Chapter 1: The Desire for Wealth

The Desire for Wealth

I.

Do you ever get that feeling where you wish you could wake up one day and hear your parents say, "Truth is, we are well off, honey"? It's as if they only let you experience the harsh reality of life so that you learn to value being alive. I mean, wouldn't it be better if I didn't have to ride my bike home from school, which has been repeatedly broken by those monsters: self-centered, spoiled brats at school. God, I hate those bastards! Ugh...Eli sighs.

The street was deserted with only a few cars parked on either side. Families gathered around tables, sharing meals as seen from the windows of their homes. Eli struggled to move against the cool, damp air. As she walked, she could see her breath escaping from her mouth. Her bike and bag hung on her left shoulder.

Suddenly, she heard a loud scream coming from the tall grass on the left side of the road. She looked around, but her trembling hands could see nothing. The rustling of the grass startled her, and as she kept looking, the road grew quiet. It felt like a room in an asylum, with no sound passing through. The wind stopped moving, and she closed her eyes while tears flowed down her cheeks. Then, she heard the sound of a crying lady who was struggling to speak. It sounded like a radio transmitter trying to find a signal. The lady finally managed to complete the words she wanted to say and burst out, "Helpppp Meeee!" Eli opened her eyes, and her heart pounded as she saw an image of a lady with blood oozing from her eyes, flowing down her cheeks to her chin.

As soon as the lady had finished speaking, Eli picked up her bike, which had fallen to the ground, and ran as fast as she could. She kept running until she reached a familiar place she always passed by. Suddenly, a car honked and flashes its headlights in a high beam, warning her to move aside quickly. The car managed to brake in time, and it was a police car. The driver got out immediately and checked on Eli to see if she was okay.

"Are you okay, miss?" the police driver asked.

"Sam?" Eli said in a breaking voice, her eyes wide with surprise and a big smile.

"Oh, Eli, what the hell are you doing out here?" Sam asked, shaking his head in disbelief.

Tears started to well up in Eli's eyes, and she explained what had happened on the road. Sam looked around the area to see if anyone was there with Eli, scratching his head to find nothing but darkness.

II.

"The air touching my body, with only the thinnest fabric covering me from shoulder to ankle, feels like I'm in the North Pole," Eli said, still dazed.

Suddenly, Eli was being pulled away by a force from behind, preventing her from entering the house. She heard a voice cry out for help, and her voice broke as she tried to speak.

"Eli, wake up!" she heard her mother calling.

Eli woke up from her bad dream, but this time, she remembered some parts of it. Sweat flowed down her face, and she shivered. She walked to the kitchen to get a glass of water.

"This dream is getting clearer. What does it mean?" she thought to herself as she heard radio static in the background. Eli turned her head to check where the noise was coming from, but it stopped abruptly.

Twenty-two years ago, the sound of police sirens echoed through the town just before sunrise. The tall grass swayed gently in the breeze, revealing the disturbing sight of a naked young woman's body just a few steps away from the roadside. Her quirky hairstyle was a notable feature, as were the two empty holes where her eyes should have been.

A team of police officers and investigators gathered to examine what they believed to be a crime scene. The area where the body was found was cordoned off with police tape.

Sam was confused and muttered to himself, "I don't understand! We were here last night and didn't see or smell anything like this! The body is completely drained of blood and so dried up." He felt the need to speak with Eli to try and piece together what had happened.

Upon arriving at Eli's house, she expresses regret for not seeking help the night before when she heard a scream in the tall grass. She saw a dead person talking to her, asking for help but was too scared to investigate further. Sam interrupts Eli's story and expresses disgust at the mention of ghosts. Eli insists that she is telling the truth, but Sam dismisses her and changes the subject to ask about her class. As Sam leaves, they exchange a brief goodbye but Eli remains upset.

Sam hurried back to the crime scene, his mind racing with questions about the strange items found in the victim's bag. As he approached, he saw his partner and a group of other officers huddled together, examining the bag and its contents.

"What did you find?" Sam asked, trying to catch his breath.

"Take a look," his partner replied, pointing to the open bag.

Sam peered inside and saw a collection of odd objects - a small vial of what appeared to be blood, a piece of hair tied with a ribbon, a broken watch, and a handwritten note with a cryptic message.

"This is some weird stuff," Sam said, furrowing his brow.

"Yeah, and it gets weirder," his partner replied, holding up a small notebook with strange symbols and drawings inside.

"We're sending all of this to the lab for analysis," he continued. "Maybe it will give us some answers."

Sam nodded, his mind spinning with the possibilities of what these strange items could mean for the investigation.

III.

As Eli grew up with only a few friends, she often spent more time alone in their small and old bungalow house, which she shared with Mr. and Mrs. Bron.

One day, Eli excitedly called out to her parents, "Mom!! Dad!! Look what I found in the garden!!" Mr. Bron quickly rushed to the window to see what Eli had discovered. He playfully teased her, "Are you picking dirt again?"

But Eli responded with enthusiasm, "This is not dirt, Dad! It's a shell from underground! It's so cool!"

Eli has always been fascinated with finding and digging things from the underground. She would dig up every corner of their garden and other sites in their little town that she found amusing.

One morning when Eli was 10 years old, she found a box filled with chocolates in their neighborhood's abandoned house. She often wondered what could be hiding underground on their lawn that had been lived in by other people and left to rot like a haunted house. However, she was dismayed to find only those sweets that were finally discovered to be exchanged by two secret lovers from that abandoned place.

"Pancakes!! I love pancakes!! Thanks, Mom, you're always the best!!" Eli gratefully kissed her mom as she came out with a plate of pancakes.

Mrs. Bron smiled at her daughter's excitement and replied, "You're welcome, dear. Eat up, so you have the energy to continue your digging adventure."

Eli exclaimed, "Mom, I could find gold here! If I do, we'll become rich and won't have to live in this old house and town anymore."

Mrs. Bron simply smiled.

IV.

Despite coming from a working-class family, Eli was captivated by the idea of being wealthy. She envisioned herself living in a luxurious mansion, driving a flashy car, and wearing high-end designer clothes. However, realizing that these things were likely unattainable, as a teenager, she shifted her focus toward crime investigation. She held onto the hope that one day she would solve a significant case and receive a substantial reward.

Eli was intrigued by the case of the naked woman that Sam had told her about and tried to look for clues when she stumbled upon an old newspaper article about an unsolved murder case from several years ago. The locals were informed about the crime through posters that were plastered on street walls, and the news about the crime was spread through television. A large sum of money was offered as a reward. The victim was a daughter of a wealthy businessman, and despite the efforts of the police, the case had gone cold. She decided to research the case on her own, hoping to find any clues that might lead to the killer.

As she delved deeper into the case, Eli found herself becoming more and more obsessed with solving it. She spent all her free time poring over old documents and questioning anyone who might have information about the murder. But no matter how hard she looked, she couldn't find any new leads.

One day, while at the local library, Eli met a detective who had worked on the case. Intrigued by her passion and determination, the detective agreed to answer some of her questions and share some of the information he had uncovered during the investigation.

Over the next few weeks, Eli and the detective developed a rapport. He shared insights about the case that she couldn't have found on her own, and she provided fresh perspectives that helped him see things in a new light. But as they grew closer, Eli began to realize that the wealthy lifestyle she had always dreamed of might not be as important as she had thought. She began to question her priorities and wonder if solving the case was worth the cost of the truth.