Being cautious had never been one of Ren's greatest virtues, and he knew it. But this time it wasn't about prudence, but persistence. He didn't want to ignore what he had seen.
He needed to understand everything.
However, when he searched in the trash, the pill blisters were no longer there. Neither were the ones he had kept before going to sleep.
"They disappeared," he murmured.
His stomach tightened.
He extended his hand toward the edge of the table, as if he needed to lean on something firm.
For Ren, none of that was right. Miya was not in the house. The pills weren't there either. And that sudden emptiness felt far too intentional.
Ren slowly turned around, observing every corner.
Everything looked the same and, at the same time, different. The house didn't look dangerous, but for the first time he felt that it was not a home, but a structure closing around him.
Like a prison.
Ren headed toward the front door with hurried steps. He needed air, distance, and to think.
But about what? He already knew very well that being there had not been the best decision of his life.
But before he could fully open the door, someone appeared on the other side.
"Hello, Ren."
It was Leida's brother.
Ren remained still for a second.
Since he had arrived at that house, no one had visited them, not even Miya's brother nor Leida herself, who had become friends with Ren.
"Hello…" he replied, trying to control the tremor in his voice.
The boy standing in front of Ren had a tense face, restless eyes, and dry lips.
His posture was not relaxed at all, but distrustful.
"Have you seen my sister?"
Ren answered too quickly.
"No."
Since the day he had gone to buy, he hadn't seen her again. Or at least that was what he had to say.
He tried to keep his voice steady.
"Did something happen?"
The young man brought a hand to the back of his neck, uneasy.
"My sister hasn't appeared since yesterday."
Ren's eyes widened without him being able to stop it. An idea began to form in his mind, an absurd possibility that he tried to reject immediately. He slightly moved his head, pointing toward the interior of the house with an involuntary glance.
"At what time did she disappear?"
"She went out at night for something… but she didn't come back."
Ren felt a slight tremor in his fingers. The boy in front of him noticed it.
"Do you know something, Ren?"
Ren looked away.
"No. I don't know anything."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes… right now I'm busy and I can't give you much time. But later I can help you look for her if she still doesn't appear."
Ren stepped back while speaking and placed his hand on the door.
"If you need anything, let me know."
He tried to close it, but the boy tried to stop it.
"Ren," the young man insisted, placing his hand on the frame. "Please… tell me if you know something."
Ren didn't answer. He pushed the door with force so he could close it.
The knocking didn't take long to come, but he no longer heard it clearly. His mind was somewhere else.
He slowly turned toward the hallway.
Toward that white door.
The same one Miya had spoken about months ago with a strange naturalness. The same one that had always remained closed.
Ren walked with stiff steps toward where his gaze kept pointing, even though inside everything was screaming at him to stop.
When he reached his goal, Ren grabbed the handle and tried to open the door, but he couldn't.
"Is it locked…?"
He tried to turn it, push it, and lift it slightly, but nothing.
The resistance of that white wood only fed his need to open it.
He had already experienced that sensation when it took him a full month to buy a book or, well, to finish it.
Ren looked around. On the table was still the knife he had used ever since the kitchen became his second home.
Carefully he took it.
He didn't think too much about what he had to do with it.
He inserted the blade into the slot, forcing the mechanism with tense hands. It took him several minutes to open it. Until something gave way.
The door slowly opened.
Old, heavy air came out from inside.
Darkness was the only thing Ren could see at that moment before the little light filtered inside.
A smell of accumulated dust and damp wood filled his nostrils. Ren turned on the flashlight on his cellphone to reveal the little visibility completely. This revealed cobwebs stretched across the corners, worn beams, and steps descending toward what seemed to be the basement.
For the first time since he arrived at that house, Ren felt he was about to cross a limit from which he could not return.
***
Ren descended cautiously.
Each step creaked under his weight. The wood was old, weakened by humidity and time. For a moment he thought that if he placed his foot wrong, everything would give way and he would fall into the void. Even so, he continued.
Nothing stopped him, and perhaps no one would stop him until he found what he thought was down there.
With the cellphone in his hand he illuminated the space. The beam of light revealed dust suspended in the air, cracked beams, and above all, silence.
Too much silence.
A part of him wished to find nothing. He almost begged for it. And for a few seconds it seemed that his wish came true, because there was no one there. Only dust, darkness, and abandonment.
But something didn't fit.
The sensation persisted.
So he moved a little further, moving the light from side to side, until something different caught his attention.
A black bag almost the same as the one from the previous day, although much larger. It was in a corner, half hidden behind some old boxes.
Ren approached slowly. He hesitated for a second before opening it, but he was already there and he wasn't going to stop.
Quickly he opened it. Inside there were only clothes like any other, although a barely visible stain caught his attention.
Ren took one of the garments and observed it more carefully.
What he saw took the air from him. Dry blood spread across the white fabric.
When he checked the others, he discovered it wasn't the only one. All of them were stained.
"Shit…"
The word escaped his lips without a filter. He had never said something like that. But his mind needed to expel what he was seeing, even if it was with an awkward insult.
For Ren that was enough.
He didn't want to be there.
He immediately turned and climbed the steps in a hurry, feeling that the air was becoming heavier with each step.
Suddenly he stopped.
At the entrance, blocking the exit, was Miya.
The light descending from the hallway outlined her like a bright star. Her expression, although serene, did not seem to contrast with the knife she was holding.
With a calm voice, too calm for the scene, she said:
"It seems my little secret has been discovered."
Chapter 34: Prisoner by Love