychic room¡± ¡°I thought you didn¡¯t believe in that stuff¡± ¡°¡­I don¡¯t, I just want to prove that psychic wrong¡± Did I ever tell him about me not believing in certain things? Or Did he figure that out? ¡°Goodluck¡± I smiled at him before I made my way towards the door. When I got there a customer seemed to be stepping out of the room. She was crying, in her hand she had a picture of what seemed to be her husband. Did he pass away? I let the lady pass by me before entering the room, there he was. ¡°Take a seat¡± I did just that. I took a seat and looked towards him. I shouldn¡¯t care, if he¡¯s got it right then it¡¯s fine by me. All that means is that he used some type of method that I wasn¡¯t aware of. ¡°Before answering your first question I really want you to believe in me, therefore I¡¯ll take a small glance into your past¡± ¡°My past?¡± ¡°Yup¡± That should be fine¡­ all my bad thoughts have been overshadowed by the good things, I¡¯ve moved on from all events that happened in my past. ¡°Is that fine?¡± He looked at me. Do I seem nervous? ¡°Yeah¡± ¡°You''re sweating a bit. Is it hot in here?¡± I quickly wiped my forehead with my arm in order to clean off my sweat, while doing so, I didn¡¯t notice any sweat on me ¡°Oh that¡¯s my bad, I think that¡¯s me who was sweating¡± he chuckled a bit and stood up to turn the AC on What a bad joke. Is he purposely making me nervous? Was that previous customer staged? No¡­ Even if what I¡¯ve concluded is true then it doesn¡¯t matter, his goal was to put me on edge to which he did. The only problem I don¡¯t get is how he¡¯d manage to time it so the lady went out crying right as I got there. It seemed too genuine so I do believe that he timed it so one of his customers came out at the same time as I made it towards the door. ¡°Let¡¯s begin¡± he sat on his chair ¡°Put your hands on the table please¡± I have no reason to refuse so I did just that. ¡°I can sense that something was going on in your family, you didn¡¯t really like it. The reason for it was because you felt limited a sudden weight was put into you at a young age¡± He looked towards me. He¡¯s right, he too knows that he¡¯s right. ¡°My senses are telling me that the problem was some type of religious reason. Perhaps you didn¡¯t like what they did. Maybe you found it to be quite embarrassing¡± This is weird. I was under the assumption that I''d gotten over this. ¡°I¡¯m also picking up something about you going along with this religion even though you somewhat hated it¡± Why? ¡°However something happened, something that made you not follow through with the religious beliefs. That event or events, changed you¡± Why have I not gotten over this?! I quickly stood up from my chair ¡°You dumb shit. I believe you, okay! Are you proud of yourself?! Did me saying this give you an ego boost?!¡± ¡°I-¡° ¡°How do you feel? Having a job that revolves around constant deception. Making people feel happy knowing damn well what you told them isn¡¯t the full story! Because I know damn well that with every couple of customers, comes a moment where you decide to opt for a choice that makes the customer feel happy. You think and believe you''re doing right and making a good choice for their sake, though I don¡¯t think so! I believe that you just care about the money. You want them to come back to you while you feed them with bullshit lies. You are a pathetic¡­ human being¡± I made my way towards the door. I opened the door, however before leaving I decided to say something. ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡± I closed the door before hearing what he had to say. His silence made me feel quite bad, I¡¯m not even sure what I said. I just kinda said it. I made my way out of the bar till Alex called out for me ¡°Wait up!¡± He yelled ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± He had this look, he was worried about me, but¡­ ¡°I heard what you said. I¡¯m sorry¡± That¡¯s right. When I went over to him he spoke quite loudly, it was as if he was telling him that I was coming ¡°Just give me some space¡± ¡°But-¡° ¡°I¡¯m not mad at you, or at least not for now. I just need to dissect this situation before coming to the conclusion of whether or not I should be mad¡± ¡°I- okay¡± Alex turned around and was making his way back to the bar ¡°Hey look at me¡± ¡°Wh-¡° before he could finish I slapped him. ¡°That¡¯s an advanced slapping, just in case I am angry at you¡± ¡°What if you''re not?¡± ¡°Then we¡¯d have a lovely night one night¡± Chapter 4 The Christmas shock Christmas is soon to come, many people are already buying their loved ones some gifts. However no one would expect such a horrible event to occur in this lovely holiday. A lovely Santa was out giving presents, to which a sudden shot can be heard from an alleyway. The Santa man was dead, right next to the dead Santa was a man. That man was a psychic. Has this man just killed Santa? Has this man ruined the Christmas of every young one out there as well as scaring those little ones for life? How had such an event happened and how can a man do such an atrocious act Find out in the next edition of the ¡°M.R.T newspaper¡± in the section ¡°The once most loved/known psychic is now hated by thousands for shooting a Santa that was helping the young folks by giving them presents¡± Mistakes are in our DNA The Christmas Shock ¡°Ladies and Gentleman I am currently reporting on a ruthless killer by the name of Liam Lewis¡± The camera pointed towards me ¡°Can you believe it? A once loved psychic is now under arrest for murdering Santa¡± The urge I was getting to just punch this reporter was huge. The reporter urged his cameraman to get closer towards me, they reached the yellow caution tape before they were told they couldn¡¯t go any further. ¡°Excuse me!¡± She tried calling out for me. ¡°Can someone tell this lady to stop recording?¡± The cop that had me in handcuffs didn¡¯t tell anyone in specific, he just wanted someone to get the reporters off their back. Soon after he said that a different police officer went over and started to talk to the lady. ¡°Listen, can you stop with the recording?¡± ¡°What for?¡± It¡¯s obvious this lady knows the law, she knows she has no need to obey with what they have said. ¡°We are currently doing an investigation into a murder and you people are interrupting our case¡± ¡°I thought he was the culprit¡± The lady looked towards me ¡°That¡¯s right, however we do wish to clear this place in order to avoid a possible escape and extra confusion¡± The lady didn¡¯t say anything and continued to record. The police officer was getting frustrated, he tried not to show it, but it gets quite obvious when you flinch due to the reporter¡¯s disobedience. Before the officer could say another word a lady came up to the reporter. She looks familiar ¡°You can stop¡± that¡¯s right, she¡¯s Ms. Moore She was the one that tried to deceive me into revealing that I wasn¡¯t a psychic by leaving fake hints. She was quite clever, however I didn¡¯t know she was a reporter. Moore put her hand on the shoulder of the reporter. The reporter flinched for a bit before telling her cameraman to stop recording. Quite the powerful women. The officer released a sigh of relief before going back to his assigned location. I looked back towards the spot Ms. Moore was at. She waved towards me. Seems like she also remembers me. ¡°Alright let¡¯s get going¡± after some other officers finished clearing the path, they all decided that it would be best to start going back to the police station. ¡°Watch your head¡± the officer lowered my head while I was entering the vehicle. Once we drove off I could hear and see everyone¡¯s face, they were disgusted. Everyone except for her. Ms.Moore. I soon arrived to the police station where they decided to sit me in an interrogation room. ¡°We will use this device to record you.¡± ¡°This is William Sanders and I am currently investigating suspect Liam Lewis in the murder of Carl Baker¡± The officer leaned forward and looked at me directly into my eyes. ¡°Let¡¯s start off with your story, what were you doing at the time of the death¡± ¡°I was talking to the man dressed as Santa¡± I don¡¯t need a lawyer. I¡¯m innocent and I¡¯m sure I can prove it. ¡°Are you saying that you had no idea the man dressed as Santa was Carl Baker?¡± ¡°Yes that is correct¡± ¡°Why were you talking to the man?¡± ¡°Well I noticed him giving out presents to everyone, I decided it would be smart business to put my business card on every present¡± ¡°And did he decline?¡± ¡°Yeah, but I wasn¡¯t too bothered. It was unfortunate, but I wouldn¡¯t kill him just because of that¡± ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Well I¡¯m already well established, almost everyone in the local neighborhood knows about me¡± ¡°So you wanted to expand?¡± ¡°Yeah¡± ¡°Then what about the gun which we found right next to you¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure where that came from¡± Before the officer could speak another word a sudden door slam occurred and a familiar person entered the room. ¡°Excuse me officer, I would like to speak to my client¡± it¡¯s Ms. Moore ¡°I¡¯m currently-¡° ¡°No, I need to speak with him right away¡± The officer decided to leave the room, without saying a thing ¡°So you¡¯re a lawyer?¡± I asked ¡°Maybe¡± she smiled ¡°Why are you helping me?¡± ¡°You just seem like an interesting person¡± ¡°So, what¡¯s your plan?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure¡± ¡°You¡¯re not sure?¡± ¡°Well this is quite the case, how did someone shoot the person, with you having the gun that shot that person and you didn¡¯t even noticed it ¡± The situation I got myself in was quite complex, did someone intend to put the fault on me specifically? Or was Santa the target and I just happened to be there? If they did intend to target me then why not just kill me? And if they¡¯re goal was to put me in jail then it must be someone who wasn¡¯t happy with me, possibly related to my psychic readings. I decided to talk to Santa in an alleyway in order to just slip in my business card even if he declined. It was dark so It would be hard to notice me slipping it in. Seconds after he declined me he got shot which didn¡¯t give me a chance to slip in my business card¡­ he was shot. ¡°Moore I-¡° ¡°Call me Lia¡± ¡°Lia I think I can prove I didn¡¯t shot him¡± ¡°How so?¡± ¡°The angle of where he was shot was on his left hip. Why would I shot there if I was standing in front of the body¡± ¡°You¡¯d most likely shoot him in the front rather then the sides¡± The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°Exactly¡± ¡°Okay then¡± Lia stepped out of the room before coming back again this time with the officer. ¡°We had a chat officer and I¡¯d like it if you cleared up some things¡± ¡°Ask away¡± ¡°If my client was the culprit why would he shot him on his side rather then in front where he was facing Santa¡± ¡°That¡¯s a good point. However, what about the gun that was next to him?¡± ¡°How do we know it wasn¡¯t planted to frame my client? Did it have his fingerprints?¡± ¡°Your client was wearing gloves and therefore we wouldn¡¯t be able to find the fingerprints¡± ¡°What about the code thing, the numbers where they can check who bought the gun?¡± ¡°It was scratched off and the same goes for the bullets¡± ¡°What about other people within that area?¡± ¡°I¡¯m assuming you mean the people on foot? If so we have footage of one other person exiting from the other side of the alleyway, however they entered it and exited it quite quickly during the gunshot, it would be impossible to shoot him and place the gun next to you especially since the alleyway is quite long. We also saw a different Santa, however they were on a different alleyway.¡± ¡°Can we see the footage?¡± ¡°You guys aren¡¯t detectives now are you?¡± He said ¡°No, but it would be necessary to prove my client''s innocence, you do want to catch the culprit right?¡± ¡°Fine¡± Shortly after the officer came back again with a small screened tv. He connected the tv and then put the tape inside of it. The video started playing, it showed a man wearing a hoodie yet not putting it on. He entered the alleyway and one second later the gun shot was heard. He went out running as soon as that gunshot happened. It¡¯d be impossible for him to place the gun next to me. ¡°So?¡± The officer had a slight smirk ¡°I assume I can¡¯t free my client till I prove otherwise¡± ¡°Your client can¡¯t leave due to him being the prime suspect, so yes you¡¯d need to prove otherwise in order to free him¡± ¡°Say less¡± Lia stood up and looked at me, she spoke with such confidence there, yet it doesn¡¯t seem like she knows where to start. ¡°Has the scene been cleaned yet?¡± ¡°No, however we can¡¯t have you exploring it due to the possibility of placing some misleading evidence in the crime scene¡± ¡°What if I had surveillance¡± ¡°That would work¡± the officer seemed sure it was me, yet he still is fine with letting us investigate. Seems like he truly does want to find the culprit ¡°Lia, make sure to record the scene¡± She nodded and made her way out. ¡°Stand up¡± the officer and I began making our way to my cell. The cell wasn¡¯t bad. I had a room to myself and I didn¡¯t really see any cell mates on my way here. ¡°Food will be delivered to you, you¡¯d be here till the case is closed. You will still get to go outside for longer then the regular cellmate and you¡¯d have officers watching your back¡± I¡¯m being treated quite nicely. Chapter 2 Christmas present Surely one day is enough time for her to recollect her thoughts, right? I said this as I was now standing in front of her apartment door Last night I decided it would be best to meet up with Maria and make things clear after that event. I even decided to buy a little present in order to¡­ win her over I guess. All I have to do now is knock at the door. I raised my hand towards the door. However before I could knock Maria managed to beat me to it. ¡°Want to come in?¡± She was behind me. ¡°Sure¡± She put her bags down and unlocked the door we both entered the apartment. ¡°I see you have a present¡± She smiled ¡°Yeah¡± ¡°You¡¯re trying to make me forgive you?¡± ¡°Kinda¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine¡± We entered her kitchen to which she pulled the chair and insinuated that I should take a seat. Before sitting down I decided to place the present under the little Christmas tree she had. ¡°When did you make this¡± ¡°Yesterday, I was kinda bored¡± ¡°It¡¯s nice¡± ¡°Yeah¡± She went back to the table and placed a coffee in my seat and one in hers. ¡°Take a seat¡± I took a seat. I didn¡¯t know how to exactly bring up the topic, should I even bring it up? Can we just move on from it without saying anything about it? ¡°About the event at the bar¡± I guess not ¡°I wanted to talk about it too¡± I said ¡°How did that psychic leash you into it?¡± ¡°Liam is a good guy¡± ¡°Okay, what¡¯s your point?¡± ¡°He didn¡¯t really tell me much, he asked me a couple of questions about you and told me that I had to tell him when you arrived¡± ¡°So he lied to you?¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± I didn¡¯t really think about this. Liam asked questions about my girlfriend in order to come to a certain conclusion that would drive my girlfriend into this state. He also made me a part of his little plan without even telling me. ¡°He isn¡¯t a good person. I don¡¯t want to seem controlling, but I don¡¯t think he¡¯d be a good influence on you¡± She¡¯s somewhat right. Liam has always struck me as someone who does his job a little too perfect, his ability to deduce certain things as well as lie to people without much remorse was wrong. ¡°I¡¯m not sure. I understand that he might be deceiving. However he doesn¡¯t seem like that kind of person¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°I think it¡¯s just his little facade¡± ¡°So what can he be hiding on the inside when what he¡¯s showing on the outside is crappy¡± ¡°He¡¯s human. I don¡¯t believe that he can just lie like that¡± ¡°Has he shown any type of appreciation towards you? Anything that would show you guys are friends?¡± ¡°Y-Yeah¡± was there? I asked him to have drinks with me, however he refused. He did seem quite shaken up which is why I let it slide¡­ ¡°Can we talk about this some other time?¡± I said ¡°I thought the point of this was to clear things up¡± ¡°I want to have a chat with Liam¡± ¡°Can you tell me why you believe in him so much?¡± ¡°I¡­ I can tell you some other time, right now I think it¡¯s best you open up your present¡± I smiled I do want to tell you why. However, first I want to make sure that my way of thinking is right, I need to know that what my grandmother has taught me is correct. We both made our way to the Christmas tree and sat down. ¡°Open it¡± She began ripping the paper and inside was a chain. It had a bird in the middle. ¡°Wow. This is amazing¡± Maria put it on, she was smiling. It seemed the topic we just talked about has been pushed away. It¡¯s a nice feeling. Maria stood up and went into the kitchen she brought over a wrapped up present ¡°Here¡± ¡°When did you buy this?¡± ¡°Today, I had a feeling you¡¯d want to come over this day so I too decided to buy you a little something.¡± ¡°Thanks¡± ¡°Open it first before saying your thanks¡± I nodded and began opening the present. Inside was a champagne bottle. ¡°H-how much did this cost?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s not worry about that. How about we have a drink? I didn¡¯t just buy this bottle for yourself y''know¡± she smiled ¡°Yeah I¡¯ll grab the glass¡± Chapter 3 Psychic Detective Lia came back rather quickly, so we decided to meet in the visitors room. Not like we had much of a choice. Lia pulled out her phone and passed it over to me. The video started playing, it showed Lia recording everything she was seeing. Halfway through the video I saw something rather weird. Lia panned the camera upwards towards some stairs, the bottom part of those stairs happened to have some sort of stain. It looked to be a ketchup stain. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± I asked ¡°Not sure, I didn¡¯t really put much thought into it¡± ¡°Did you ask the cop?¡± ¡°Nope¡± What great help. If someone happened to be on those stairs then maybe¡­ No that¡¯s not possible, they have no way of shooting them straight into the side. If they did shoot him in the side then it would go diagonal rather than straight. So the only clue I have to put together is that weird ketchup stain¡­ ¡°Have you at least asked questions about the other suspect¡± ¡°Yeah, he¡¯s been in the military before. However he has no connection to the victim.¡± ¡°So it¡¯s possible he can shoot from the other side of the alleyway¡± ¡°Yeah, though we¡¯d most likely need motive and the gun to convince the cops¡± ¡°Only the gun is necessary, let¡¯s forget about the motive for now¡± It¡¯s impossible, how can I put the blame on this man. ¡°Lia, can you go into the evidence room and take a picture of the gun?¡± ¡°¡­¡± That might be a reach. She seemed like a powerful woman. I was hoping she¡¯d have someone inside this place that was willing to turn a blind eye and let her pass by. ¡°Yeah I can do it¡± I spoke too soon ¡°Perfect, when can you have it done?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already done it¡± Huh? I paused the video and swiped to the side just to notice that she¡¯d already taken a picture of the gun. ¡°How?¡± ¡°I had a feeling you¡¯d need it¡± The gun seemed to have a small crack, almost as if it fell from somewhere. The gun also had the same ketchup stain as the one from the stairs. This was all I needed. ¡°Look¡± I showed the picture to Lia, she showed a shocked face. It seemed rather fake though. ¡°So he stuck it up there?¡± ¡°Yes, he waited for a certain time. Checked the alleyway and shot Santa. Soon after the gun would fall and be placed right next to me.¡± ¡°But how would he know you¡¯d bring Santa into that alleyway¡± She¡¯s right, It''s impossible to time that as perfectly as it was. Unless¡­ ¡°Maybe he shot the wrong Santa? It¡¯s a stretch, but there was another Santa on a different alley. Maybe he saw me and the other Santa talking so the culprit''s original target decided to move to a different alleyway.¡± ¡°Maybe the culprit told the actual target to meet him there at that exact time, not as a text, but more as a person to person. This way it won¡¯t trace back to him.¡± I continued ¡°However a problem arose and the actual target most likely texted the culprit that he decided to move to a different alleyway due to the current one being occupied. This would mean that we have enough evidence to prove the culprit set it up.¡± ¡°This is all a huge speculation, they won¡¯t believe me¡± ¡°Make them look at previous times prior to the event. I¡¯m sure you¡¯d find a video of him entering the alleyway in order to set the trap up.¡± ¡°I can try to convince them¡± ¡°Perfect, his room might also have similar ketchup stains, probably as a way to study how long it can hold onto something¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll pitch this to the officer, you just wait in your cell¡± she smiled, she looks confident too. Soon after she left a different officer took me back to my cell. All I can do now is just wait. Chapter 4 It¡¯s Christmas An officer came over towards my cell and began to unlock it. I had a huge smile on my face. ¡°Your free to go, we apologize for the inconvenience¡± I didn¡¯t exactly care about the inconvenience, well maybe at first I did, but this was quite fun. I made my way outside and found Lia waiting next to what I assume to be her car. ¡°You were right genius¡± She smiled and went inside her car ¡°Thanks¡± ¡°Get in the car, this counts for some celebratory drinks¡± I had no reason to refuse her. I actually quite liked the proposal, it feels like I¡¯m slowly getting to know her. I got in the car and we began making our way to a bar. ¡°So how¡¯s your book going?¡± I decided to try some small talk. I remember she was writing a book when I first met her. ¡°Oh I¡¯m not actually a writer¡± she smiled ¡°So the book was a fake?¡± ¡°Yeah I just had the cover done and had a bunch of empty pages in order to make it seem real¡± ¡°Oh¡± ¡°Your upset?¡± ¡°No¡± Lia stopped. We weren¡¯t at the bar, instead we were at some parking lot. ¡°Wait here¡± before I could say anything Lia decided to step out of the car. I saw her making her way over to a vending machine. Next to the vending machine was a man. The man looked to be some local drug addict. He''s kinda like me¡­ just less hidden I guess. I could see Lia talking to the man before shaking his hand, she put something in her pocket before making her way over to the car. I could question her, however I don¡¯t think I should. ¡°Alright let¡¯s go¡± Lia entered as if nothing happened. Lia and I finally made it to the bar, the car ride to the bar was uneventful. ¡°Let¡¯s go, drinks are on me¡± I got out of the car and made my way towards the bar. It¡¯s getting quite late¡­ Before we managed to enter the bar the same reporter from the Santa incident came over towards me. ¡°Excuse me!¡± The lady called me over, I turned to see Lia. However she seemed to have entered the bar. Great, that means I have to deal with her. ¡°Yeah?¡± ¡°Well we¡¯d like to apologize for the accusations we made towards you, we won¡¯t take much of your time all we want is some words from you¡± ¡°Sure¡­ I¡¯ll give you some words¡± I took the mic from the reporter before looking towards the big camera. ¡°It''s not everyday you get accused of something you didn¡¯t do, I was afraid at first. However soon after I realized a way to enjoy it, you live your life only once, so even when hardships and trouble comes your way you must still find a way to look at the bright side of that challenge. You can¡¯t spend that one life of yours being troubled. You must enjoy it.¡± I passed the mic back to the lady before entering the bar. ¡°Whatcha feeling¡± Lia seemed to have been waiting for me ¡°Uhm, some beer¡± Lia got us both beer as we walked our way over to our table. ¡°So¡­¡± I decided to speak up even though I didn¡¯t have anything to speak about. ¡°Want to talk about what just happened?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± The reporter? ¡°When I met with that homeless dude by the vending machine¡± ¡°Oh, Sure¡± she must have noticed that it was troubling me, maybe I was overthinking it. She wouldn¡¯t be in that business right? ¡°It¡¯s my uncle, he once had a good job and lived quite the life. However some drugs ended up ruining his life and he¡¯s now in the position he¡¯s in¡± ¡°So you were helping him?¡± ¡°Kinda, I give him a bit of money. Not too much since he¡¯s the one who made the decision that led to his current situation.¡± ¡°I see¡± ¡°I give him the chance to recover, however it doesn¡¯t seem like he takes those chances¡± ¡°When will you cut him off?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure, I don¡¯t know if I¡¯m ready¡± ¡°Oh¡± I feel somewhat bad, I had a bad feeling about that event just for it to end up as some kind of hard family story. Maybe what she put in her pocket was her wallet. I decided to stop thinking about it, Lia and I finished our beer soon after I got a call¡­ ¡°I have to take this¡± I told Lia as I stood up from my chair It¡¯s mom I answered the phone as soon as I got outside through the back doors. Can¡¯t afford any reporters interrupting. ¡°Hello?¡± ¡°Liam?¡± ¡°Yeah?¡± ¡°¡­¡± the phone was silent for a bit. ¡°I saw that little interview you did¡± ¡°Yeah?¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ now I want you to know something, listen carefully¡± ¡°O-Okay¡± ¡°Who the fuck do you think you are? Do you know who WE are? Talking about that bullshit of living your life to the best! You belong to our family, we are like a¡­ snake of sorts, we are poison. We bring harm to others. That¡¯s who we are, so don¡¯t you ever speak about that fucking bullshit of living your best life ever again!¡± Who do I think I am?! ¡°Your logic is flawed. We aren¡¯t poison, the only poison is you. You fucked our whole family and now you think ¡°because I¡¯m poison and because I harmed my children that means they¡¯ve inherited my poison¡± that¡¯s not how it works. My sister¡­¡± I decided to stop myself before speaking about her. I can¡¯t bring my sister into this conversation. ¡°I don¡¯t care if your family was poison and that¡¯s what made you who you are. I don¡¯t give a fuck about that. I¡¯m gonna stop this shit tradition of poisoning people or whatever other symbolic nonsense you have for this shit¡± ¡°You listen to me Liam! Sooner or later you are going to make a mistake, then you¡¯ll spiral down a bad rabbit hole. You will be in a bad spot and once you¡¯re in that situation I want you to know that you are welcomed back to our family, because messing up is what are fucking family is all about!¡± I hung up. She began to send me messages. I didn¡¯t bother reading them, if she thinks one mistake is all it takes then it¡¯s simple, I just won¡¯t make a mistake. I turned off my phone and made my way towards the table. Lia was gone. On her side of the table she left a note ¡°I have to go, it¡¯s urgent. Here¡¯s my number: xxx-xxx-xxxx¡± I decided to add her. ¡°I owe you¡± I typed I decided to make my way to my apartment, all of this is getting to me. I got to my apartment and opened up my mirror cabinet. I grabbed the drugs and looked at them¡­ is this already my mistake? ¡°Oh go to hell with her mistakes¡± I decided to ignore what she had said. I took the drugs and got straight to bed. I feel much better¡­