Part 2The Girl Who Died in August

My voice was tight:

"I saw on the news recently that bad things happen in those alleys. Let's stick to the main road!"

Maya chuckled:

"Alright, safety first. Good job!"

She spoke to me like I was a child.

She was only three years older than me. She was just a kid too, but she always yielded to me, spoiled me.

And because of me, she lost her future.

I stared at the digital watch on my wrist.

7:17 PM.

In my past life, not wanting to miss the drama at 7:30, I insisted on taking a shortcut and dragged Maya into the alley.

At a fork in the alley, a dark figure suddenly lunged out and covered Maya's mouth with a towel.

I screamed my lungs out, but no one answered in the deserted alley.

Maya slumped to the ground.

The man picked up a brick and smashed it into my head.

I fell into a stinking pile of garbage, like a dying fish, watching helplessly as Maya was stripped and murdered.

Thinking of this, I couldn't stop shivering.

It was still light out at this time in summer, and there were plenty of pedestrians on the street.

Street vendors were selling hot dogs and pretzels on the sidewalks.

My palms were sweating profusely.

My throat was dry.

I kept comforting myself.

He wouldn't dare to commit a crime in broad daylight, right?

Maya turned to look at me:

"Dodo, I noticed you haven't said a word the whole way. Did the sun rise in the west today?"

Yeah, I used to be a chatterbox.

I could write a dissertation on whether Team Edward or Team Jacob was better.

When Maya called me "Little Sparrow," I proudly declared I would become a teacher even more talkative than her homeroom teacher.

Maya laughed, saying, "I pity the class that gets you."

That noisy me, full of longing for the future...

Died with Maya that summer.

The smile was still on Maya's face.

"Wait, don't tell me—"

Her voice cut off abruptly.

All expression on Maya's face froze instantly, eyes widening in shock.

Bright red blood sprayed from her slender neck.

She opened her mouth, seeming to want to grab something, and fell straight forward.

"Ah—"

"Psycho—"

"Murder—"

Chaos erupted around us, screams filling the air.

My mind went blank.

A cold blade plunged fiercely into my back.

The immense impact made me stumble forward. I turned my head in excruciating pain—

It was that masked man! Those eyes were staring straight at me.

Why!

Why did we meet him again this time!

He roared like a beast:

"B*tches!"

"You all deserve to die!"