Chapter 18
“I’m sorry, Mr. Walsh,” Thomas said, his face filled with sorrow
“Sorry? What good is that to me? I need results!” Norman’s voice boomed, sharp with anger. “Three years have gone by, and you still haven’t caught him. Why the hell do I need you?!
Thomas stayed quiet, unable to come up with a reply
Crushed by grief, Norman sank to one knee, a raw, agonizing cry escaping his throat until he lost consciousness and crumpled to the floor.
When he came to, his gaze landed on the figure standing by his bed.
“Seth, take care of Juliet’s burial. Have the priest handle her last rites.” Norman’s voice was thick with sorrow.
At last, he saw the truth within himself. He finally understood who he truly loved. But Juliet was gone. There would be no second chances to fix things “Goodbye, Norman.”
Julies’s voice, filled with tears, echoed in his mind, each repetition cutting deeper, leaving his heart battered and raw
She must have known her goodbye was final. She must have felt there was no turning back this time. And Norman, blind to the truth, had held onto the hope of a future together, only to see it turn into regret
Juliet’s funeral was a grand and solemn occasion, attended by all the prominent figures of Belcrest, except for Iris, who was turned away at the door.
Nonelt by the casket, slipping a letter he’d written for her inside,
Tears blurred his vision as he whispered, “Juliet, I’ve laid you to rest beside Chire, right next to Lenny. Are you at peace? If you need anything over there, come to me in my dreams, won’t you? I’ll join you once I find the one who took you froth me and make them pay. I promise.”
He wept until he could no longer hold himself up.
Seth helped him to his feet, saying, “You have to stay strong, Mr. Walsh. You still need to avenge jubet!”
Norman gazed at his reflection in the casket’s surface, his hair now felly white, with tears running down his face.
“I want to see Juliet again. It’s been 1,205 days since I last saw her,” he said quietly
The priest came closer and said, “Mr. Walsh, you can pray for Mrs. Walsh with all your heart, Sincere faith has the power to bring miracles. Keep at it, and you’ll surely see her in your dreams,”
“Alright, I’ll do it! Norman replied, his voice resolute.
He belt a church in juller’s memory, hiring priests to chant prayers for her endlessly, day and night.
Three years passed in the blink of an eye, but still, Juliet never came to him in his dreams. And the serial killer was still out there, free as ever.
On the anniversary of Juliet’s death, Norman knelt before her gravestone, carefully placing the phalaenopsis orchids she’d loved in life next to the letters he’d written to her over tothe years.
Alevy rain poured down, soaking him through to the bone,
Norman tilted his head back to the sky and asked, as he’d countless times before, “System, are you there? Tell me, what must do to see Juliet again?”
The only answer was the sound train, steadily drumming against the earth.
He took out a dagger and forced bitter smile. “Juffet’s gone. Naturally, the system that was tied to her is gone as well. How toolish Ive been, thinking I could still fix things. It’s been cix years, Juliet, and you still won’t show yourself to me. I deserve this, I’ll find my way to you if you’re unwilling to come to me.”
Without hesitation, Norman pressed the blade to his throat and drew it across.
A voice suddenly rang in his mod. “Norman, if the price of seeing Jullet is becoming immortal–doomed in die again and again to save those lost to disasters–would you accept diat bargain!
“Animonial feels pain 100 times more intensely than a normal person, and the agony of each death will only bull!”
accept! I do whatever it takes!” Norman shouted.
“Then it’s settled, Normas. The system binding process starts now!!
