I sat at my desk, sipping tea. The air conditioner was on, the windows were open, and there was no noise. How beautiful this feeling is—I wish it could last long.
The phone rang, declaring war on my peace and stubbornly ruining my mood.
—What do you want?
Caller: "Captain, we found a body in an alley."
I hit my hand on my head, saddened by the ruined mood.
—Okay, I'm coming.
...
I went to the alley and found a young girl, lifeless, powerless, with an injection next to her—looks like an air injection.
—Have you confirmed her identity?
—Yes, Mr. Ramadan.
Ramadan: Who is she?
—Her name is Reham. We found it on her ID card.
Ramadan: Then inform her family.
.....
At the police station,
"Please calm down, Mrs. Reham."
Mrs. Reham, crying: "I was more saddened by her suicide message on Facebook than by her death."
Ramadan: "Do you think your daughter would commit suicide?"
Mrs. Reham: "True, she was bullied and had a hard life, but I doubt she chose this."
I wanted to see the message... Ramadan said, reaching to take the phone.
(I want whoever loves me to forgive me. I couldn't continue my life. I am truly sad. I try to pretend to be happy and content, but I'm full of great pain. It started with bullying because of my appearance, then envy, then betrayal from someone who was supposed to ask for my hand but hurt me and backed off. I'm tired of life and tired of betrayal and bullying. I will leave this sick world; this is not my place. I can't bear anything more in life. I'm sorry, Mom, sorry, Dad. See you in a better place.)
Ramadan was silent, then looked at the crying Mrs. Reham and said, "I wish you patience and strength in this hardship."
...
After Mrs. Reham left,
"What do you think, Ramadan?"
Ramadan: "What, Mustafa?"
Mustafa: "I mean, are you sure it's suicide?"
Ramadan: "I don't know, but all evidence supports it. But there's always a thought of conspiracy theory."
Mustafa: "You mean someone killed her and made it look like suicide?"
Ramadan: "It's possible."
Mustafa: "How do we make sure?"
Ramadan smiled slightly and adjusted his seat: "We wait for full forensic reports and ask for the time of death, then compare it with the message's time."
Mustafa: "You mean if the message is after death, it might be murder?"
Ramadan: "Not the best solution, but yes."
.....
At the funeral,
Many came, including students, even the girls who used to bully her, as if their conscience awakened and they were regretful.
But a boy came and greeted Reham's father:
"My deepest condolences."
The father: "Thank you, but who are you?"
"I'm Ramy," he pretended to be sad, "I helped her in studying."
.....
Ramy left the funeral and went to his home, a small apartment in a building. But a friend was walking with him.
Friend: "I'm really sad. She was very kind."
Ramy, sadly: "You're right."
Ramy heard a voice saying: "You're Reza, right?"
Ramy pretended not to know. Then the person stood in front of them and said: "You're Reza, right? Don't you remember me?"
Ramy smiled: "Sorry, you must be mistaken."
The person looked at Ramy's hand and saw some burn marks.
"No, you're Reza. I'm Mazen, a friend from the orphanage."
Ramy was silent for a moment.
"Ah, hello. How are you?"
Mazen: "Good. We should talk sometime."
Ramy smiled: "Sure." They exchanged numbers.
...
Ramy's friend, confused: "Why did he call you Reza?"
Ramy: "Honestly, we used to use nicknames when we were kids in the orphanage, so it stuck with us."
Friend: "Okay, seems like a hard past."
Ramy smiled.
.....
Ramy went up to his apartment. It looked old, with iron balls on the ceiling that gave a different look. He grabbed paper and pen and said:
"My learning process with Reham is done. I think I left no evidence. I managed to hack her account to write the message before the killing and kept the fingerprints. I think everything went well." He frowned a little, then wiped his tear with difficulty and went in front of the mirror.
"I am not a killer. All I did was protect her from this world and from myself so she wouldn't face rejection or betrayal. I am not a killer." He hit the mirror with his hand.
He closed his eyes for a moment but opened them suddenly as if he remembered something important. He quickly went to the kitchen, brought a plate of rice and wrapped it to protect it, got milk and a cup, and put them in a bag.
Then he left the apartment.
..
He went on his way until he reached a car garage and entered. There was no car except one. He walked until he reached an old, broken door. He took a key from his pocket and opened the door. Complete darkness. He started descending the stairs; nothing was heard except his footsteps.
He descended until he reached a door where a voice started to be heard.
Ramy entered the door.
Here we found a very large room, white from all directions, everything inside was white as if we fell into a glass of milk.
Ramy looked at a person crying weakly and softly saying: "Finally, you came. I want food. I want to leave, please." The person kept crying.
Ramy looked and almost cried: "I'm really sorry. I was busy."
Ramy gave him food and said: "Here you go, Ramy. Sorry for being late and for impersonating your identity."