I-SHIRLEY

Detective Ackermann slowly walked out the entrance door of the victim’s house, with both his hands tucked firmly in his harem trousers. He took a few steps away from the crime scene and headed towards the deacon’s bench across the roadside. He realized the bench was as dusty as it could get but he still slumped into it without care. He leaned forward, placed his head in his hands, and groaned. Huge body-shaking sobs racked his body, each coming in a wave, he let out a low whimper. “When is this atrocity ever going to end?” He ran his left hand through his black messy hair repeatedly and reached out for his mobile phone with the other hand. He got into his contacts list and started scrolling down hastily with his thumb. He eventually stopped at the “S” column and phoned the first contact. The call got answered on the first ring. “Hello, Ackermann.” Said the called party. Detective Ackermann: How far away are you? We need to turn off the flashers; it’s still sleeping time for the neig

Shirley sat at the other side of the apartment, silently and attentively watching the horrific scene. She’d been completely lost in thought for several minutes that she didn’t realize that all her colleagues had cleared the room. The strong vibration from her ringing phone made her snap right out of it. She took a hesitant look around the room and then realized shortly after that she was alone. She chuckled. Shirley: Hey! Thanks for bringing me back. Everyone else left without notice. Ackermann: Wait… Huh? Shirley: Oh, never mind. What’s up? Ackermann: Well, I just woke up and, heard the news… He really killed a baby…? Shirley: Hmph… We need to put an end to this. I want to say “before this gets out of hand”, but it’s already gotten out of hand. Ackermann: I know right? Anyways I’m sure you didn’t get any sleep last night, so um, after you’re done there, direct Azriel to me then you go get some sleep, okay? Shirley: Yeah, alright. Sounds good. Shirley hopped out of the chair almost imm

I-Shirley Chapter 5 Shirley went into the kitchen to get herself a glass of water. She’d worn her hair up, smeared a good amount of Aloe Vera on her face, but kept the region around her eyes dry for the blindfold. Drinking water before bed was something Shirley had done almost all her life, though she only found out about the health benefits a few years ago. Throughout the years, she knew it was a good practice to drink a glass of warm water before going to bed; at least, that’s what her mother told her when she was still a little girl. The woman would bring her a glass of water, make her gulp everything and then send her to sleep. Sometimes if Shirley goes to sleep without drinking, it wouldn’t make a difference to the mother because she’d wake her daughter up and hand her the glass, and Shirley would always be annoyed with her for waking her up, but the mother wouldn’t mind. After some time, Shirley would get a glass of water, stand in front of the mother, and finish it to avoid an

REBEKAH MECEDA Rebekah had come across many villages even before she turned 21. The young woman had been on the road for over four years. She could have settled in either of the villages, but she refused to. She would say she didn't appreciate how this village smelled, and the next town she would say gave her a weird vibe, and she didn't like it. Every person in either of the villages wanted her to stay. Rebekah Maceda was a good "medicine woman" who had at least a piece of idea of every sickness and what kind of leaves or medicine could cure or control it. She left a mark on every village she passed through because she would attend to the sick and heal them. "You need to find a place to settle. These times of war aren't good, especially for young women like yourself." They would tell her and try to lure her to stay and take refuge in their village, but she wouldn't. Rebekah knew they wanted to scare her and make her stay, but she also knew they spoke true. The kind of world they w

Shirley and Azriel arrived at May's house fast. A drive that was supposed to take longer was shortened to about ten minutes. Luckily for them, there was no traffic, and Azriel herself was a fast driver. Watching her drive on a good day would make you feel like a formula one racing competition spectator. Shirley would tell her to relax behind the wheel; that is when Azriel is driving and alone in the car. But when Shirley's with her, she would ask her to feel free and operate the vehicle how she felt. Shirley enjoyed sitting beside Azriel when she was speeding, and she wouldn't get scared or anything – but when Azriel is driving alone, she gets worried for her. Weird really! Shirley untied the rubber band, released her hair, and made it run loose when they hopped out of the car. The vital air jiggled her hair slightly as she reached for her glasses and folded both temples around the middle of her blouse. Azriel drew closer to her, glared in her face from the side, and kept smiling sh