Six months had passed since her disappearance. Marlina, Merilton's wife, had vanished without a trace, leaving behind a husband full of pretences and fake sorrow. The story of Marlina traveling abroad to visit her parents, then returning home but never arriving, became a tale repeatedly told by Merilton until the neighbors and the police believed it, for Merilton was a well-known and influential figure. There was no reason for him to fabricate the story, as Marlina had seemed happy before her disappearance.
In the seventh month, Merilton finally opened the door to the basement of his house to check on Marlina. Merilton and Orena exchanged a brief glance. They both slowly descended the stairs into the quiet, dusty, cobweb-filled basement.
However, as they reached the last step, their gaze froze. In the dimly lit room, a thin blanket was covering something. Merilton pulled the blanket with trembling hands. When the blanket was removed, they were shocked to find only a skeleton, still dressed in a faded, torn white satin gown. Even the jewellery on the skull was still intact.
Merilton stood frozen, unable to suppress the sudden sense of relief that surged within him. Orena, standing beside him, merely smiled in satisfaction. "Finally," she whispered in a low voice. "It's over. We can move on with our lives without Marlina."
Merilton nodded slowly, but a feeling of guilt gripped his heart. A guilt he couldn’t explain, consuming his soul. For Marlina had died of starvation, enduring the agonizing pain of loneliness and darkness, like being in hell before heading to the real one. He coughed a few times, trying to steady himself. "We need to make sure everything is legitimate. Let’s take this to the hospital. We need confirmation," he said with a firm voice, though his heart was conflicted with various emotions.
They carefully wrapped the skeleton and took it out. Merilton drove quickly to the hospital, while Orena sat silently beside him, as if she had never known Marlina.
Upon arriving at the hospital, Hana, Marlina's mother, was waiting with hope, unaware of what awaited her. Hana came to the hospital to identify her daughter's body, the fastest way to confirm whether the skeleton they had found was Marlina’s. DNA results would take too long. In fact, Merilton refused a DNA test, claiming the skeleton was complete. Coincidentally, Hana had returned to the country to visit Marlina and Lysandra, but fate had written a different ending for her.
Hana, Marlina’s mother, and Lysandra sat on a hospital bench, her swollen eyes revealing her deep sadness, impossible to hide. Her child was gone without any explanation. She stared at the floor with vacant eyes, hoping it was just a dream that would vanish as soon as she woke up.
Merilton approached Hana.
"Mother, let me accompany you. Let’s go see Marlina," he said, leading Hana, his mother-in-law. Merilton's face was dishevelled, his clothes untidy. Hana observed her son-in-law for a moment. Eventually, the middle-aged woman walked beside Merilton.
Hana only gazed at him, but her heart could not shake the growing doubt. "Is this really true?" she asked, her voice filled with uncertainty. "Is this my daughter?"
Merilton pretended to nod with deep sorrow, though deep inside, he felt joy and excitement, which he suppressed from showing. "Mother, we must accept the truth. Our life with Marlina has ended," he said with a heavy voice, pretending to comfort his grieving mother-in-law.
Orena watched them from a distance, ensuring her presence didn’t raise any suspicions. The cynical smile on her lips never faded, even though the surroundings were filled with sadness and confusion.
"Excuse me, ladies and gentlemen," said the doctor calmly. "You may identify your daughter now." The young doctor called Hana to identify Marlina’s skeleton.
Hana pulled the white blanket off the skeleton. As if struck by an electric shock, her entire body trembled. Tears flowed uncontrollably. "No... no, this can't be!" she cried, clutching her chest. "This... this isn’t my daughter?"
Merilton froze, unsure of what to say.
"Mother, please, just take a look, have some compassion for Marlina," Merilton pleaded.
Hana finally gave in to his urging. She looked back at the skeleton before her. She held one of the fingers of the skeleton's hand. A ring she had given Marlina was on one of those fingers. A solid gold ring with a diamond, engraved with the letter 'M.' Hana’s gaze shifted to the chain around the chest area, hidden by the faded satin gown. A gold chain, matching the ring she had given Marlina. As far as she knew, her daughter never took off that jewellery.
"This is Marlina, my daughter," Hana said, making the final confirmation. She then covered her daughter’s skeleton with the blanket.
The young doctor made a note on a piece of paper.
"You may proceed to the waiting area now. I’ll see you shortly," he said, opening the morgue door for Hana and Merilton to exit.
Hana and Merilton sat in the waiting chairs outside the morgue.
"Mother, I’ll arrange the funeral for Marlina. You have the details, right?" asked Merilton.
"I forgot everything in the rush to get here. It’s at home in Switzerland, dear. Didn’t you ask me to keep it as far away from Marlina as possible?" said Hana, looking at Merilton with a questioning expression.
"Oh, right, mother. It’s fine, it’s not a problem," Merilton replied. Killing Marlina was so easy, convincing everyone that she was dead was even easier, and burying her without any documents was child's play... Merilton smiled, glancing at Orena, who was hidden behind a decorative plant nearby.
"Madam, here is your daughter's jewellery," said the morgue assistant, handing it to Hana. "As per your son in law’s request, your daughter has been taken to the crematorium at the end of this building, turn left and you’ll arrive. Your daughter will be cremated shortly, please proceed."
Before Hana could say anything, Merilton spoke first.
"Mother, it's not that I don't want to bury Marlina and mark her grave, but Marlina always requested that her body be cremated when she passed, and her ashes scattered in a river near her house in Switzerland. That river must have been special to Marlina, which is why she made that request," Merilton said, holding Hana’s hand tightly. If Marlina turned to ash, the investigation would end, he whispered to himself. But it had to be done quickly before more people found out, his mind echoed.
Hana held the urn containing Marlina’s ashes, which had been placed in a paper bag. Merilton returned to his house and invited Hana to come with him, but she declined, not wanting to add to her grief. For her, the ashes and jewellery were enough memories. She planned to take them to Switzerland, as Marlina had requested.
In the rented vehicle, Hana pulled out a folded report attached to the urn and read it carefully.
Gender: Uncertain. The pelvic bones were missing, and the size of the bones had changed due to weathering and soil erosion over time.
Erosion? How could the bones of someone who had only been missing for six months erode so quickly from the weather and soil? Hana continued reading.
Height: 7 feet
Huh? Marlina was only 5 feet 7 inches tall. Was this report a mix-up? Hana began to grow suspicious. She continued reading, searching for the information she sought.
Name: Marlina Alejandro
Confirmed by: Hana Alejandro
"This can't be. This means Marlina is still alive and out there, safe. I knew it, Marlina must have found a way to save herself. So, all this time, Merilton has been pretending? Could it be that Merilton knew about the inheritance that had been transferred to Marlina? Or could he know that Marlina is..." Hana mumbled to herself.
Suddenly, the rental car window was knocked loudly. Hana’s thoughts about Marlina were interrupted as she lowered the window to see who was outside.
"Lysandra?" Hana froze in shock at the sight of Lysandra, in a horrifying and pitiful state. Hana quickly got out and guided Lysandra into the passenger seat of the car.
"Lysandra, why does your stomach look like it's about to burst? Why are you dressed like this, torn, dirty, smelling... and your hair is like a rope?" Hana asked, bombarding her daughter with questions as she examined her.
"Mother, help me, please. Don’t ask any more questions, just drive to this address before I die..." Lysandra begged, handing her mother the phone with a map of directions to Tenuksia’s house.
Lysandra closed her eyes, overwhelmed with pain. Hana froze, seeing Lysandra’s stomach, which appeared ready to burst at any moment.
Without wasting time, Hana pressed the gas pedal of the rental car and sped toward the direction Lysandra’s phone indicated. Her mind was consumed with questions about Lysandra’s condition.