Last Stop: Pyongyang

Paralyzing uncertainty

A c***k made Tak jump. Monika was also startled. "What was that?" she whispered. With an uneasy feeling, he sat up and rolled down the window. He looked around the now dark forest, searching, but couldn't make out anything unusual. Monika looked at him questioningly. "Maybe an animal," he said, shrugging his shoulders.

"I have to go back. Since Amelie... died, mum and dad are afraid that something might happen to me or my sister." A dark shadow fell over Monika's pretty face. Tak, who noticed this immediately, scooped her tightly in his arms.

The "animal" was watching from a safe distance. Frederik withdrew in disgust. Since Armin and Markus had stopped accompanying him, he roamed the forest alone almost every day. However, he didn't have the courage to leave his cover on his own, so he was condemned to watch. With the three of them, things would be different!

An expression of disgust showed on Frederik's face. He spat. Apparently, Monika had learned nothing from her sister's fate...

Frederik knew everything about Amelie. That she had been secretly meeting that Mexican - or whatever, after she had turned him down! It was only because of him that she wanted to go to Central America to work for an aid organization. Luckily, no one seemed to miss Carlos, and Amelie’s parents were too busy with their own issues to notice that something wasn’t right about their daughter... A spiteful expression spread across Frederik's face.

The car's engine started. Apparently, the two were done now. Frederik watched as Tak turned the car around in one go and drove back onto the country road. The Renault’s lights quickly became smaller.

***

Yu-ja was lost in her gloomy thoughts. It was April again. A year later. It had all started almost a year ago, with the attack on her. A lot of bad things had happened since.

Daniel, who noticed her gloomy mood, took her hand. They spent the evening at 3Nights, which rarely happened these days. Yu-ja‘s memories of Carola were particularly present here. Besides, she preferred being alone with Daniel.

Yu-ja was still worried. She couldn't understand why this Frederik was still walking around freely! A fear that wouldn't let her rest gnawed deep inside her.

Daniel and Yu-ja danced one last dance and headed home.

***

April flew by and Yu-ja's agitated mood calmed down a bit. She was in her penultimate year at school and under much more pressure than before. Her parents constantly bombarded her with possible courses of study and urged her to make a decision. Sang-wan and Min-ju would probably only get over their fear that their children might not be able to find a good workplace once both Tak and Yu-ja had finished their studies and secured good jobs.

But she didn't want to think about that at the moment. Summer was finally within reach! She was so looking forward to long evenings outside and trips to the swimming pool with Daniel. They were often joined by Tak and Monika. Yu-ja and Monika, who had hardly known each other before, were close friends now. Even though Monika's parents were pretty weird, the whole Cho family had quickly come to like Monika.

Nevertheless, Yu-ja sensed danger... she couldn't put her finger on it, but something wasn’t right. She shared this uneasy feeling with Daniel. "As if something was lurking," she told him.

Daniel understood Yu-ja's excitement very well. He did his best to distract her. The attack last year probably still had a strong influence on her emotions. And then, there was Carola's violent death... Yu-ja was still affected by all of this. She always seemed so composed, as if nothing could get to her, but Daniel had long known his girlfriend better. He would do what he could to convince her that the threat was over. Even if it took time...

***

The May evening was still pleasantly warm. The most beautiful time of the year was just about to start! Monika, who had visited her best friend earlier, set off home on foot. She enjoyed the last rays of sunshine. Finally, the days were longer, which improved her mood. Her grief for Amelie accompanied her day in, day out. Nevertheless, she felt happy. Tak and she were so well-suited to each other!

Monika loosened her ponytail. Trying to tame her curls was pointless... She took her cell phone out of her shoulder bag and wrote a message to Tak. Since she was in Grünau anyway, why walk back to Waldheide? And the path through the forest seemed scary to her, although she didn't admit it. At least the trees looked less creepy now, with their thick foliage.

Should I come over? That’s what she wrote to Tak. She waited twenty minutes on the edge of town, but received no reply from her boyfriend, who was already fast asleep. The day had been so exhausting! A huge number of exams was taking its toll. Tak had no idea how Daniel managed to cope under such pressure - after all, he was currently on his shift. Apparently, his friend didn't need much sleep.

Disappointed, Monika headed home. Meanwhile, dusk was falling over town. Grünau's street lamps, which had just been switched on, shimmered faintly through the thick foliage and offered little lighting for this part of the path. The next bend was already swallowed up by darkness. The surroundings disappeared into a uniform gray. How quickly that happened at this time of year!

Good thing she would arrive at home in a quarter of an hour! That late, she felt no desire to walk through the forest for too long. With a little luck, she would make it home just before nightfall. She quickened her pace.

When the forest had swallowed her completely, Monika's confidence vanished into thin air. She could only see the trees‘ outlines and the path dimly. Fear crept into her every pore. A paralyzing feeling suddenly took hold of her. She heard a strange scratching noise.

What was that? Something wasn't right.

Suddenly Monika felt a dull blow on the back of her head. Everything went completely black around her. She collapsed.

***

Even though his alarm clock rang at five o'clock, Tak was in a great mood. Today he had to get up early, but also returned early. With a little luck he could meet Monika in the evening. Tak was really looking forward to seeing her again.

They had to see each other every two days at the latest - neither of them could stand being without the other for much longer. Whistling happily, Tak made himself a cup of cappuccino and turned on his cell phone.

When he read Monika's message, he was annoyed with himself. Why had he gone to bed so early yesterday? Because you were dead tired, his inner voice told him. Well, there was nothing he could do about it now. He preferred not to text back at this early hour because he didn't want to wake his girlfriend. He would do that as soon as he arrived in Jena.

Tak picked Daniel up from home and set off with him to university.

After a busy day, the two of them arrived back in Waldheide shortly before four o’clock in the afternoon. Tak, who had just taken over from Daniel, drove off immediately.

By now, he was seriously worried. His girlfriend hadn't responded to his messages all day. Was she offended because he hadn't replied to her yesterday? He absolutely had to get that cleared up.

Tak pulled up in the Traunbergers' driveway and got out. He hurried to the front door and rang the bell. It took a while before the door was opened by Sabine Traunberger, who was covered in plaster. Apparently, she had just come out of her studio.

Amelie's death still seemed to be affecting her. She looked absent-minded and her gray curls were uncombed and greasy. Embarrassed, Tak looked away, which Monika's mother didn't even notice.

"Hello. Is Monika home?" Tak asked without further ado. Sabine's eyes widened, which gave her a ghostly appearance. After what felt like an eternity, she spoke. "I thought she was with you last night?" she asked wearily.

Tak looked at the woman in shock. This had to be a joke! "She didn't sleep at home?" he asked urgently, just to be sure. "No. I don't understand..."

Tak tugged at his hair in disbelief. "That can't be. Where else could she have spent the night?" Monika's mother seemed to be thinking. Again, it took a long time for her to answer. Too long for Tak, who shuffled his foot impatiently. "She was at Emma's house yesterday. Maybe she stayed there?"

Maybe? Tak felt great anger rising within him. If your own child didn't come home, you had to do something, and right away! Especially if you'd already lost a child... he had to hold onto himself in order to stay calm.

Tak took a deep breath. They've been so worried lately, he thought venomously. This woman looked as if she hardly noticed what was going on around her. She was probably taking tranquilizers - or worse.

Putting his unfriendly thoughts aside, Tak quickly pulled his phone out of his pocket. He dialled Monika's number again while letting his gaze wander over the crooked cypress trees in the garden. The call was immediately diverted to voicemail. He left a short voice message and called Yu-ja next, then Daniel. Neither of them had seen Monika since the day before yesterday. They agreed that this was completely out of character and were both very worried.

Tak then called all of Monika's friends, but apart from the fact that she hadn't been to school today, no one could tell him anything. Even Emma, ​​whose number he had gotten from another friend of Monika's, couldn't shed any light on the matter - she was completely surprised that Monika hadn't returned home. Even though Emma didn't say so, Tak sensed her concern.