Still Alive

Chapter 08

“Perhaps for some people, waiting is not a cause for concern. But for me, waiting is a waste of time to meet my death again.” — William Austin

***

"Leave when you're done, I don't want to see you here anymore."

The girl with black hair along her back got up from her chair, leaving William in that state. Emma's footsteps led her into the room, but stopped because William suddenly grabbed Emma's wrist and made the girl turn around and immediately looked at William with a frightened look.

“Wait,” William ordered.

The man had risen from his chair and was now only a step away from Emma. Emma was still trying to free herself from William's grip on her arm.

"Let me go."

"Promise not to run away, then I'll let you go, Emm."

The girl was silent, she was a woman who did not want to respond to William's words, because Emma was not going to talk to the man either.

"I said let go." 

"Hey, I'm not going to hurt you, so please give me a chance to speak first."

Emma frowned, trying to swallow her fear for now. Because William was also very stubborn. Instead of letting Emma go, the man held on to the girl with all his might.

"One minute."

"Are you joking?" William exclaimed incredulously.

"Hurry up, or you'd better get out of here."

"Good good!" the man finally relented, "I just want to say I won't hurt you and I'm not a bad person. Understood?"

Emma is silent. He didn't dare look into William's pair of eyes that never left his.

"Only that?"

After a second, William removed his hand from Emma. He extended his hand to Emma in a handshake gesture. The man then smiled sincerely. Just as sincerely as ever when William welcomed Emma to the White Horse's office, even though she was just a cleaning lady.

“My name is William Austin. You can call me Will or whatever you want."

***

"My name is Emma Starla."

Finally, the girl said her name in a low voice: "You can call me Emma."

William nodded at that. After all, he actually already knew the real name of the girl who always preferred to look down. I don't know what could be more interesting down there than a pretty face to enjoy for free in front of him. William drank the last of the unsweetened tea in his glass until he finally came to his senses after being able to talk nicely to Emma. In fact, the girl was ready to sit down in the chair again, just like before.

"Do you know that Starla means beautiful star?" William asked, folding his hands on the table.

“From now on, I’ll call you Starla, do you like that?” William smiled broadly, even showing his teeth.

Unfortunately, Emma isn't interested and doesn't even seem to care. She lowered her head to avoid eye contact with William.

“It's okay if you don't like it. I will call you Emma. How about this?" Even with such a humorous tone, Emma did not respond to William's joke.

“You are beautiful, but why are you always looking down? It's a pity, although your face should be visible to many, especially when you smile," William said, still trying to start a conversation.

After all, William needed to get information from the girl. At least he has more hope now than before.

"Hey, I was talking to you. Why are you always looking down like that! Do you still think I'm a ghost?" William was excited.

Then William realized one thing, what happened to him was indeed a little strange. The man leaned back in his chair and bit the inside of his cheek.

“Okay, so I died, but the grim reaper resurrected me. You know?" William scratched the back of his head, he didn't know how to explain everything to Emma.

“It really sounds strange, even very strange. You might think I'm crazy or something. But this is really happening. I rose from the dead to find the cause of my death,” he said for a long time without a pause.

William took a deep breath and then looked up at the ceiling of the modest house. A minimalist home with faded ivory white paint but very nicely furnished. He looked back at Emma, ​​the girl began to raise her head and dared to look at William.

"Are you really back to life?" She asked almost soundlessly.

If only William's ears hadn't been ready to hear him, he wouldn't have known that Emma had begun to speak. William nodded enthusiastically, straightened up again, and placed both hands on the table.

"Yes, sure! Did you see that? I finished the noodles you cooked."

Still trying to convince the girl in front of him, William seemed to be showing off his sweetest smile. The man reached out his long arm to grab Emma's hand, which was folded on the table.

"Do you feel my temperature?" he asked, holding both of Emma's hands.

"I'm really still in human form, well, at least until now."

“Bb-but how is that possible? It's impossible,” Emma said, yanking her hand out of William's grip.

She looked reluctantly at William again. His hands are on his knees. Only a second later, sobs were distinctly heard in the small room. William looked at Emma, ​​who was trying to hold back her sobs. The girl's back swayed up and down, even the sound of her breathing sounded very heavy. William took a deep breath. To be honest, he was also puzzled by this situation. He explained everything, but it was still impossible to understand.

"You're right, it's really impossible. As I said earlier, I couldn't believe that I died and then resurrected either. But I don't have much time. And if I didn't find the killer before the hundredth day..." William did pause, and the man closed his eyes in horror, remembering the dream in which he had become a vengeful spirit.

William sighed as he looked at Emma, ​​who was still stubbornly holding back her tears.

"Don't hold back. It will only hurt you,” William said.

However, the girl did not heed the words of William. Emma was still trying to hide the tears that were visible in front of her eyes. Then William got up from his chair, walked over to Emma and turned her body towards him. William now bent his knees to match Emma's height when seated.

He looked at the dewdrops at the corners of Emma's eyes. Looking at the girl, William took a deep breath. The man knew he would have to be more patient looking for clues. He rubbed Emma's back to calm her down.

“I know it really doesn't make sense. I also feel that the whole thing is too ridiculous, even at first I didn't believe that I had become a wandering spirit. Until then, the Angel of Death brought me back to life as it is now,” William explained.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Emma sobbed immediately.

"Everything is fine. I'll wait until you're ready to tell me everything."

Emma covered her face with her hands. There was a light breeze that night. A darkness that was previously filled only with the sound of tree branches touching each other, as well as dry fallen leaves flying around, creating a quiet rustle. That night, the crickets roared loudly in the background of Emma's cries. Through the slightly frosted glass of the window, William could clearly see the moon in a perfect circle.

"Take it all off, I don't mind listening." William patted Emma gently on the back.

Guilt and regret grew stronger at the sight of William, who was so worried about him. A man Emma watched from afar, though she never imagined she would be in this situation with William. Emma sobbed. That night he shed all his tears. Emma, ​​too, decided that she would tell him everything she had seen that night.

If this is the only way to get rid of her sinful feelings all this time, Emma is ready to admit that she is nothing more than a killer. Emma didn't care, though later on maybe William would never want to date her or just smile like he always did. Because he deserved it.

"Its Me. I am a murderer," he stammered.

"Sorry! I am a killer!"

The girl kept repeating the same sentence in front of Wi lliam. Causing the man to naturally petrify, staring at Emma's figure with question marks. 

To be continued ....