Tangled By Fate

In the middle of the night, Veronica secretly left the room once again. She went to the east border where she told Catherine to wait. She was wearing her boots and nightclothes. And draped the worn-out cape over her shoulders.

Just as she expected, Catherine was waiting for her. Her body was covered with white clothes under her brown cape. As soon as Catherine saw her friend, she raised her hand and waved at her.

Veronica quickly went over her side and clasped her hands. She lowered her voice and asked, "How long have you been waiting?"

Catherine answered, "Not too long. Hey Ver, is it okay to walk around like that in the compound? What if someone sees us?"

Veronica assured her, "Don't worry. No one walks around the compound in the middle of the night for no good reason."

Catherine relaxed a bit. She looked around cautiously and inquired, "Anyway, why are we venturing inside the compound? I thought we were going to the mountain range."

Veronica shook her head saying, "No, we are going to Sister Ruth's room."

"Huh? Why Sister Ruth's room?" Catherine was confused. She didn't expect that answer.

Veronica took a deep breath and whispered, "I'm going to tell you something. Don't freak out."

Catherine was curious. Whenever her friend came up with an idea or a plan, it was always full of excitement. It provided them with the much needed thrill in their boring yet disciplined life. That's why she never said 'no' to her friend – just like now. "Okay, go on."

"Actually, the thing is, Sister Ruth… she…" Veronica disclosed the incident the other night.

Catherine gasped in surprise. "What are you saying? Did she kill herself? You mean she attempted suicide!"

Veronica put her index finger on her friend's lips, hushing her friend, and said, "Lower your voice. I've heard with my own ears and seen with my own eyes. That's why I know for sure."

"Then why did they lie?" Catherine pondered deeply.

Unfortunately, Veronica had no idea about that either. "I don't know. Whatever they did, there should be a proper explanation. That's why I need to know why she killed herself."

"All right, I will go with you." There was no way Catherine could walk away from something exciting like this.

Those two headed to the Senior Priest's building. They moved cautiously so that even if someone was walking in the middle of the night, they wouldn't get caught.

It didn't take that much time before they reached the building. They surveyed their surroundings for a moment and only after confirming that no one was around, did they proceeded to enter the building. They just had to walk along the corridor on the first floor and they would reach the first room in the left corner that belonged to Sister Ruth.

Thinking of her bright smile, Veronica and Catherine's eyes teared up. They silently marched closer and stopped in front of the door.

Veronica checked the doorknob and stated, "It's unlocked."

It was only natural for it to be unlocked since there wasn't any thief here. If it was locked, it would mean someone was trying to hide something.

They opened the door and quietly entered the room. Since the doors and windows were locked for a while, the air inside carried a damp scent. The temperature of the room was cold as though the room had died along with its previous occupant. It was shrouded in a gloomy atmosphere.

Veronica adjusted her eyes in the dark and went toward the window. She closed the curtains and told her friend, "You can light the candle now."

"Okay, but if we get caught, the blame is on you," saying that Catherine lighted the candle that was on the wooden table.

"Yes," Veronica agreed without hesitation.

The candlelight illuminated the room. It was a small room. The room was decorated rather simply. There wasn't much furniture. Only a single bed in front of the window, a wooden table and a chair placed beside the door, and a small wardrobe across the room.

Catherine stacked the matchbox back in the drawer and then put her arms around her waist before looking around. "So, what are we looking for?"

Veronica began to look around too. It was her first time stepping into this room. She was unfamiliar with this place. She replied, "Something like a diary, where Sister Ruth wrote about her daily activities, her thoughts, and whatnot."

"Fine," Catherine strode toward the table and began to check the books and diaries, neatly stacked in one corner.

Most of the books were religious books and children's storybooks. The books were old. Most of them were worn out. She carefully moved them so that they would not tear apart.

"Nothing is here," Catherine declared. She looked through all the notebooks and diaries but found nothing suspicious, much less anything useful. "Most of the notes were about duties and her students' lessons."

"There is nothing here either," Veronica commented. She was skimming through the wardrobe.

Catherine tapped her chin and commented, "What if she doesn't have a habit of writing a diary at all?"

"We won't know unless we look for it properly." Veronica strode toward the bed and moved the white bed cover. Catherine gave her a hand.

Veronica moved the pillow and finally found a brown-colored animal skinned diary, placed right under it.

"This looks expensive," she commented. She took the diary and walked closer to the candle.

"Is that her diary?" Catherine peeked.

Veronica read a few lines and flipped over some pages and skimmed through the lines. Her eyes lit up. "Right, that's it."

She wasn't able to express her excitement before they heard some voices. The way the volume increased gradually indicated that some people were coming in their direction. Or it could be said that they were actually coming to this room.

The girls exchanged glances. Catherine blew the candle off and hurriedly followed her friend to hide under the bed.

The footsteps came closer.

Holding their breaths, the girls waited for what was going to happen next. They wished no one could come inside.

The voices outside the door hushed down.

And, the door was opened.