The Tears Devourer

VIII

    Hallie tried to wipe away the tears that were dripping down her cheeks. She gave the girls a big smile, and wiped her hands on the work shirt she was still wearing. Her hair was a mess. She usually wore a middle part; an appearance that her daughter Rachel had imitated from childhood until now; it left it long and wavy, gleaming the beautiful brown it was born with, but this time, what she wore on her head was a tangle of hair without a fixed shape, as if she had been lying for a long period of time, in a very bad position for her hairstyle.

    "Mom! Why don't you wait for us in the living room, like a normal person?! Instead of hiding in the room upstairs!"

    It was what Rachel managed to yell at her mother, while her little sister Julie screamed with fright. Rachel's mother, still with reddened eyelids and a stuffy nose, smiled at them from the top of the stairs, rebelling the rest of her body that was leaving the girls' room.

    "I'm sorry, Chely, I didn't mean to scare you."

    "Mommy? Are you okay?" The youngest asked, noticing a light tear dancing on her mother's cheek.

    "Yes, my love, I'm fine," Hallie answered her little girl, hurrying down the stairs, and holding them both in her arms. While Julie felt safe and warm in that pink raincoat her mother was wearing, Rachel still didn't understand what was happening.

    "Mom, what is it? What are you doing here so early? Did something happen at work?" Rachel ran over her with questions, while her sister hid the tiny feline between the cushions.

    "Everything's fine, darling," she whispered into her ears, in that tender voice only a mother can reflect. "Everything will be fine."

    "Ma', seriously... What's wrong? Why are you crying?" The teenager insisted.

    "I asked for the day off, honey. I'd like to spend a little more time with you."

    "Are the three of us going somewhere fun?" Little Julie asked, returning to the entrance, with a mischievous smile on her face and her cheeks flushed with emotion.

    "Where do you wanna go, love?" Their mother had already released them by then, but was still in physical contact with them, resting a hand on each daughter's shoulders.

    "Knuckleheads?" Julie suggested, still with a beautiful smile pasted on her face.

    "Go prepare yourself, love. We go out when you're ready," Hallie urged her.

    Julie came out as a soul that the devil takes to her room. Rachel waited a moment with her mother, and when she heard the door slam on the bolt, she looked into her eyes effusively and insisted the same thing.

    "Mom, what's going on?" She said. "I mean, really... Did he call...? Did dad call?" Hallie's eyes snapped open for less than a second, then closed and her lids scrunched tightly.

    "No honey, your father didn't call," she answered without looking at her. "Go get ready, okay? We'll discuss it later."

    "But mom..."

    "Rachel." Hallie turned and shot her daughter a stern look, but she couldn't hold her, that defensive look, little by little, was flooded with sadness. "Your sister... I don't have many days off to be with you, so let's not argue today, sweetie, please. Let your sister enjoy this day, and I promise you... Sweetheart, I promise you that we will talk at night. It's fine?" Hallie's right hand came up then and caressed Rachel's cheek, with a gentle, long touch.

    Rachel managed a silent nod and went upstairs to her bedroom at once. She took off her shirt and jeans, staying in her underwear for a second. From the quaint closet located right in front of her bed, she took out an ironed T-shirt with four letters on the chest: RHCP. She put on light blue jeans and white sneakers, which matched perfectly with the pants; tied her straight hair into a ponytail, and arranged it in the mirror. As she did so, she noticed a streak of gray between her brown hair. She uprooted it, deceiving time, and still feeling the youth of her soul chained to her body.

    Julie couldn't agree with herself what to wear. For her short ten, she was already very careful about her appearance. The little had inherited the blond locks from her father, but her face, her face was the living portrait of Hallie, ers mother. While Julie fought with her wardrobe and asked Mom for help, Rachel went downstairs and turned on the television to shorten the wait. The device turned on on the last channel on which it had been disconnected. It was the local Wisconsin news, and it seemed only one story was getting full attention.

    "...unfortunately, the girl's body was found, dead, by the local authorities. We have... Jessica, are you there? Do you hear us?" Said the host of the program, trying to certify that the reporter had a signal.

    "Matt... Yes, yes, I hear you perfectly."

    "Jessica, tell us... Is there any update on this... Unfortunate incident?" The reporter was silent, waiting for the message to reach her hearing aid.

    "No... We still don't have anything new Matt. The body has been transferred to the central hospital Downtown after the official statement of the coroner, just a couple of hours ago. Since that event, the press has been removed from the surroundings. The lieutenant of the WDPD, Jason Quintana, didn't want to comment on the matter and kept the rest of the participating police squad aside from the macabre discovery."

    "Jessica... There are rumors about the victim, it seems... Jessica? Do you hear me?"

    "Yes Matt, here I am, no problem."

    "Ok... So... Then, as I was saying, quoting our source, that the victim could be Ariana Torres, a sixteen-year-old teenager who disappeared a year ago, and for whom search campaigns were carried out for the entire Dells. Do you... Do you have any confirmation of those rumors? "

    "Matt... Ok, yes... No, Matt, for now, the identity of the body remains silent, the only... the only thing we could rescue was the s*x and age, as we mentioned earlier. The body belongs to a woman, between fifteen and twenty years old, in very bad physical condition... That is, marks were found all over her body, she had bruises on her limbs and marks on her hands and feet, as if she had been tied tightly in those areas. At least that's what the photos that have come to light show us, and were taken at the time of the discovery."

    "Unfortunate... Unfortunate what a human being can do to another, especially to a woman so young, with her whole life ahead of her... Jessica, could you, uh... Could you verify the exact place where the girl's body was discovered?"

    "In the early hours of the day, uh... A group of teenagers who went out like every day for morning runs distinguished a completely naked woman among the branches on the shores of Lake Delton. The exact place where they saw her for the first time was near the Washington Bridge, apparently washed away by the current of the lake that isn't yet completely frozen. Some experts believe that if a little more has waited, the girl's body would remain within the current and would be dragged to the ocean where it would be impossible for it to be found, at least not in its entirety. The person... or whatever you can name the one who made such an aberration, must have inferred that it would happen, but luckily, the deterioration in some branches on the shores of the lake played against him."

    "Rachel!" Her mother shouted from the open door of the house. "Rachel, come on!"

    Rachel stood up from the catatonic state she was in. This was the corpse the recruit was talking about, and Officer Garb, when he stopped her. It was the corpse of a girl about her age, perhaps with the same dreams or goals, problems, and feelings. At least she understood why her mother was crying for longer with them. At least she already caught the teacher's concern when she left them at the door of her house and realized that they were alone.

    A maniac was nearby. It could well be a murderer dressed as a friend, a cop with excuses, or an indifferent teacher. Rachel no longer felt safe. The bubble of comfort that surrounded her suddenly exploded and taught her that the world is not only harsh, it is also dark.

    Suddenly a doubt arose, abruptly she looked at her little sister Julie coming down the stairs, with a white blouse and a woolen coat on top, jumping the steps two by two. She saw her laugh, saw her happy, and thought, 'What if I'm not next?' Her body shuddered, and the pulse surged to her temple. 'What would she do if something happened to her little sister?'