Part Two
"Breaking news : murder investigation launched after a man , in 50's , found dead at 'Great walk' hiking track " , said the Headline.
" A corpse found ditched in ' Great Walk ' hiking track. The victim is a man in 50's with several bruises on his body. Police declared it a murder and launched investigation. According to police , this case is quite similar to a serial murder case. Detective Paul Stirling , who's in charge of that case will be taking over the investigation. Let's see what he has to say about the serial killing case..." The TV displayed another face now. An elderly man , crowded by journalists like mourners crowd a coffin , was now stating , "The bruises on the body of victim are similar to those of the previous seven victims and show that the culprit/(s) is same. All of the victims were in their 50's and were not identified.The brutal way of killing makes the motive unclear. We are currently investigating this case and will be disclosing more later. "
Legs trembling , hands quivering , Laura stood there , unable to stir. She gathered all her energy but couldn't move a muscle. Betrayed by her own body , she stood still with eyes focused on the screen displaying a murder site. A moment or an hour later , she couldn't tell , but when she finally won against the numbness spreading inside her body like a cancer , she ran.
She ran with all her might , trying to escape what no human ever can. Trying to escape the fate.
As she opened the door of her room her eyes fell on the cupboard. She opened it taking all her painted canvases out unless her hands stopped , finding what she wished to never find.
She shook her head in denial.
"This can't be true" , she declared hoping that her words would change the reality. She laughed at the joke her life was playing on her. Laughed and swallowed , hardly holding the canvas in her trembling hands.
She ran towards Alessa's room and turned her laptop on. "Great walk murder case" , her fingers still trembling as if warning her to not type, but she didn't listen , only to regret later.
Various search results appeared before her , all with almost same head lines. She clicked the link on the top that led her to another page displaying the site of murder.
'Oh God' Her voice was wavering while she matched it with the painting that looked strikingly similar. The canvas grinned at her as if mocking the fact that how brutally a single corpse turned her beautiful painting to a frightful murder site.
"The murder is quite similar to seven other murders (to learn about it click here)...."
Incautiously she opened the link that displayed details of serial killing case.
Her eyes widened as she scrolled.
All murder sites were exactly similar to the paintings over her canvases. The trees , the bushes , the staircases , the window , the pillars each little detail was perfectly identical to her paintings. Each canvas held an untold tail that she failed to comprehend. She shut the laptop in a perplexed manner and gently massaged her temples with her fingers when her eyes came to a halt on a glimpse of something that froze her blood.
The canvas . Her unfinished painting . The painting of her own backyard .
All her paintings were sites of serial murders. Does that mean...?
'No! No! No!' She chanted while grabbing a cutter hurriedly and dashed towards the canvas .Not caring about all the effort she put in it, she stabbed her own creation . The blade piercing through canvas as she moved it in zig zag manner and witnessed her painting turn into a ruin.
Just when she was about to throw canvas from her window her eyes caught a gaze of something that made her blind with fear.
The Fear of losing someone
She ran downstairs skipping three steps a time and almost falling twice until she finally opened the door to the backyard , and stopped ...
For life never grants a second chance once it's too late.
-------------