----------------------------------------
The Red Flower
Chapter. 8
----------------------------------------
Alvis Iriart.
A simple boy who had lots of friends but only a few he could trust. That was me, in short.
I went to decent schools and easily made friends. I had good grades in most subjects. I took courses to learn fighting skills and fencing sport; I wanted to learn how to defend myself and anyone else if needed, just in case.
Details?
I came from an average family, neither rich nor poor; just a typical family with ordinary parents and two kids, me and my twin brother Alvin. I was born healthy, but Alvin had a weak body and heart. I was energetic and outgoing but relatively calm; Alvin was always calm, smiley, and kind to everyone. I've always been there for him when he needed me and took care of him when our parents were busy with their jobs and stuff, and he also was there to listen to me whenever I needed someone to talk to. I got married after graduating from university. After a month, our parents died in a car accident. It was hard at first; Alvin and I were shocked by the news, but we were able to take care of each other. I told my wife I could never go anywhere without Alvin, so we all lived in one simple house. Soon after, I managed to get into a Pharmaceutical company, Anfinrud Company.
More details?
I have a childhood friend whose name is Kaven, who is the closest to me. We've been friends since kindergarten and still are. He was clumsy, kind, and bubbly. He often complained about silly stuff but never about serious problems. He rarely ever talks to me about what truly bothers him. He came from a wealthy family but wasn't one of those spoiled rich kids; he was humble and easy to talk to. Kaven got married after some time and had a kid, Davante. I wasn't in good condition then, so I didn't get to see his son, but Kaven was so happy he couldn't stop talking about how adorable his son was over the phone.
As for me, I became a father of two kids; the older one Elois, and the younger one, Owin. And as time passed, I became a professional Pharmaceutical Scientist at Anfinrud Company. Why did I particularly choose this job? I wanted to help my brother with his illness so he could finally move freely on his own.
Our boss was indeed an admirable man; his name was Xenos. He was good friends with the boss of Cavalon Company; we collaborated with them on some projects and were successful. I also developed a good friendship with Xenos back then; we sometimes hung out outside the company.
I was doing great. I was getting so close to my goal. I was so close to finally helping my brother…
But also so close to all my miseries.
Xenos changed. Cold, quiet, and just downright inhumane. He didn't allow anyone to leave the company and asked the employees to gather perfect 'samples' to test a new 'drug' on them. By samples, he meant humans, more specifically children. He prohibited anyone from even examining the drug and just testing it on the kids immediately. Then I found out that he'd cut out all ties with Cavalon Company, which was the closest to our company. I heard that Cavalon Company also changed during that time; we became enemies of each other...
As much as I needed the job to help Alvin, everything was clearly wrong, and I couldn't take it anymore. I decided to speak with Xenos first, even though I knew he was never the same person, a totally different one from the friend I knew.
I never knew a smile could look as cruel and heartless as his.
I knew for sure he was someone else. The boss and friend I used to know was no longer there… I needed to quit; I needed to go back to my family as soon as possible.
But I felt helpless…everyone seemed like robots around me, following and doing their missions with no protests or questions…
He threatened to kill my family and ruin my whole life if I tried to run away or go against him. I was sure he brainwashed everyone in the company, and they all became as cold as him. I felt like I'm the only one alive.
One night, I secretly examined the drug he was very obsessed with. At least I had to smell it, but I was shocked when it smelled like… blood. I wanted to examine more, but…
“W-What you gonna do? Are we sick? Are you gonna help us?? H-Hey, doctor, please answer— P-Please sto— N-No—!”
“……”
“He's dead.”
“What about the other one?”
“He made it, just as I expected.”
“Good. He could be useful for the next mission—”
“No, this one is different. We need him for a special mission as ordered by Mr. Xenos.”
As I was hiding under one of the lab tables, I heard everything the two doctors said as they experimented on two kids, killing one of them as if it was nothing. I couldn’t believe it. I had to get out of there, even if I had to fight the whole company.
But the day I decided to leave… there was no one in the company… as if it suddenly became an abandoned place… I knew something was off, but… I took my chance.
I went straight to the police and informed them of everything to save the kids. Strangely, they were very calm and smiled at me, telling me they would deal with it and that I did not need to worry anymore.
So, I just… went straight back home to my family. Life went on quietly for a while, so I quickly found a job and tried to pursue my goal.
But then my wife got so desperate for another better job; that she needed to help me support the family. I told her it was fine the way it was, but she wasn't satisfied for some reason.
She soon found a job, which she refused to tell me anything about. But then she started acting differently and lied to me whenever I asked her about her new job. Day by day, she distanced herself from me and gave me more lies. I didn't want to pressure her, so I chose to wait until she felt ready to tell me everything.
One day, I thought I caught sight of my wife outside at night with an unfamiliar employee from Anfinrud, both wearing the same uniform; I quickly convinced myself that it was impossible, as she specializes in a completely different field from medicine. I completely forgot about it soon after.
I became aware of the way she started to keep an eye on me, strangely studying me as if planning something. I tried so hard to think that everything was okay… I warned the younger son just in case; I told him to talk to me if he noticed or heard anything odd from his mother and to take care of his older brother. Elois, the older son, loved his mother so much that he ignored my presence most of the time… I couldn't just tell him to stop trusting his mother or be careful around her; he would hate me for that, or worse, he could ask Ashley if anything was happening between her and me.
I didn't want to pressure my brother, given his health. So, I didn't tell him anything about her. I thought it wasn't anything really serious; Ashely wouldn't do anything to harm any of us seriously. She wasn't that kind of woman.
And so I was finally so close to my goal again. I remember the day I went to my new work to examine and test the medicine one last time to free my brother from his illness finally.
Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.
I remember how excited I was when I ran back home.
That day…
“Everyone!... Ashley? Kids? Alvin? You awake…?”
The house was dim and empty of my wife and my two kids, yet I quickly brushed it off as they were probably out somewhere enjoying their time instead of waiting for me to return home. And so I hurried to my brother's room with the biggest grin on my face.
Ignoring all the signs in the air.
“Hey—…”
I could never forget the sight…
I could never forget how numb and cold my whole body felt…
The clock’s ticking in the silent room haunted me till this day…
He was dead.
It was clear that someone had given him a poisonous pill along with his food instead of his usual one. And the only person besides me who took care of my brother was… my wife.
And for months… my kids never returned home.
Nevertheless, I forced myself to move and try my best to find them. I figured the first thing to do was find Ashley's new job, so I asked the employees at her previous job. They asked for my civil card to prove that I am truly her husband; that I have the right to know where she transferred to.
“umm, Sir?”
“Yes?”
“I'm sorry, but… Nothing in the system shows you're married or have any kids. The woman you're talking about is married to another man, and they have kids. Which means you have no connection with her. I’m afraid I can't help you or answer any of your questions. Please understand.”
They refused to tell me anything about her. They were so close to calling the police to deal with me, so I had to quit trying. I was sure it was some error in the system because… how? But it turned out there was nothing wrong with the system, and it proved to work just fine.
I was utterly shocked and just so lost. I even thought that maybe I was dreaming. Something was definitely wrong. I couldn't do anything for a while, only staying at home, repeatedly thinking about what was happening in my life. I kept thinking of the man she was married to… I had to know in some way…
But then, one day… I received a delivery to me: a box and a small letter.
—Dear Alvis,
I warned you, didn't I? ~
- Baldrick Alastair —
Inside the box were the matching coats of my two kids, along with the necklace I gave Ashley on her birthday… and a… knife on top...
I was sure they were gone… I was just so naïve and stupid that I lost all my family.
Days, weeks, maybe even months, I locked myself in my room and just… asked myself over and over again…Why did Xenos change so suddenly? Was Ashley working for Anfinrud and hiding everything from me? Why did she kill Alvin? Who the heck is Baldrick, and what did he mean in that letter?
Xenos’s last words to me came once again to my mind.
“You'll regret everything, Alvis.”
Does Baldrick work for Xenos, too? Is he Ashley's husband? Or… maybe Baldrick IS Xenos himself?
Ding Dong—
That sound, the sound of the doorbell… it was the start of everything going horribly wrong…
And I had no idea what I was getting myself into; by heading to the door and opening it to find a familiar beautiful woman and a tiny visitor standing by her side.
“You are Kaven's…”
“Ah, yes! Sorry for coming without any prior notice…”
“No, it's fine… haha… ah…”
I remember how powerful his eyes felt to me; an eye that felt like it could see right through people, even though they were of a tiny child… very tiny… and… cute, indeed.
“You're Davante, right? Hello ~”
And too quiet, or more like… lifeless?
“umm… do you have a moment? Please, i-it's urgent…”
I should have refused her… I had a feeling, but I still welcomed her into my house and sat to listen to her nonsense.
“I know this is so sudden, but… can you please look after Davante for a while?”
“???”
“……”
“uhmm… Did something happen?”
“K-Kaven has been acting strange lately…he gets mad whenever he sees Davante, s-so I just want Davante to stay away from home in a safe place until Kaven is back to normal…”
‘How is that even possible? When he cried over how cute the tiny little boy is…’
“How about I talk to Kaven first? I'm sure he's—”
“Please, understand! He can't even stay calm just by hearing his son’s name! You can't talk to him!”
“I think I have the right to know everything from both sides. I can't just take your son without knowing the full situation here.”
“But I just told you every—”
“As far as I know, Kaven was so ridiculously happy over Davante and couldn't stop talking about him to everyone.”
She stilled, then quickly tried to refute me, “And he isn't like that anymore! You two haven't been hanging out or even talking at all, so you don't—”
“Enough. Leave.”
.
.
‘She clearly was trying to hide something from me…’
Just as I was about to think it was over, I found her bag forgotten on the sofa in front of me. It felt like it was mocking me, waving casually at me with a smirk while saying I failed at getting rid of its owner.
“Seriously…?”
Option 1: Call Kaven. Imagine how a person calls his friend after a long time of no word to casually say, “Hey, I know it's been so long, but can you come to take your wife's bag from my place, please?”
Option 2: Go to their house. Imagine going to your friend’s house, totally not suspicious, to give him his wife’s bag, “Y-Your wife's bag… haha…”
Option 3: Call her to come and take it. Imagine again calling the person you just kicked out to tell them to come back, only to give that person the hope of another chance, “Ah, thanks, so about Davante—”
“NO WAY… if possible, I don't want to see her again…”
Option 2 it was then. So I went to their house, thankful to Kaven for not moving out to a new place since the last time we talked. The house that used to give me bubbly and light vibes gave me nothing but a headache that day as I stood in front of the gate, getting ready to ring the bell, face my friend, and accept the awkwardness to unfold.
But the gate was left open, and I briefly enjoyed the idea of going to sneak in and simply leaving the bag by the door inside and hurrying out.
“Y-You must really hate me now, right?”
But it wasn’t okay to ignore the weak voice that came from inside the house. The front door was also left slightly open, and I quickly caught Ebele’s crying voice as I was about to put the bag down and leave.
But I couldn’t ignore the apparent signs once again. I’ve learned my lesson the hard way.
So I held the bag in hand and cautiously stepped into the house…
“But I-I don't know what to do anymore!”
I couldn’t ignore how scared she sounded…
I couldn’t ignore…
I couldn’t ignore it as I walked and walked until the end of the entryway…
Time stopped when I laid my eyes on what was about to happen before me. The little child was sitting silently, hugging his tiny knees, and looking at his mother… who had a sharp knife in her hands and an inch away from her throat…
I didn't have time to think. All I thought of was to stop her immediately. She screamed and cried. I couldn't understand anything she said. Part of me knew it was no use in preventing her. But even so… I wanted to save her, to save… the son.
She scratched my left eye with the knife, yet I ignored the burning pain…
I tripped…
And she, in her madness, climbed over me to stop me from ruining her plans…
Reflexively, I closed my eyes and defended myself from the knife…
But… the moment I opened my eyes…
She was looking down at me with her tearful crimson eyes… the time stopped again as I registered where the knife ended up to…
And she slowly, very slowly fell to the floor…
I couldn’t feel my body. My ears were ringing, my fingers freezing cold when I was sweating heavily… I came to my knees to look at my friend’s wife, who was alive just seconds ago…
“Ebele? Ebele…? Y-You… No— This…”
Davante… I forgot that her child was watching…
The child had seen everything…
The child had just witnessed his mother killed…
The child…
“I… I'm sorry… I-I didn't mean to— Davante…”
But his deep, cold eyes didn’t look like those of a child at that moment, or perhaps… I was just paranoid at that moment…
I was scared.
So, I just… ran away.
I tried to forget everything, tried to convince myself that everything was just a horrible nightmare.
But it was impossible… I couldn't sleep at all. What was I so scared of? Going to jail? Losing everything? What was 'everything'? I thought I'd already lost everything, even before that accident. ‘I might as well die’ I thought.
And then, one day, Kaven showed up at my door, all dressed up and good… asked me to work in his Academy… As if nothing had happened to his wife… And I just went along with him.
I was scared to tell him the truth and to be all by myself… yet, I wanted to know where Davante was. What happened to him?
After some time of cowering, I tried to ask Kaven about his son, and he said he'd really appreciate it if I'd never mention Davante's name again.
And I've really shut my mouth. Because if I asked any further, he would question me… and I am a coward, I couldn't tell the truth, couldn't confess my crime… I foolishly wanted to think Davante was somewhere safe, so I didn’t have to say anything. It’s… fine… everything's fine…
Selfish. Coward. Disgusting. Sick. I've never hated someone as much as I hated myself.
I couldn't sleep or eat or look at myself in the mirror… no matter how much I wanted to believe it, I knew… I had a strong feeling that Davante needed to be saved as soon as possible… yet I did nothing.
After a while, I found my kids.
The older one was found under the big tree in the forest, while the younger just came out of nowhere and entered my office with a broad smile one day as if nothing terrible had happened…
I discovered later that the older one, Elois, had lost his memory. All he remembered was his name… and his old friend. The younger, Owin, refused to tell me what exactly happened to them, saying with a smile that I wasn't ready to know anything yet…
I was relieved I had them back in my life, but… even that didn't cover up the regret and guilt eating me alive every single day… how was I supposed to be happy when I knew I ruined Davante's life?
And then… out of nowhere… I found him in front of me... brought by my eldest son and his friend.
The moment our eyes met again… I made up my mind.
I have to correct everything. I have to tell Kaven everything.
Even if I'd really lose everything this time… out of all the things I've been through, the most painful thing to me was being regretful.
I can't live like that any longer. So, I did it. I confessed my crime. I was waiting for Kaven to loathe me, for him to curse at me and throw me to prison for the rest of my life.
And so, Davante would soon finally have his father back. And I would see him smile for the first time ever.
But… that smile… those eyes… I remember I've seen them somewhere before… what Kaven said next… made me question myself…
“So, am I supposed to shed some tears over your touching faked story, Alvis Iriart?”
‘Do I… know this person…?’
.
.
And suddenly came a forgotten memory to the assistant’s mind…
A flash from the past of Xenos casually whispering to him with his laidback smile, “Gonna take a look at an abandoned lab underground. Wanna come?”
A second flash of Ebele when she looked down at him with the knife ready to stab him in her panic and despair moment as she accused, “No!! You'll ruin everything!! You're not supposed to be here NOW!!”
Alvis flinched and snapped his eyes wide open, slowly straightening his back and raising his forehead from his hand as the flashes replayed in his mind again and again.
After a long silence, the assistant slowly stood from his bed, walking hurriedly to the door.
----------------------------------------
The End of CH. 8