" AT COLLEGE "
Nimmy is sitting alone in the classroom. She is drawing something in the book in her hand.
(Nimmy is very silent.)
When no one is in the classroom, she sits alone and draws something.
"Hey girl!"
Someone called her from behind. She slowly turned around, but no one was there. Suddenly, the classroom door shut from the inside.
"No...!!"
Nimmy tried to open the door, but it wouldn't budge.
"Help! Is anyone outside...?"
She called out loudly for help.
"Nova!!!"
She called for Nova, but no one came.
"Miss Nimmy."
A voice heard somewhere before... Nimmy slowly turned around. The person was standing behind her, near the window.
It was the very same person they had seen in the rain and the dark that day. Nimmy froze, not knowing what to do.
"You didn't expect this at all, it seems?"
He slowly walked towards her.
"You are extremely beautiful, quiet one. Girls like you attract me instantly."
He slowly touched her hair. Then, he slowly tightened his grip around her neck. His nails began to dig into her neck.
"Ahhhh!"
Nimmy couldn't bear the pain.
"I feel pity for you in this state, my child! But what can be done? You saw me, didn't you?"
He tightened his grip on her. Nimmy started choking. She frantically beat at his hand.
"First you, then your sister, Nova. Her, just like this."
Nimmy began to thrash, struggling against death.
"Nimmy!!!!!!"
She suddenly opened her eyes. The other students and the teacher were now around her.
"Nimmy!! What happened?"
Nimmy finally regained her composure. "Nimmy... what happened?" the teacher asked again.
She looked at the teacher, her vision blurred, and blood began to flow from her nose.
"Take her to the medical room!"
Nova and the other students immediately rushed Nimmy to the medical room.
A few hours later, Nimmy opened her eyes.
"Nimmy!"
Nova was right there beside her.
"What happened to you, Nimmy?" Nova asked.
But Nimmy was still immersed in fear. She didn't know what to tell Nova. Every time Nova asked, she just looked into her eyes. She stared blankly, worried that Nova might not believe her if she told her.
"Nimmy!!!!" Nova called out loudly.
"Eh... Ah," Nimmy looked at her, startled.
"Didn't you understand what I asked?"
"What?" Nimmy asked again.
"What happened to you?" she asked once more.
"It... I don't know," Nimmy said.
Nova found that hard to believe.
"Nimmy... what happened?" she asked again.
"Hey, I really don't know. I saw something in a dream, that's all."
"What ?" Nova asked suspiciously. "What did you see?"
"It was some kind of creature... Who remembers that now ?" Nimmy started changing the subject.
"Really?!"
"Then what is this ?" Nova asked, moving Nimmy's hair to reveal a mark on her neck.
"This... How did this happen!" Nimmy touched it, shocked. She looked at Nova, stunned. "This..."
Just as she was about to speak, Nova quickly moved her own hair and showed the mark on her neck. Seeing that, Nimmy shivered. Something had happened to Nova too.
"This... You too... When?" she stammered.
"Nimmy, I know what you saw and what happened to you." Nova looked at her.
"What do we do now?" Nimmy asked, scared.
"Nimmy, don't worry. Nothing will happen to you, me, or our family."
"What?"
"Nimmy, he is certain that we saw him, that's why he is trying to destroy us."
"Nova... He... he is not human!!" Nimmy said, terrified.
"Yes, perhaps he is not human. But we must be careful so that he can't harm us."
"What can we do now for that, Nova???"
"There are many ways, Nimmy. You must not surrender your mind to fear and tension."
"Nova, how can you say that? Look, he tried to kill both of us, and that too in a dream. Doesn't that make you realize how powerful he is?"
"Yes, because of that, should I always be scared? Nimmy, we must be careful now, that is what I am saying."
Due to the events that transpired there, they had to go home early that day. Nimmy was truly terrified, knowing that the person was now searching for them to kill them. It was their usual routine to get off the bus and walk home. They started walking towards their house.
Nimmy suddenly grabbed Nancy's (Note: The text uses Nancy here, but based on previous context, this should likely be Nova, her sister) hand and walked clinging close to her. Nova couldn't understand anything, but she was certain that her sister was still immersed in that fear.
"Nimmy," Nova called her.
Nimmy looked at her slowly. "Don't be afraid, I am with you," she tried to comfort Nimmy.
"You being here is my only fear. If you hadn't gone and stood there, would we have this problem now?"
"I made a mistake."
"That's right, you made a mistake, and because of it, our lives are now at stake, Nova."
Nova didn't know what to say to calm her down.
They reached the spot where they had seen the man the previous day. When they arrived there, Nimmy became intensely scared. She quickly pulled Nova away from the spot.
The Killer's Trail ::
The news of the girl's corpse being found spread like wildfire across the country. It severely affected the people in the village and the city. Everyone was fearful. In quick succession, three girls went missing. Two of them were found brutally murdered. All the girls were around the same age and were killed very savagely. In each case, some part of the body was missing when the corpse was discovered. First, the girl's fingers and face. The second girl had a portion of her chest cut out and two of her teeth were missing. A very unusual killer. None of the recovered bodies were clothed—they were naked—but they had not been sexually assaulted.
There was no evidence of who took the girls. The bodies were found in deserted locations, either tied up or hanging. So far, the killer has not been apprehended.
After an interval of a few days, here is the next corpse found. Near the B2nd Street, away from the city. She was also a girl, the same age as the other deceased girls that were found, and she, too, had been cruelly tormented. Her tongue and eyes were missing.
Only one girl has escaped from this killer, and she was saved by Shinova. However, even though she was saved, that girl is in a coma.
Even the police are unable to crack this case, as no evidence remains for any of these incidents.
What is the killer's goal? Why is he killing so many girls? When his hunt subsided for a while, everyone thought he had disappeared. But that was just a feeling.
Ever since hearing Shinova speak, Nancy has been sitting in extreme fear. No matter what, she knew there was no lie in what Shinova had said because she had seen a ghost face-to-face.
Nancy is alone at home now. She is very scared after hearing everything Shinova told her.
"What all is happening here? They say there are no ghosts, but there are. I saw one, who can I tell? Is my life now in danger, and not even because of my own fault? Oh my God!!!"
She kept muttering to herself even while cooking in the kitchen.
{Tap, Tap}
Someone is outside. Hearing the sound, she came to the hall. The time on the clock was 11:35 PM.
"Who could it be at this hour?"
Thinking this, she slowly walked towards the door.
She slowly opened the door, but no one was outside.
"Huh."
As she tried to step back inside, she felt like someone was standing on one side outside. A sudden alarm went off inside her. No one had ever come there like that before. The things Shinova had told her started rushing back into her mind.
"This is..."
She froze, terrified.
It was a person wearing a black raincoat. Since he was standing with his back turned, his face was not clear. She slowly picked up a long umbrella that was kept on the side.
"Who is it?" she asked quietly.
But the person did not reply...
"WHO IS IT....!!!!?" she asked again, raising her voice.
He still didn't speak. She slowly tapped his shoulder with the umbrella she held. The moment he suddenly turned, Nancy began hitting him mercilessly with the umbrella.
"I won't be afraid of you...,"
She continued to hit him without stopping.
"Miss, Miss... Nancy... It's me...." the person tried to say.
"Huh, my name... So you're a ghost who knows me, aren't you? Didn't you get enough, you lustful demon...!!!" She continued to hit him without stopping.
"Miss... Nancy....!!!"
He grabbed the umbrella from her and then pulled down the mask on his face.
"Miss Nancy.... It's me, Kevin!!"
That's when she recognized the person.
"Kevin... Which Kevin???" she asked.
"Miss, don't you recognize me? Kevin, who came to your office today to talk to Miss Shinova about a dog missing case!"
That's when the situation clicked for her.
"Oh, Kevin. Okay." She stepped back with a sigh of relief.
"Are you okay???" Kevin asked fearfully.
"Yes... I'm fine."
He gently placed the umbrella down. She took him inside.
"What are you doing here now?" she asked, suspiciously.
"Well, I came to discuss the advertisement. And Miss Shinova asked for a photo of my dog, so I thought I'd give it." He took out the photo and showed her.
"But you needed to see Shinova. Why did you come here?"
"Well, when I asked for the address at the office, they told me this was Miss Shinova's address. That's why I came. It was only when I arrived that I realized I got the wrong person." He said, recalling the earlier events.
"Oh. I'm really sorry, I thought..."
"That I was the psycho killer, right?" he asked.
"Hey..."
"I don't blame you. That's what's happening here now, isn't it? So many murders."
She gave him tea.
"What happened with your dog?"
"It's still missing," he said sadly.
Suddenly, a sound came from the cooker on the stove. The moment the whistle sounded, the glass in Kevin's hand dropped to the floor.
"Kevin..."
She stood there, startled. "What happened?"
He quickly picked up the pieces of glass and put them on the table.
"Hey, it's nothing. I was startled when I suddenly heard the sound. Sorry."
He was slightly trembling. "It's okay."
He quickly left the place after that.
Nancy's suspicions continued to grow.
Shinova is now plunging into intense tension. If at first the problem was only her dreams, now the changes within her are severely weakening her. Shinova is starting to reach the same mental state she was in when only the dreams haunted her. Many changes have already occurred within her.
Now, she only has two people left to trust: Devis and Nancy. No one else, apart from them, would believe her.
Shinova felt a general restlessness from sitting in the room for so long. She started to feel as if someone was lurking behind the darkness of the room. She picked up her phone and called Devis.
"Shinova..." he answered.
"Yes..."
"What is it? Did something happen?" He sounded slightly scared.
"Hey, no, nothing like that. I just called." She said softly.
"Devis, are you free?"
"I will be in a little while... why?"
"Well... I feel restless staying in the room, so I thought we could go out. If Devis is with me, it would help if any problem arises, right?"
He chuckled upon hearing her response.
"Of course, let's go."
Devis immediately set aside his work and went out. Darren was watching all of this from a distance.
In a short time, Devis arrived in front of Shinova's room. Knowing he had arrived, Shinova came out of the room. He was shocked by her appearance. She was wearing pants that covered her legs, an oversized hoodie, and the hood was pulled over her head. In addition to all this, she was wearing a mask and gloves.
"Shinova... why are you dressed like this?" he asked, startled.
"There are reasons, Devis, I'll explain."
They went to a nearby park.
"Shinova, are you okay? Why are you dressed like this?" he asked.
She slowly pulled back the hood of her hoodie. Her hair had now completely changed to a venomous blue color. Her pupils had also turned the same color. She slowly took off the gloves. The veins on her palms were now clearly visible in a blue hue.
"What is all this, Shinova?" he asked with astonishment.
"I don't know, Devis. This is the new problem. I feel like I am transforming into something. Look at my hair, my eyes, my hands. Everything." she said, scared.
"Hey, don't worry. We must find the reason for this immediately."
"Yes. All this time it was just dreams, and now this. I'm tired, Doctor. The moment I accept one thing, the next one appears."
"Don't get stressed, Shinova."
"It's not that. It feels like all my calculations have gone wrong... like everything is starting over from the beginning." she said, thinking deeply.
"What?" Devis asked, confused.
"Everything—the murders, the problems, the dreams. I must find out what his goal is, Devis!" she stated firmly.
"But didn't you say he is not human? Then how?"
"He is human, a human with superhuman power. A cruel person who kills innocents for some unknown purpose. He lives as both a human and a superhuman simultaneously."
Devis was shocked!
"How?"
"Like me. There is some kind of supernatural element behind everything that is happening to me. Every change in me points to that, Devis. His target might even be me."
"Then?"
She looked at him slowly.
"Stopping him is what I must do now. To subdue him, shouldn't we first find out who he is? He is observing me, so he is connected to something in my life. What is it?"
"What connection does he have with you?" Devis asked, doubtfully.
"That's what we must find out first. He knows my mother too. He is someone connected to my mother, or he knows something about her, even my mother's death."
She slowly looked up at the sky. Old memories rushed back into her mind.
Shinova was always in the room where Sarah (her mother) was kept chained. The sky was clearly visible through the window of that room.
One night, the sky was full of stars. Little Shinova was leaning on her mother's lap.
"Mom, look at the sky. So many stars. It looks so beautiful." She looked up at the sky.
"Yes, but you, sitting on my lap, are an even more beautiful star, Shinova." Sarah said, stroking her hair.
"They say that the dead become stars in the sky. Is that true, Mom? If so, won't you also shine in the sky like that someday?"
Hearing Shinova's question, Sarah smiled and replied, "Those are just beliefs, Shinova. A star is never anyone's soul." Shinova's face fell upon hearing Sarah's answer.
"Then what is a star?" she asked, looking up at the sky.
"Stars, my child, are actually huge balls of fire."
"Burning balls?" Shinova asked, confused.
"Yes. They are luminous celestial spheres made of gases like hydrogen and helium. Huge spheres."
Shinova's eyes were filled with wonder.
"Huge? But they look so tiny."
Hearing that, Sarah laughed.
"Stars are very far away from us, that's why they seem small to us."
"Then they are not the dead?" Shinova's face fell.
"I told you, those are just people's beliefs, my child. Maybe they are."
"Then will you also go there someday, far away from me?"
Hearing that, Sarah looked up at the sky.
"It's not just me, Shinova. Every creature born on Earth must eventually bid farewell to this soil. That is the law of nature, my child. When one life ends, the pulse of another life begins on this Earth. That is the rule. Today me, tomorrow you, everyone has to go. Even if we go far away, separated from those we love, we can always watch over them. Perhaps that's what the existence of stars is for."
"So, will you become a star too?"
Sarah looked into Shinova's eyes.
"Never. After my death, I don't wish to become a star."
"Then what?"
"I wish to become a firefly."
"A firefly?"
"Yes. Instead of becoming a star and watching you from afar, how much better it is to be a firefly and stay with you, giving you a tiny light in any darkness. I will be with you as a small light in every situation, Shinova."
She held Shinova close to her chest.
(Back to the Present)
"Shinova...."
Devis called her, shaking her gently.
"What happened? Why the sudden thought?"
"Oh, nothing."
Since it was late, they started walking forward to leave. As she walked, Shinova turned back slightly. A group of fireflies was blinking and flying in the darkness between the trees. Seeing this, Shinova's eyes welled up slightly.
"I know, Mom, that you are always with me," she said in her heart.
The two of them left the area.
From the darkness behind where the fireflies were flying, a person stepped forward. He caught one of the fireflies and crushed it between his fingers, killing it.
"You too will writhe in my hand like this one day, Shinova".....