Autumn’s Hesitant Arrival

立秋 [6] / [9]

Alexander fast forwarded the video just past the point where they both could see, faintly, the scene Alexander never wanted Cynthia to watch.

It was Alexander who wandered the house searching for Sarah, or because the smell permeating the house that still lingered in his memory.

In the video, Alexander was stunned by the mummy, which was Marcello. Sarah appeared, and he collapsed. They both saw the sharp knife in Sarah’s hand. Cynthia gasped. The next moment, he kicked Sarah’s belly very hard, much harder than what he previously thought. Sarah fell backwards, colliding with the bed where the mummy was, and Alexander disappeared from the video. That was all.

He felt almost the same nausea which he felt on that very night. His hands were trembling. Cynthia saw him, left the room without a word, and came back with a glass of water. She handed it to him.

“It’s alright. It’s all over,”

she hugged his head to her chest.

“I know it’s all over. But replaying the moment when I was being victimized is something very terrible. I’ve never experienced this.”

She released him, and he drank. As the water flowed down his throat, his nerves gradually calmed.

“How are you feeling?”

Cynthia looked at his face.

“Fine now. Thanks.”

He held up his empty glass. The incident of the video was definitely one of the most terrible moments in his life, but simultaneously it was one of the most monumental events as well. Ironically enough, because of this incident, Cynthia ended up with him eventually. Alexander kissed her on the lips lightly.

“I’m perfectly fine now. You are with me,”

he said. Her expression relaxed with a smile.

Alexander took a deep breath, and put the last video into the player. It was not like the rest of the videos. The place in the video was not a room or any enclosed area.

It was an open, wide outdoor space. There was a forlorn looking building like a deserted factory. A vast grassland surrounded the building. The building evidently was out of normal human use.

The screen was scratchy for a few seconds. Again the screen stabilized. Dozen of police officers, who were armed with bulletproof vests and guns, each fought with a bunch of people. It seemed like a gun battle. What the hell is this? he frowned, looking at Cynthia. She covered her mouth, seeming surprised. He thought he would ask her later, but kept watching.