05.00 PM
THURS, 12 JUNE 1986
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DAYS PASSED AND NORA ISOLATED HERSELF IN HER ROOM. SHE DIDN'T GO OUT OF HER ROOM AT ALL, NOT EVEN FOR A FRESH AIR OR FOR A MEAL. The pain on her stomach caused by starvation was nothing compared to her emotional pain. Nora still couldn't accept that Eren was really gone. Nora was lying on her bed, staring at the ceiling once again, no expression written on her face whatsoever. Dark circles under her eyes is the most visible feature on her face. Nora hasn't been looking good lately. She's been starving herself. Sometimes, Alice would come up to her room and try to get her to eat, but she left the meals to cool. She always had nightmares about Eren and would sometimes even have seizures in the middle of night. Concerned, her parents brought her to the therapist. According to the therapist, the reason that Nora was acting this way was because she was traumatised by the loss of her younger brother. She was then diagnosed with PTSD and given prescriptions to lessen the nightmares. Or so she thought it would. It didn't help even a little bit.
A bruise on the neck and ankles, just like Eren's nightmare.
Nora ran both of her hands through her now messy brown locks in frustration, groaning. She closed her eyes and pulled at her hair, gritting her teeth. Everything was frustrating her.
Did he die peacefully?
Was it quick?
Did he suffer?
She was hoping that whatever Eren went through, it didn't take long. No matter how much of an annoying little petulant child Eren may be, she didn't want him to suffer. Numerous and unlimited thoughts seem to drown her as she felt her eyelids getting heavier and heavier. Nora finally gave up battling her heavy eyelids and drifted off to sleep. When she decided to open her eyes again, she's no longer in her room. She sat up and groaned, her back was killing her. Nora noticed that she wasn't even lying on something soft and cushiony like her bed. Instead, she was lying down on the cold unwelcoming flooring of the unfamiliar room. The room itself was too quiet. There was little to almost no light to illuminate the room. Though, there was a lonely flickering lamp standing in the corner. Nora stood on her feet and brushed the dust off of her green hoodie and black shorts. The room looked like a living room, just not hers. The walls were dull grey. The couch was torn and musty and the TV was shielded with dust particles. The carpet has a bright red colour, contradicting with the boring and dreary room. It was curled messily and had fuzz peeking out.
"Where the Hades am I?" Nora cursed under her breath. Curious, she decided to explore a little bit, but keeping herself alarm. She heard the wooden flooring creak underneath her blue canvas high-tops. After exploring a few other rooms, she assumed that she was in a house. A really dull and neglected one, apparently.
All of a sudden, she heard footsteps above her, followed by a loud thud. Being the curious person she is, Nora decided to grab whatever was nearest to her and cautiously went up the stairs, stopping every 3 minutes to hear if the sound continues. But it didn't. Nora inhaled sharply and mentally prepared herself to meet whoever-or whatever-was making that voice.
"Hello?" Nora called out, "Is anyone there?"
"Here..." a voice replied.
Nora stopped on her tracks. The voice then continued to speak.
"Help me, please... It hurts..." It pleaded. It sounded like someone was hurt. Nora should've known better that in these circumstances, these kinds of voices weren't to be trusted but Nora decided to look for whoever that voice belonged to anyways. The voice came from a closed room. Nora tried to open the room, but it won't budge.
"Hold on!" she yelled, "Stand away from the door if you can, I'm breaking in!"
Nora distanced herself away from the door and gave a powerful kick. And another. She then pushed the door and thank the heavens it opened. Nora herself was surprised that her kicks didn't make a hole on the door.
"Come o- Huh?"
The room was empty. Literally empty. There was no one and no single furniture was occupying the room as well. Nora shook her head as she sighed.
"I must've walked into the wrong room-"
Just as Nora turned around and wanted to walk out, the door shut right in front of herself. She ran to the door, mentally cursing and pulling the door handle, trying to get it to open again.
"Oh, come on!" Nora cursed, "What-"
"You want to know what really happened, do you," the voice echoed, "Nora?"
"Wh- Who are you?!" she yelled, demanding an answer, "How do you know me? What do you want?!"
Nora looked around the room to look for someone. But there was no one, she was alone in the room. The lamp that was illuminating the dull empty room is now flickering, sending goosebumps down Nora's spine. The light dimmed soon after, making the room a much more eerie place to be in than it already was. In the corner of the young female Haertel's eyes, she saw a glimpse of a figure, standing. She whipped her head to face the figure, but it was gone. Nora stared at the place where the figure was in pure confusion before feeling a cold hand touch her. She shrieked and hit the figure, before backing away quickly.
The figure was quite short, like that of someone younger than her. Something about it just sent chills down Nora's spine. Thick, red, flowy liquid dripped to the floor next to the figure. The figure got closer and closer making Nora back away instinctively.
"Wh-who are you?" Nora stuttered as she stepped backward slowly, desperate to get away from the mysterious figure, "What do you want?"
The figure stopped dead in its tracks. Nora released her breath that she was holding, thinking that the figure would finally stop and leave her alone. To her dismay, the figure didn't move an inch and just stayed there, dead quiet.
"P-please!" Nora pleaded, "Leave me alone!"
The figure then looked up, revealing its face to the world. As soon as her eyes landed on the figure's face, she gasped and her legs felt weak, making her fall to the ground. The figure turned out to be a boy, but not just any boy, it was her brother. Her dead brother. It was Eren. Eren Haertel. His face was half mushed due to the impact sent by Nora's attack, making Nora's face cringe.
"Nora,"
"I'm scared."
"Eren..." It came out as nothing but a shaky whisper, "Is that really... you...?"
"If you really want it,"
"I don't want anything!" Nora exclaimed, "I just want you to come back!"
"Then see it for yourself." The voice disappeared with an echo. With that, the room started shaking and rumbling vigorously. Rain started pouring violently outside. A loud thunder cracked the sky into two and Nora was transported to somewhere else. She felt a cold wet and sticky liquid on her shorts and socks. She looked down to see that she was back on her backyard, and it was raining, and she was half drenched in mud.
Nora quickly stood up and groaned in annoyance. Her favourite clothes are now dirty.
How amazing, Nora thought sarcastically.
Nora then recognized that she was back under the giant cherry blossom tree. She looked to her side, dropping her weapon that she got from the previous place. It was Eren, drowning. But something else caught her eye.
Ropes.
There were ropes tied to his neck, and ankles. Eren coughed and flapped his hands, desperately trying to save himself. When he raised one of his arms, Nora noticed something.
A brick.
Nora then remembered what Eren had said about his nightmare.
"It feels like-I don't know-a rope? That thing weighed my neck and my ankles and I couldn't swim to the surface."
Someone tied bricks to him so he'd drown. Whoever did it, wanted to make sure he really died. Nora now felt nothing but anger. Who would do such a thing? To a child? The rain that made Nora's hair and whole body wet dripped down her clenching fist. Her blood was boiling, her brows furrowed and stitched together. Whoever did it, she's going to make them pay.
Nora's emerald eyes then noticed someone lurking in the shadows, opposite of the river. A dark shadow that resembled a woman. Nora squinted her eyes, trying to see who it was but she had no luck. It was too dark.
Suddenly, the thunder stroke again and Nora is now inside a room full of portraits. They were all people she knew. The room has a tall ceiling and the walls were elegantly coated with maroon wallpaper. She strolled through the hallway, recognizing the faces. Each portrait had a name imprinted under it.
There was Mom, Dad, her best friend from middle school, her ex-boyfriend and-
Eren.
His portrait was slashed horribly. It was divided into two. Nora was amazed at how it was still stuck on the wall.
"Look at that," there was that voice again. Only, this time, it sounded angry, "Look what she did to me."
She?
The room started shaking and the portraits started falling off the wall. However, when they fell, none of them hit Nora. They all hit everywhere but at Nora. All of them fell onto the floor, the back of the portraits facing up, covering the faces.
"Look at what she did to me, Nora!" The voice yelled as one portrait fell last. Unlike the other portraits, it was facing up. Nora walked to where the portrait fell, the other portraits snapping under her shoes, she then looked down on the unique portrait, stepping on the bottom of the portrait.
"She did that to me!" the voice snarled angrily.
Nora gasped as she saw a familiar brunette staring back at her with blue eyes. She recognized it clearly.
"...Alice?" It came out as low as a whisper. Nora backed away as she felt like the room was spinning. Alice? Why? What did Eren do to make her kill him in such way? Flashes of memory started to go through her mind. Alice in the kitchen. Alice acting weird. And then finally stopped to that one moment where Alice's voice wasn't cheerful for once. Nora then fell to the ground, as her breath continues to hitch.
Alice murdered Eren, Nora thought, she killed him.
If only, Nora hadn't stepped on the portrait, she could've seen that the name indeed wasn't Alice.
But someone she'd known longer than Alice.