My Ten Years of Silence: Whispers of the Dead

When I was sixteen, a killer broke into our house, tortured and murdered my mother, and burned the place to the ground, erasing all the evidence.

I was there. I watched the whole thing.

My dad, my uncle, the copsthey asked me over and over what happened that night.

I kept my mouth shut.

They thought the trauma had made me mute, so they handed me a pen and paper, asking me to write down what the killer looked like.

I still stayed silent. I didnt move a muscle.

Ten years later, Im twenty-six.

Because of my mothers unsolved murder, my dad and I had a falling out. We hadnt seen each other in eight years.

But suddenly, he showed up.

I came home from my shift to my tiny studio apartment, opened the door, and saw him sitting there with Uncle Leo. Both of them looked at me with freezing, cold eyes.

"Vivian, did you kill your mother?"

My body went completely rigid.

I clenched my teeth, glaring at him with pure rage.

He was my father.

How could he even think, for a second, that I would kill my own mother?

My dad read my expression and let out a cold, bitter laugh.

"Then why wont you tell us who did it?"

"Its been ten years, Vivian! How do you sleep at night? How do you eat?"

"When you dream, does Susans burned body crawl out and ask you why you didnt avenge her?!"

I avoided his eyes and looked down.

I didn't know how to face him.

He was only forty-six, but he looked sixty-four.

The night my mom died, his hair turned white overnight.

After that, he sold the house, the car, and everything we owned. He became obsessed, chasing leads like a madman, never giving up for ten long years.

Now his back was hunched, but the burning desire for revenge in his eyes was still as sharp as ever.

And now, he was locking onto me.

"Vivian, how long are you going to play mute?"

"Ive been following you. Youre not mute! I saw you talking with my own eyes"

Furious, he pulled out his phone and played a blurry video.

It was me, walking down the street.

At a corner, I suddenly stopped, looked up, and murmured, "Don't worry, don't worry..."

Then I looked down and kept walking.

I had no idea my own father was stalking and doubting me.

Suddenly, he grabbed my collar like a lunatic. "You know who the killer is! Why won't you speak? Why play dumb?"

"Theres only one explanation..."

"You did it!"

"You killed your mother!"

Leo couldn't take it anymore. He pulled David away from me. "Enough!"

"My sister was tortured for hours before she died. How could Vivian do that to her?"

My dads teeth gritted so hard I could hear them grinding.

"She hated her mother! Shes a psycho!"

"Shes capable of anything!"

"Even if she didn't pull the trigger, shes an accomplice!"

Looking into my dads bloodshot eyes, seeing the complex storm of emotions inside them,

I knew my worst nightmare had come true.

My dad had found out about the other case from ten years ago.

When I was sixteen, I was a sophomore in high school.

My parents were always out of town running their business, and my grandma was too old to look after me.

So my mom came back to our small town, rented an apartment for me, and stayed with me for a few months.

Because she had been away for so long, and I was at that sensitive, awkward teenage phase, we barely spoke. We werent close at all.

I went to school; she focused on her work.

I usually came home late, but because she had to meet clients, negotiate prices, and go to business dinners, she came home even later.

Once, I felt like someone was stalking me on my way home. I told her about it and asked her to pick me up after school.

She promised she would, but she flaked.

I waited for her at school until midnight. A massive thunderstorm hit.

I couldnt find anywhere to hide from the rain, so I had to run all the way home through the storm.

That night, the nightmare happened.

While taking a shortcut through a dark alley, the stalker jumped out and tackled me to the ground.

The pouring rain and loud thunder swallowed my screams.

When I finally stumbled back home, I was covered in half rain, half blood.

My mom was fast asleep on the couch, the living room smelling heavily of alcohol.

"Vivian?"

Woken up by the metallic smell of blood, my mom opened her eyes.

When she saw what I looked like, she sobered up instantly. She threw her arms around me and sobbed hysterically.

"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry..."

"Vivian..."

"Its all my fault. Its all my fault!"

She said she was on her way to get me, but then a supplier offered her a drink, and she thought she could get a cheaper deal if she stayed.

She thought Id be fine.

Ha.

Maybe because of the physical pain, or maybe because of the burning hatred, I pushed her away. I didn't want her to touch me.

I only said one word: "911."

My mom started crying even harder.

"We cant call the cops!"

"Vivian, if we call the cops, everyone in this town will know! How will you face people at school? What about your future? Your college applications?"

"Mom is here, okay?"

"I wont leave anymore. Ill stay here and protect you..."

But less than three months later, she was brutally murdered.

With her death, I thought that nightmare would stay buried forever.

But my dad had found out.

He slammed a worn, wrinkled notebook onto the table. "Your mother kept a diary. Before she died, she wrote down all the important things."

"She was afraid someone would find it, so she locked it in a metal box and hid it. It survived the fire, and now I have it."

My dad grabbed my collar again, shaking me. "Your mom made a mistake, but she didn't mean to! She didn't call the cops because she wanted to protect your reputation!"

"How could you kill her for that?"

"Are you even human?"

My dads screams made my ears ring.

Beside us, Leo didnt try to stop him this time. Instead, with trembling hands, he picked up the diary from the table.

It was indeed my mom's neat handwriting.

She had written about her guilt and how her negligence had led to my assault.

There were smudges on the paper, likely from her tears. I could feel her deep, agonizing regret in every word.

Leo finished reading, wiped his eyes, and said with a shaky voice, "David, calm down."

"Even with this... it doesn't prove Vivian is the killer."

"My sister was stabbed over thirty times, and there were signs of sexual assault. Vivian couldn't have done that."

Leo pushed my dad away, grabbing my hands with pleading eyes. "Vivian, did you hold a grudge against your mom, so youre hiding the killer to punish her? Is that why you won't help us find him?"

"I swear to God, Vivian, if you just tell us who did it so your mom can rest in peace, I will get him myself!"

"Ill carve up the bastard who hurt you with my own hands!"

Leos eyes were bloodshot, his gaze so intense I had to look away.

Before I could react, my dad let out another bitter laugh.

"You won't need to do that. That piece of trash is already dead. And Vivian probably killed him!"

"The police are already investigating. Well have answers soon."

"Vivian, I dont want to throw my own daughter in prison."

"But I cant let Susan rest in an unmarked grave of injustice. You forced my hand!"

They locked me in the room and took my phone.

I could only sit there, waiting for the police investigation.

My dad and Leo sat right outside, chain-smoking one cigarette after another.

Whenever I locked eyes with my dad, I realized he didn't see me as his daughter anymore. To him, I was an enemy. A monster that had tortured him for ten years.

I didnt blame him.

I did watch my mother get murdered. I saw the killer's face. I remembered everything.

But no matter what he did, he would never get a single word out of my mouth.

He loved my mom so much. After she died, getting revenge became the only thing keeping him alive.

He had ruined his life, living like a ghost for ten years just to find the killer.

But he had found nothing.

Then he discovered I could speak, that I wasn't actually mute from trauma, and that I was lying to him.

I was hiding the truth.

And then he found out about my assault.

And the man who assaulted me had died a brutal deathhis limbs broken and twistedon a dark street corner just a week before my mom was killed.

He suspected me.

In his mind, I had a motive, and I was crazy and ruthless enough to do it.

He believed I hated my mother, hired someone to kill her, and that was why I refused to name her killer.

It was a very logical theory.

I didnt defend myself.

I just silently waited for the police.

*Ring... Ring...*

My dads phone suddenly rang. He picked it up instantly.

Detective Millers voice, which I knew all too well, came through the speaker. "David, are you with Vivian?"

My dads voice was hoarse. "Yes! Did Vivian have anything to do with that bastards death?"

"Yes. Keep her there. Were on our way!"

The moment the call ended, my dads fist crashed heavily into my face.

"If you had the guts to kill the guy who hurt you, why did you have to hate your mother?"

"She didn't call the cops because she loved you! Things were different back then! She was terrified of the rumors destroying your life!"

"Before she came back home, she couldn't sleep at night. She would cry herself to sleep holding your picture!"

"How... how could you..."

He couldn't finish his sentence.

He completely broke down, burying his face in his hands, sobbing uncontrollably.

Leo smoked in silence, looking at me as if I were a stranger. A monster.

I held my swollen cheek, staring blankly at the ceiling.

A tear slipped down my cheek, feeling slightly warm.

I quickly wiped it away, whispering to myself in my head.

*Soon. Its almost over.*

*Everything will end very soon.*

Twenty minutes later, Detective Miller arrived with a few officers.

He pulled out a pair of cold handcuffs and snapped them onto my wrists.

"Vivian, you are under arrest in connection with a ten-year-old homicide. Come with us."

In the interrogation room, Detective Miller put a crime scene photo on the table.

Even though the man was dead, and even though ten years had passed.

Seeing his face made me shudder uncontrollably. A deep, primal fear shook my soul.

This was the man who had stalked and assaulted me ten years ago.

It took me a long time to calm my breathing.

Miller spoke. "Do you know him?"

I nodded.

"How?"

There was no point in hiding it anymore. I reached for the pen to write it down, but Miller coughed. "Cut the act, Vivian. Your dad told us you can talk. Youre not mute."

I let out a bitter smile, dropped the pen, and spoke. "He assaulted me."

"Why didn't you report it?"

"My mom wouldn't let me."

Millers voice turned incredibly sharp and intense. "So you took justice into your own hands and brutally murdered him?"

I shook my head. "I didn't kill him."

"Still denying it? Ten years ago, we couldn't solve this case because of limited forensics. But after your dad prompted us to look into it again, we re-examined the victim's preserved fingernail scrapings. We found your skin cells. The DNA is a perfect match."

Before I could say anything, Miller stood up, leaning over the table to pressure me. "Confess now, and Ill talk to the DA for a plea deal. You were a minor ten years ago. You won't get a long sentence."

"But if you keep fighting this, you will rot in prison for the rest of your life!"

I just blinked, my expression unchanged.

I wasn't afraid of prison.

Ten years ago, I had already prepared myself to spend the rest of my life behind bars.

But now was not the time.

Miller was bluffing. His evidence was weak, and he didnt have enough to convict me.

I took a deep breath and looked him dead in the eye. "I told you, I didn't kill him."

"Then why is your DNA on his body?"

I shook my head. "I dont know. I dont remember much from ten years ago. If you have solid proof, lock me up. If you don't, let me go."

After that, no matter what they asked, I remained dead silent.

Forty-eight hours later, they had nothing, and they had to release me.

But the moment I stepped out of the precinct, my dad and Leo forced me into their car.

Detective Miller pretended not to see, staying close by just to make sure things didn't get violent.

Inside the car, my dad glared at me with bloodshot eyes. "You talked to the detective. Drop the act."

"Im asking you one last time. What happened the night your mother died?"

"I swear to God, Vivian, if you keep lying to me, I will do something crazy."

"You can hire a hitman? So can I! I have plenty of ways to make you talk!"

He looked completely insane.

This unsolved case had lasted ten years.

Ten years of my mothers ghost begging for justice.

It had driven everyone crazy.

Honestly, I was losing my mind, too.

Fortunately, I could finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.

"Just wait. Give me one last month."

"In one month, I will tell you everything."

My dad gritted his teeth, shaking with rage. "Why a month? What game are you playing?"

I didn't answer. I looked out the window.

Floating just outside the car was a soul that only I could see.

She had been with me for ten years, and now she was about to fade away completely.

I smiled slightly and waved in my mind. *Goodbye, Mom. I'll be a good girl.*

But in reality, I wouldnt.

I had lied to my dad for ten years.

And I had lied to her for ten years, too.