Another World: Another World, #1

By Vivien Jusztin

I have always blamed you for my decisions for my losses. Always and always. I never really assumed the responsibility. And everything is the consequence of my actions. No XY is wrong, not XZ, but me.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Vivien Jusztin
• Release date: Jun 15, 2024
• ISBN: 9798227735478

Vivien Jusztin

Vivien tells stories from the shadows, where the line between reality and imagination blurs. In her writing, silence holds secrets, and words unveil hidden truths.

Book preview

Chapter 1

I was standing in front of my window. There was a storm outside. Darkness engulfed the streets, and apart from the lights of the lights and the headlights of some cars, everything floated in blackness. The strong winds twisted the trees. I didn't envy anyone who had to drive now. The rain was already hitting my window, completely soaking my balcony.

Apart from the knocking of the rain, only the click of my wall clock broke the silence. The light source was provided to me by two candles, which I carefully placed on the dining table. The atmosphere of the room and the whole house was like my mood. Harsh. But one day everything will be fine. I just need to get my act together.

I walked to the kitchen counter and had another glass of whiskey. I sat on one of the bar stools in front of which my ashtray lay on the counter. I lit a cigarette. I smoked two, put them in the ashtray and sipped the whiskey. For a few moments, I watched the glass and the whiskey in it dance as I waved the glass. I turned around and suddenly saw the city clearly, the light of lightning illuminated everything. The view somehow filled me with warmth, it was beautiful.

The whiskey bottle is almost empty. It must have been two and a half decimated at the bottom. Now I'm 1

wondering if my phone would ring. Something would happen that would break my loneliness.

The clock's already hit an hour. And all I was looking at was my phone and praying for the screen to flash.

Just let something happen. Anything.

It occurred to me that I could call Henriett. She must be awake at this time. But you can work. That might bother her. Maybe she doesn't even want to hear from me. I pushed my phone over the counter. And luckily for me, it didn't fall off. I watched it for a while, and then I reached for it. I hit Henriett's phone number, and then I put it back on the counter. Again, I thought maybe she didn't want to hear from me.

Henriett has helped so many people. Not just physically, but spiritually. Many people only wanted to meet her because she is a wholehearted and intelligent woman who could always be counted on in trouble. She is great.

I buried my face in the palm of my hand, breathing deeply.

I realized that my phone was playing loudly.

Finally, a long-awaited call. I was glad. Seeing the name on the display, I realized that this was not such a joyous moment after all. I pressed the bet button, raised the phone to my ear, and it was as if the amount of whiskey I drank last night had disappeared in an instant. I jumped up, looking for paper and pen in one of the drawers. I 2

recorded the address. I put the phone back on the counter, right next to the paper. I drank towards the bathroom. I quickly pulled myself together, got out of the garage and left.

The rain knocked violently on my windshield.

And now I'm the only one driving through the empty streets. I didn't envy myself that I had to drive in such a judgment time. I stopped at the 24-hour convenience store. I bought two coffees and a pack of cigarettes. The server lady, as I saw, was not in a good mood. At least that's what his eyes showed. It's like he cried his soul out of storage half an hour ago.

With the two coffees in my hand, I walked out to my car in the pouring rain. I sat into the seat while I placed the two coffees in the passenger seat. I lit a cigarette. I entered the address in the GPS and set off on the shortest route.

The location was a park next to a forest on the other side of the city. In the park, right next to the forest, stood a wooden house with police officers on the porch.

It was mostly used as a storage facility at some festivals.

On the other days of the year, it could be rented out, even if it was mostly taken out by nature lovers. Who took over some areas of the forest in a few days. The mayor has also created hiking trails for them. After about a mile and a half, you could get off the road and walk up the hilltop to the Little Rock. You can see the whole city from there. The hill circled the city.

3

With the coffees in my hand, I rushed to the cabin.

The site is completely sealed off. Outside the cordon were only a few journalists clutching umbrellas and Dictaphones. Police officers were crawling up and down, and flashes of interspersed the dark night.

I approached my partner, Henry Goldman, who was on the porch of the cabin, at arm's length from the coroner, with two police officers. As soon as I stepped next to them, I saw that we were not dealing with an ordinary case. The victim was placed on a wooden chair, in a position as if he were asleep.

I handed the coffee to Henry, who gave me a smile. Jonah, the coroner, turned to us.

‘I'm glad you're here, Ricky. I'll summarize what we know. Her name is Kathlyn Rook. According to his IDs, he's thirty-two years old and lives on Monroe Street in the wealthier part of the city. And as you can see, they slit his throat and brought him here because there's no blood, so he wasn't killed here.’

‘Who's the witness?’ I asked.

Jonah pointed to an old lady who lives at the park.

‘She looked out the window and saw the lady.

While she was on the phone, she was going towards the victim because at first, she just thought she was drunk. ‘

‘His clothes? Was there a party in the area?’

Henry asked.

4

‘Henry, please don't get the water. Henry raised his eyebrows anxiously, and I looked at him first, then at Jonah. We found a folded piece of paper behind his ID

card. ‘ he put it in my hand. I quickly drove away, and then my gaze turned again to the coroner.

‘Kathlyn Rook, we cordially invite you to the party hosted by Doggie Space. Location, time, etc.’ I found myself watching Henry's unresbridled face. We're definitely counting on his appearance.

Henry just looked at you for a few seconds. Then he left the porch without saying a word. He moved towards the pavilion. He sat down inside and looked down.

I was thinking that I should leave him alone with his thoughts or be by my friend's side and support him. The way I looked at it, it would be better for him to be in solitude, but I didn't know what was going on in his head.

As I thought about it, I found myself heading in its direction. The raindrops soaked my face, and the strong winds tried to hold me back every step of the way.

As soon as I sat down next to him, he started without question.

‘They told me about three weeks ago that Doggie had passed away. I was glad. We've been hunting him for years, and he's dead. A lot of work is gone. I realized I could never put him behind bars. It's 5

caused so many sleepless nights of work... We were literally trying to track him down day and night. And he's dead. I thought so. And maybe he's still alive? ‘

‘Or someone took his place.’ I declared.

‘It was the hardest thing I've ever had with the drug dealers. Why don't we find Lucifer? Yet he was Doggie's inside man. I'm sure he knows what's going on.’

After saying goodbye to the others and giving up the assignments, we got in my car and left the scene in the storm.

We listened to music for minutes. I saw Henry thinking a lot. I didn't know if I should talk to him. But in the end, he broke his silence. He was just staring out the window, and now he's turning to me.

‘Once, when we were hunting Doggie, my wife called me. We were heating him on a rooftop. I knew he'd only call me if there was a problem. My son Luke is in the hospital. He's having a seizure. I held the phone by my ear while the love of my life sobbed on the other side. And I've been thinking. If he leaves, years of work may be wasted, but my family needed me.’

I swallowed one.

‘So... I choose Doggie. My wife has let me down because of my career. I regret leaving him alone every day when he expected me. He looked ahead again, and then at me. There's one thing I've learned. I've longed 6

for success to move up the ladder, but my family is always ahead. My wife is much more than that. ‘

We smoked.

‘Everyone thinks we're a perfect family.

Happiness and harmony permeate the house, but that night our relationship was on the brink. It was hard...

It's a huge fight to repair my relationship with my wife.

But I did everything I could to make it the same.

Although I knew that no matter what I did, the spike would always stay in it. I let her down when she needed me. Showing her, she couldn't count on me, she swallowed. Since then, our relationship has settled and harmony seems to have returned to our lives, but now you're the one who's going to fix everything. ‘

‘Henry...’

‘Let's go, Rick.’

The car stopped and Henry already patted. I just looked at her for a few moments. As you move away from the car with fast and firm steps.

Lucifer sat in jail, instead of Doggie, he was guilty. Henry was very nervous and desperate, he hoped that he would finally be