Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!' A robotic voice rained down upon me. I grunted and blindly grasped above me. I sighed when I heard something tumbling down, silencing the irritating source of noise effectively. I grunted and turned around, covering my face with the soft, black blankets. But I knew it was futile.
With a tired sigh, I threw the blankets away and stepped out of bed. But my brain wasn't fully awake yet, and my stupid feet tangled in the messy bed sheets. I yelled in pain as my nose collided with the hard wooden floor. Why did I scrub the parquet again?
'I'll never clean again!' I swore to no one in particular as I slowly pushed himself on my feet and rubbed my nose. Nothing broken , it seemed. I greeted the hollow-eyed ghost in the mirror and pushed my head under the tap. Ice cold water swiftly killed any remains of sleep in my mind. I stared back into the mirror, calling out to it.
'Julian, are you ready for another boring day?' I said to my mirror image, which only stared back at me. I grunted and stepped into my shower, letting the warm water wash away the last remnants of my deep slumber.
I dried himself and grabbed some clothes out of his remarkably small wardrobe. A pair of jeans combined with a dark blue shirt. I walked down the stairs, careful not to fall flat on my face again. Socks and freshly scrubbed parquet really do not go well together. I stepped in his shoes and put on my long, black coat. When I was still in high school, my friends used to say I looked like a freaky assassin with that thing draped around my body. What a strange term to give to a person who went on to become a detective, right?
Well, I didn't care what they said. The only thing that mattered to me was that I felt comfortable wearing the piece of clothing. I stepped outside, and locked the door behind me. The warm summer wind greeted me as the sign indicating my office dangled above my head. It said 'Julian's detective agency' .Not the most exciting name , and I began to think that name may be the reason I didn't have any clients since I began this agency, three years ago. Or maybe it was the more popular, older agency closer to the main street of the city that took all the clients.
'We'll solve all of your mysteries right here at Regal and co.!'. I sighed and glared at the big building when I walked through the biggest street in the city. People ran in and out, and I could even see some detectives sitting behind the windows. Now, I'm not really the jealous type, but the lack of clients really began to hurt my poor wallet. The starting loan the orphanage I grew up in began to reach its limits. Soon, I needed clients or else…
I sighed. I shook my head when I walked into my favorite place for breakfast. It was a small place, but their pancakes were marvellous and their self-made blueberry oil was even better. Silky-smooth, quite sweet and with a delicious aftertaste as well! The dark blue colour might put you off at first, but once you've had it, you never want something else! I sat down and began devouring my breakfast. I shamefully thought about the previous day, where I actually forgot to have dinner. I was too engrossed in one of my books to notice the time... I sighed when I thought of the eventful day that was awaiting me at my office.
'Maybe I should read in those books about magic I recently bought…Hmm…' Despite my looks, I am an avid reader of books handling the occult and magic things. Mostly history books, but also demonology books and classification books talking about all kinds of magic. Apparently, magic was abundant in the land I live in, but it mysteriously disappeared 10 000 years ago. Now, there is a rumour circulating that there was another way of acquiring magic, a way that apparently hasn't died down… But there wasn't a shred of evidence that way has even existed!
I paid my tab and walked out of the building, deciding to take a detour to take in some fresh air. There was probably no one at my office anyway… I decided to go look at the Central Plaza, in the centre of the city. Well, plaza… It was a massive hole. The most I knew about it was the fact it existed long before humans ever walked this land. A research team had descended the hole a couple of years ago, yet no one has ever heard from them again…
2 years ago, the authorities decided to build a bridge over the unsightly hole. On one hand, to honour the missing crew members of that exploration. On the other hand to make it easier for citizens to travel to and from the other side of the city. I stared down the hole before quickly pulling back. Heights really weren't my thing…
I shook my head, trying to clear my mind and made my way back home. When I entered my street, I heard a faint scratching. Nails on wood.. I looked around. I tried focusing on the weird sound and began drowning out all other noise. And when I looked in the direction of the sound, I saw a distraught woman. And above that woman hung…
'Hey, stop scratching my door!' I yelled and dashed forward. The woman gasped loudly and turned around, looking dazed. I quickly grabbed her hands, effectively stopping her ravaging my door. I stared right into her emerald-green eyes. The area around them was red, as tears continued to stream down her cheeks.
Slowly, I let her arms slip out of my palms as she fell down on her knees. The woman began sobbing uncontrollably for some reason, her shoulders shaking with each tear-stained hiccup. I suddenly felt sorry for the crying person at my feet. I kneeled right in front of her and placed a comforting hand on her left shoulder. The brown-haired woman gasped and stared with her blue, tear-filled eyes at the hand resting on her shoulder.
'Are you alright?' Julian carefully asked. my demeanour rapidly changed when I saw the state the woman sobbing in front of me was in. I patiently waited until she calmed down somewhat, asking her what she was doing at my door. Between the hiccups and sobbing of her answer, Julian could slowly make up what happened. This woman was seeking for a detective to solve a problem that occurred in one of the remote villages of the country. I found it strange. Why here, and not with 'Regal and company'? Even if she was in such a hurry, she still would have seen the signs of the other agency. When I mentioned that, the woman's eyes hardened.
'They refused me.'Three simple words. Nothing more was needed to shut me up. I felt my face stiffen up, before I turned around and fished my keys out of my pocket. The door smoothly swiveled open. The woman let out a surprised sob.
'Come in.' I bluntly said as I pointed down the hallway, to my office. I closed the door behind the stumbling lady and showed her into my disarranged office. While I hung my coat on my simple chair, I tried to think about all the lessons I had learned during my five years at university. I sat down and calmed myself with a deep breath. I grabbed my computer and hovered my fingers above the keyboard. This new computer didn't have any keys, just round bulbs on a flat, black surface. Instead of ramming your keys through your keyboard like some people do, you just have to hover your fingers above the letters. I still tried to learn to control the machine, so far I only could work on it very slowly...
I began typing in basic information about the case : date, name of client … When I wanted to continue, I stopped and slowly raised my head, looking at the distraught woman.
'Sorry, I didn't catch your name… How can I call you?' I politely started. I really wasn't one to use fancy words or too much stiff rituals, but making a first good impression is everything, right? The lady sniffled and used a worn-down handkerchief to clean her face of the tear-stains.
'You can call me Amelia…' She sniffled gently. Amelia calmed down and brushed the wet strands of brown hair out of her face. The lady slowly composed herself and began explaining the request she had.
Recently, there had been a string of mysterious murders in the distant town of Vagron. I didn't know the village , so it was presumably just a small town on the outskirts of the country. The woman continued. The murders were going on for quite some time now and the village was losing inhabitants. Amelia was one of the few villagers that stayed...
'But why are you so determined to solve this case? Why don't you move like the rest of the villagers to safety?' I asked. To be honest, I was rather curious as to why this lady was so set on this case...
Amelia's face darkened as she clasped something in her pockets. When she pulled her hands back out, she held a photograph between her fingers. I took a quick peek at the wet photograph. On it, a smiling man kissing a familiar girl. The girl happily held up a diamond ring, her face was a canvas of bliss. After a bit, I realized the happy girl was...
'Who's the gentleman beside you, Amelia? Your husband?' I really shouldn't have said that. From the moment those tones left my lips, Amelia sniffled before tumbling into an incontrollable sobbing. Tears flowed once again as her screams of agony and grief filled the room. It took her almost twenty minutes to calm herself down again. I lowered my head in shame. I should've thought more carefully about this...
'I-I'm sorry... I-I didn't...' I began stuttering. This was not at all the direction I wanted to go. I grunted and scratched my head, feeling my cheeks heat up in embarrassment. When I wanted to continue, a single word from her silenced me.
'... Victim'
'Excuse me?' I was sure I misunderstood her. I pushed my finger in my ear, ensuring nothing blocked my hearing before she repeated it again.
'He was... is... the latest...victim...' Amelia stuttered, her mouth wretched in a sad, tortured expression when she remembered the night she found him... Her eyes filled themselves with tears as she returned from a day of work in the local inn. The moon shone brightly that night, and Amelia giggled when she stepped inside her home. She was really surprised when she found the living completely dark. She lighted some candles on her way to the kitchen.
'Darling?'
She continued looking for him on the ground floor, but he was nowhere to be found! She thought he had a rough workday and went to bed soon. So she decided to join him. She walked carefully on the wooden staircase. The fresh couple build it themselves. Amelia revelled in those memories so much that she didn't notice the dark stain covering a good part of the stairs. The flickering candlelight threw dancing shadows on the milky white walls of the central corridor of their meagre house. Amelia slowly pushed the door to the bedroom open, noticing the dirty spots on the wooden handle. When the door creaked open, the candle she was holding tumbled unto the floor. She felt her knees getting weak before she fell unto the floor. She tried to scream, but nothing left her mouth. Countless, cold hands grabbed hold of her body and soul, making her shiver uncontrollably.
Blood. That was the only thing that entered her sight, and three holes in her husband's chest... His eyes were closed. That was the only thing she remembered, the rest was a whirlwind of darkness and screaming voices. The girl screaming right in front of me as she remembered that night. I looked at her, getting uncomfortable. This was not good! If she continued to do this, she would push herself into a downward spiral of her own negative imagination! I bit my lip, trying to think of a solution. The only thing that came to me was diverting her attention from her thoughts to me and the present.
'H-He …was...?' I repeated for myself, but Amelia, being stressed and infuriated by my tactlessness stopped me from saying anything. She stopped screaming and looked at me with a gaze that could easily kill! Tears rolled down her face, unable to get cleaned with the rag she used as a tissue. Amelia bit her lip, drawing blood in her anger and distress as she jumped upwards, the chair I prepared for her clattering on the ground.
'Yeah, he is the latest victim!' She screamed before turning around and storming out of my office. She rammed the door open and dashed through the street, leaving me baffled in her wake. I couldn't have stopped her, and if I wanted to, I wouldn't have done it.
I just was a tactless oaf on that point in time. Not that I had much of tact on other moments... I just followed my gut. I sighed and looked at the screen of my computer. I bit my lower lip in guilt. This really isn't good advertisement for my agency... 'Come here and leave crying your eyes out!' I scoffed at myself for making such a morbid joke. I sighed and stared at my screen.
I looked at the screen again. My guilty conscience started to play up. I thought for a bit before heading to my door and grabbing an electronic sign. I began pushing the small buttons on the back before shoving it between my custom-made windows. The sign said' I will be gone for an unspecified amount of time. Any request may always be send to Vagron.'.
I shrugged my shoulders, and turned around. I started packing my bags, preparing myself to journey out, to the farm village Vagron... My first time outside the main city... and my first real case!