The Chamber of Sins

The night was young, and Alexander couldn’t find a comfortable position in bed. The air in the room was stiff and unbreathable. He had been writhing for a while and leapt on his feet, deciding he would get some fresh air to clear his mind. The boy wrapped his shoulders in the blanket and tip-toed through the room. While closing the door, he noticed that the girl’s room door was ajar. Alex peeked inside, and an empty bed got his attention. He counted in his mind, and his eyes widened.

This is Anna’s bed, he thought.

Following his conversation with Robert, Alex had been spying on his sister for days. Her behaviour might have changed, but not drastically.

Alex tried to learn more about her knowledge of Margo’s disappearance and even visited the police station with sister Mary, but notSo they came out. They filled a missing person report again, hoping to get s, any kind of news, about Margo. Deep down, he knew something was wrong and after he had met Robert, his nights transformed into days.

The boy sneaked into the hall and listened to the sounds of the night. The quietness was so deep that, for a moment, he believed he had lost his hearing.

It can’t be this quiet, he whispered, thund of his own voice calming him down. The clock in the hall showed 3:40 in the morning. Whontoe he stepped on the floor in front of sister Mary’s room, the slender wood floor creaked. He stopped breathing, his fastened heartbeats roaring in his ears. The image of the ravage in Sister Evelyn’s room came into his head, increasing the beatings of his heart.

If I keep up like this, I will have a heart attack.

A shadow passed by the kitchen window, and Alex involuntarily froze.

There was someone in the garden. A burglar, maybe? The boy stopped by the entrance door with numb legs and looked around for something to use as a weapon. He grabbed an old umbrella and, putting on a used pair of shoes, went outside.

An unseasonable chill could be felt outside, and it smelled of fresh logs placed on fire and recently laid tar. A peculiar fog was floating ten inches above the soil. The boy stepped on the cemented footpath surrounding the building and glued his back to the wall, his posture tense. Only the irregular rhythm of his heart echoing into his ears interrupted the surrounding silence.

Alex groped by the wall, holding the umbrella tight to his chest. His right foot met a hollow in the cement, and the boy tripped and fell.

He cried and leaned on his palms as he hit the ground. His body froze when he touched something that seemed to be human flash. Trembling like a cherry jelly on a plate, the boy lifted his eyesHehe stared at the person in front of h with them open slightlyim.

Dressed in a light colour night grown, with her barefoot feet smeared with mud, Anna stood in front of him with her hair tangled and eyes wide open.

“Anna?” the boy whined. “What is wrong with you?”

The girl growled and passed by the boy, her feet stepping on the freshly planted rose bushes. She didn’t seem bothered by their sharpened wood and continued her way to the entrance.

Alex got up and grabbed his sister’s arm. A deep rumbling came from inside her chest, and Alex retreated his hand. The girl turned slowly, making Alex wish to disappear.

“Arr, Maro. Where is Maroo?”

“Anna? It’s me, Alex - your brother,” the boy tried to divert the girl’s attention. The words coming from her throat were guttural and unarticulateThehehe boy noticed deep scratches on her arms and che as she stepped toward h as she stepped toward himimst. Dark red drops splashed the night suit. Her round eyes were fixed on the infinite space behind him.

“Anna, please, it’s me,” the boy sobbed. The girl jumped over him with beastly strength, and he fell; a few seconds later, his head hit something hard. Everything fadey around him while the unhuman growling reverberated inside his mind until he fainted.

The search at the hospice had been unsuccessful—no trace of the mysterious manBut, asAs Lionette had refused to divulge his identity, the searcwouldto be difficult.

Robert tried to remember every single detail about that enigmatic man. In his opinion, he was an impostor, a stray man trying to find a place to stay. Some questions arose as hattempteded to solve the problem. That man was there at the hospice and visited Lionette’s acquaintance. That means they knew each other. How come she got to meet a homeless? Oh, and whystarted flying and burning when the man passed by him? Who was he? Or better, what was he?

A couple of days passed. Robert was resting as his eyes were exploring the beauty of his family’s domain. The weather was pleasant enough to stay and relax on the terrace. He was extracting the nuts from their shells leisurely, and the sweet honey lemonade enriched with mint was relaxing his mind. He sighed. His life had gotten out of control with so many things going on, and he had been felling so tense these past months.

The joyous barks filled the air, and Robert leaned over the railing to see Rufus.

“Hey, Rufus, what is going on, boy? Are you happy?”

The dog barked once and continued sniffing the tree trunk.

“Leave the squirrels alone,” Robert yelled before sitting down.

“Relaxing, hmm?” Derek’s voice sounded in his ears.

“What an earth? I told you not to sneak on me, man,” the boy scolded Derek.

The angel smirked and leaned on the balcony.

“Quite a view,” Derek remarked. The boy didn’t answer, just took a gulp of refreshing air and scanned the back garden.

A moment of silence prevailed between them, the moment being interrupted by the sound of the mobile ringing.

After hearing the voice talking, Robert hurried into his room.

“Look, I have to be somewhere. Something happened at Margo’s orphanage,” the boy said.

Robert found sister Mary waiting for him at the entrance. Her facial muscles were tense, and her trembling hands were smoothing some invisible folds in her robe material. She approached him on the other side of the road without ensuring no car was running.

“Thank you for coming,” she muttered and grabbed his arm to support herself. Her cheeks were red, and her breathing steep. “I didn’t know what to do,” she apologised while guiding Robert to the boys’ dormitory. She opened the door carefully. Inside, deadly quiet.