Hunter’s eyes briefly wavered with apparent displeasure, but he soon scribbled something in his ledger and turned to leave.
After that day, Michael continued to dream about Hunter. His gaze was always fixed on that woman he had seen before, and each time, she noticed Michael’s presence as if it were natural.
I am Maria.
She whispered intimately in his ear once.
I’m the only person in this world who can truly understand you.
Unlike other dreams filled with confusion upon confusion, she was always calm and serene.
Maria.
Michael carefully uttered her name. He liked her.
Through his dreams, he vaguely came to understand the relationship between her and Hunter. Maria, the third of five siblings, and Hunter, the youngest. To neighbors, they appeared to be living well in a harmonious family, but that wasn’t really the case.
Their parents feared Maria. Since childhood, she would kill mice and drop them into fish tanks or push neighbors’ dogs into the river. Because of her various bizarre behaviors, they believed she was possessed by a demon and even brought exorcists into their home several times.
The other siblings naturally avoided Maria, forcing her to spend most of her time alone. However, Hunter was the only one who followed Maria. He became even more attached after Maria found him when he had crawled into a broken washing machine at the neighborhood dump out of curiosity and been trapped for two days.
One day, as Michael was learning more about their circumstances, he once again had to stand before Federico along with other children.
That day too was a succession of merciless slaughter. The only difference from usual was that Federico would ask the children a question and decide whether to kill them based on their answers.
You have a thin needle. How would you kill a monster twice the size of your body with that needle?
Michael blankly watched a child who trembled in fear without even thinking of answering. This question was clearly the same one Giuseppe had asked Federico.
There was never a correct answer to begin with. This question was merely an excuse to claim “you must be punished because you didn’t give the right answer.”
What answer did Federico give back then? As his turn approached, Michael went up to him and knelt.
Answer me.
Federico, with a languid expression, urged him. No matter how hard he thought, he couldn’t remember Federico’s answer, so he finally used his own mind.
…What would Maria have done?
Michael looked around the cold concrete floor and discovered a long screw among various pieces of trash. He stood up quickly, grabbed the screw, and thrust it toward the neck of Federico, who was disoriented from drugs.
Like this.
The surrounding air instantly shifted. Fear and sadness toward Federico were gradually turning into shock and surprise.
Federico, whose eyes had been half-closed, now opened them wide and stiffened his defenseless body. Michael could sense a bit of regret in the eyes that met his.
Regret for what? Regret that he had almost been killed by Michael, who was much smaller than him, because he let his guard down? Or perhaps he was blaming his past self for not having thought of such an answer to Giuseppe’s question.
Thinking that if he had stuck a screw into Giuseppe’s neck when he was intoxicated like his current self, he wouldn’t have lost his siblings. Michael thought as if reading emotions in Federico’s eyes.
Just as Federico slowly reached out toward Michael, someone grabbed Michael’s nape and pulled him back.
When he tilted his head, Hunter was standing there. He forcibly lifted Michael and left the place. Unable to match Hunter’s stride with his short legs, Michael fell flat, which finally made Hunter stop.
He picked up Michael, whose knees were scraped and bleeding, and forcefully pressed down on his shoulders. Experiencing physical pain for the first time, Michael curiously felt his knees. When he lightly touched the wounded area with his finger, tears welled up involuntarily.
Hunter frowned as he looked down at Michael, who didn’t care whether his shoulders were being pressed or not. He had no choice but to grab the small chin and force eye contact.
You, do you know Maria?
