The door opened and I shielded my eyes from the light. I had been trapped in the dark basement for roughly three hours, but it felt more like a millennium due to my nyctophobia. My aunt set her arms akimbo and told me,

  "You can get out now."
  "Really? Thank you!" I said gratefully.

  I scampered out of the basement and rushed past my aunt. I then went to my bedroom, which was the attic, and hugged my bed upon my jumping unto it. Never have I felt so thankful that I made my room in the attic instead of the basement. I couldn't imagine how I would be able to sleep there. Who knew what was lurking around its corners? I shuddered at the thought of it. My aunt barged through the door to find me lounging on my bed.

  "Why were you in my room?" she interrogated.
  "I was just curious, auntie. You never let me in, so I felt like going into your room to find out what it was like," I said.
  "Don't you know how bad it is to break into someone's room? It's not nice at all, Grace. It's a crime," she said gravely.
  "I'm really sorry, auntie. I didn't mean to make you upset," I apologized.
  "Good. Make sure you don't do such things again," she said sternly.

  She walked out of the room and slammed the door behind her. It was just me, my room, and everything in it. What to do? I sat on my bed with my legs folded vertically when I noticed a chair. A wooden chair in the middle of the room. Then I gasped. Out of the blue, my mind flickered with thoughts and the little things in my mind started showing memories of the night prior.

I was restrained to a wooden chair. Tight ropes bound my arms and legs. The woman cackled as she watched me failing numerous attempts to free myself. Gale couldn't do anything, for he was shackled to the wall. The woman approached me and belted out a low laugh.

  "Poor girl. If only you were at your house, in the safe confines of your bedroom. She chose to intrude my place instead and free my captive," she said.
  "Please let me go," I pleaded.
  "Of course I'll let you go, little girl. But not just yet," she said, "I can't afford you to remember anything that happened this night. Guess I'll have to do something about it."
  "Like what?" I inquired. She didn't reply. She reached for some sort of helmet, which was connected to a kind of machine. She forced the helmet onto my head and strapped it. She then pressed a few buttons and I felt electricity bouncing around my mind. I felt overwhelmed. She let out a low laugh and pushed a final button before I collapsed.
  "Now you won't remember," she cackled.

  I just realized it: that woman erased my memory! No wonder I felt so empty inside. I was about to go to the police station when I felt something holding me back. I couldn't go there yet. I didn't find enough information on whom was the culprit. I extended my arm and grabbed hold of the suitcase. I then searched through the files and found that one particular name.

Marianna Desdemona Liana Nelson

  She was the one whom erased my memory. But, who was she really? I held the paper in a different angle and saw a pattern. I fumbled a pencil from my pencil case and underlined the pattern to form another name.

Marianna Desdemona Liana Nelson

  Madeline. My aunt's name. She was the criminal this whole time and I had been living with her for seven years! I had to tell them. I kept the files in my suitcase and was about to depart when I realized something: my aunt wouldn't let me go out. I would have to wait. In the meantime, I would have to gather evidence that my aunt was the culprit in this case.
It was dinner time and I had laid out the table while my aunt cooked the food. Unlike other nights, my aunt was silent. She would glare at me while I ate my food without disturbance. Whenever I tried to start a conversation, she would say,

  "I pretty much prefer, Grace, if you would keep your mouth closed."

  It wasn't just for dinner time. It was for the whole week, from Monday till Saturday. She wouldn't open any conversation, simply because I broke into her bedroom. Did I mention that she could hold grudges for centuries? She seemed to have one against me. I didn't care. After all, she wouldn't be my caretaker once I expose her act.

  It was another Saturday afternoon and my aunt had gone out to do the groceries. I invaded my aunt's bedroom once more, bringing my camera with me. I then took a few pictures of the diary entry that I read during my first visit and took a few more pictures of the note that I found. I then crept stealthily out of the room without leaving a trace. When it was ten o'clock at night, I crept out of my bedroom and to the abandoned warehouse. I brought my camera, flashlight and pocket knife with me. I was ready to find Gale in the room when I opened it.

  Gale wasn't there.

  I was about to leave when I noticed that the room had the chair I was restrained to and the machine that was used to erase my memory. I took a few photographs before heading out of the warehouse.

  The next day, I went to the nearest printing shop to have some of the evidence printed. Once I had printed one page back-to-back, I hurried back home and continued working on the files. What was best was that my aunt didn't know that I knew her all about her crime.

  The following Sunday was not as dark as the last week, nor as bright as the one two weeks before. I brought my suitcase along with me to church so I wouldn't have to drop by my house to pick it up. Once the mass had ended, I proceeded to the police station and met with Officer Philips.

  "Good morning, Grace," she greeted me.
  "Good morning, Officer Philips. I just found out whom the culprit was and I have evidence to show you," I said.
  "Really? That's very good news! Show me and we'll can settle the case," she said.

  I showed Officer Philips the evidence that I had gathered and explained what I had found. She was surprised with my find and she told her colleagues. They then dispatched a team of policemen to arrest my aunt. We went to my house and they barged in, quickly apprehending her. She cursed at them and claimed that she didn't do the crime, claiming that she was innocent, until she saw me in front of her. She knew that I had found out about her wrongdoings.

  "Don't lie, auntie," I said. She glared at me.
  "I fed you and brought you up, yet this is how you repay me?" she scolded me.
  "I can always find food and money, but my parents are irreplaceable. I'm sorry, auntie. You have to face the consequences," I told her. She hung her head low as they escorted her into the police car. Before she climbed in, she looked at me and said,
  "You can still bear to look at me? After all that I've done?"
  "I can bear to look at anyone," I said, "but I hardly have anymore trust in you."

  Just as they escorted her to the police station, another team of officers investigated the basement. They used their flashlights whilst looking around. They found torture equipment and hate notes, which were directed to my family, in the basement. A small trail of dried blood led them to Gale, whom my aunt had been hiding from the world. He was beaten and bruised from head to toe. They took him upstairs and I ran into him, clinging on to his unconscious body, relieved that we had found him still alive. Since he was in a terrible health condition, they took him to the hospital. I paced back on forth whilst Officer Philips comforted me.

  "I'm so nervous. What if he doesn't make it? He's had a poor health record," I voiced out. Officer Philips patted me on the back.
  "Don't worry, dear. He'll be fine. Remember when you found him in that warehouse? He should be able make it. After all, he had survived seven years of that. He'll be fine," she assured me.
  "I'm just so scared. It's just that... his injuries are beyond severe. He might not recover," I said. The nurse came out of the patient's room. I stood up and quickly approached her.
  "How's he doing?" I inquired in a fast tone.
  "He's gradually regaining his health, but his condition is still critical. You will have to wait very long before he can be discharged," she said.
  "Like how long?" I asked.
  "About four to five months," she replied. Officer Philips stood up from her seat and stood next to me.
  "May we go in?" she asked.
  "You may," the nurse replied.

  We entered the hospital ward. Poor Gale was lying on the bed, injections piercing nearly every part of his body. He was covered in bandages. I could hardly bear to look at someone whom was in so much pain that he couldn't even wake up. I stood on his left and waited for him to open his eyes. When I was tired, I walked towards the left side of the room and sat on the sofa. A curtain separated Gale from the rest of the room.

  Officer Philips and I spent the next five days 'living' inside the hospital room. I was just lucky that the hospital was near the school, for I barely had any money to pay for transportation. It was on the sixth day that Gale was starting to regain consciousness. Soon, he was getting significantly healthier. My fervent prayers had been answered! We were finally allowed to get near him. There he laid, looking much better than the last time I saw him. His sparkling eyes opened and took a glimpse of me. I quickly embraced him, careful not to hug too tight, and didn't let go. I was just so happy to have him back. He then asked me,

  "Who are you?"
  "Your sister," I replied.