Her Tormentor ( Sinfully his.)

THE CHURCH*

" Our father , who art in heaven ,

Hallowed be thy name ,

Thy kingdom come ,

Thy will be done ............."

Amen .." Ixora muttered softly , she then kissed the cross on her neck and started at the chapel of the church . A warm gentle smile spread on her lips as she closed her eyes .

This was it. It was right , the feeling of being here . Even though things didn't go as planned. She wanted to be in the church every single day . The bells clanged wildly and she fell on her knees bowing to the cross.

"Dear God, thank you for everything, for breathe, strength and grace ." Ixora muttered softly.

" Amen." She added feeling renewed and strengthened. She straightened up taking a quick glance at her broken cheap wrist watch .

" Amen " A voice whispered and she turned sharply and smiled as she stood up .

" Mother . " Ixora offered a warm smile at the approaching figure.

The Reverend mother approached her with a little smile " how are you doing child ?" She asked .

" I feel renewed , mother. " Ixora replied with a beautiful smile . Her phone buzzed and she picked up with alertness knowing who the caller is .

" IXORA!!!!!!" A voice yelled angrily over the phone and she flinched , ripping the phone from her ears .

The Reverend mother watched with a little smile. It's been the usual.

" A.. Aunt." Ixora stuttered fearfully with her hand sweaty and trembling.

" Where are you ?!" The voice thundered loudly with foot steps paces accompanying her. If she guessed right , Her aunt Clarice would be wearing her facial cucumbers with her night robe on, while her cousin Stacy will be talking over phone polishing her nails with that annoying smile plastered on her face as she will be conversing with Carlos her boyfriend .

" So because you went to church , you are going to starve us . " The woman angrily beefed her voice sreaming thunder over the phone , ixora swallowed helplessly.

" Mother tell her to hurry up. I am hungry !!!" She whinned over the phone. Ixora exhaled deeply waiting for Aunt Clarice next words.

" Missy you have just two minutes to come back home , else I will send you to the grave along with your parents!!!, you murderer!!!" Aunt Clarice furiously yelled before abruptly ending the call.

Ixora swallowed hard with her eyes tearing up . She held her head in frustration as the memories of her parents death happened. It was ten years ago . She was just a kid , a girl of ten who wanted to celebrate her birthdays like every normal kid's. She was super excited to celebrate her tenth birthday and she slept impatiently waiting for evening so they could go the beach as planned.

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*10 YEARS AGO*

" Mira papá quiero esto (Look daddy , i want this." ) Ixora points at the menu with a grin on her pretty face.

Sebastian her father smiled at her, he took the menu from her grasp ,his eyes widened and he spat out his water when he saw the high figures that accompanied the dishes. £100 ( A thousand euros!) , just for a birthday cake .

Sebastian stared at the eager enthusiastic eyes of his daughter . " Hija ,¿ no crees que es demasiado caro . ( Daughter , don't you think it's too expensive. ") He persuaded with a soft smile .

" Hmm . No!!" Ixora stubbornly refused and grabbed Sebastian hand with teary eyes.

"You promised to make me happy today. It's my big ten! Please .... Papá!!!" Ixora coaxingly pleaded and started sniffing fake tears. It works every time because Ixora was looking gloomy, he took his lips contemplating.

" Oh baby. Lets just buy you a cookie. " Ramona her mother coaxed playing with her hair, but Ixora stubbornly shook her head in refusal.

Ramona slowly frowned displeased. This kid . She is meant to understand life is pretty hard for them. She is a seamstress and her husband is just a coal miner, so they eat and wear what they can afford .

But this kid may not understand that all fingers aren't equal .

Ixora exhaled softly staring at their faces. Her lips broke into a warm smile surprisingly" Let just eat at home. " She said and their eyes widened at her words.

" Don't worry , Mama and Papa, when I grow up . I will buy you lots of cake. " Ixora grinned cutely and took in her lips slowly.

" I am sorry, i was being naughty." Ixora mumbled incoherently with a sober cute smile that gladdens her parents heart.

" One girl brought a cake to school and our home room teacher divided it equally but she passed by me and when i raised my hand to let her know. The kids laughed calling me a beggar..." Tear escaped from Ixora eyes ' They said , I looked like one anyway."

" They said that!" Ramona frowned pulling her into a hug " I will report to the admin block immediately. "

" No ." Ixora spoke with a stuffy nose "They will only laugh at me again!" She broke down into harder bitter tears .

" I .. I .. I just wanted to taste a cake. I... I just wanted to ..... I am not a beggar.., I am not." Ixora wept uncontrollably clinging to Ramona shoulder.

A tear trickled from Sebastian eyes as he stared at Ixora overwhelmed with pain . All she needed from him was just a cake and he failed her. He couldn't provide for his family , he couldn't make his little girl happy on her special day.

" That shouldn't matter , okay. You have us . ." Ramona kissed Ixora hair affectionately .

" Let's go home Momma." Ixora whispered blowing her nose and they went out of the restaurant. But funny enough , she got a cake. Yes she got a cake not exactly on her birthday but days after and a new dress. Ixora couldn't believe her eyes, she thought she was in Dreamland. She took her cake to school to everyone surprise.

Things actually got a lot better for them. It lasted for five years, until strange men barged into their house and murdered her parents brutally. She was asleep , Sebastian urged her to go to bed soon ,he promised to take her out to the beach for her tenth birthday. She was over the room in excitement and hurriedly closed her eyes and when she woke up. She awakened with the sight of blood all over the hallway and worse her parents were dead and lifeless.

" Daddy. " Ixora rubbed her sleepy eyes slowly as she stood up from the bed. Her eyes widened as she saw her alarm clock. It was past six.

" Daddy. It's time!!" Ixora shrieked skipping to their living room , a horrified gasp tore from her lips as she saw a pool of blood around Ramona whose head was bashed on their dinning table and a knife stuck in Sebastian heart.

It was a horrible sight to behold. Ixora let out a loud outcry running to her lifeless parents " papá, Momma! ." Ixora shrieked horrified. She shook Sebastian who remained stilled and cold .

" Momma." Ixora ran to Ramona holding her head pulling her up. Blood smeared her fingers and a heart - wrenching cry tore from her lips . Ixora hugged Ramona lifeless body with tears rolling off her cheeks.

" Papá" Ixora softly whispered fearfully .

" please answer." She pulled Sebastian lifeless hand her pupils dilated with fear etched with on her face .

" Please answer, Papa!!" Ixora voice escalated into a desperate yell with tears trickling down on her face . She hugged their lifeless body with numerous questions with unanswered answers.

Who did this? Who killed her parents?" As she wondered on that she found herself asking why. Why was her parents killed?

" 911." Her subconscious snapped at her. Ixora eyes darted to the phone line and she grasped it dialing the emergency number .

" Hola esto es la policia , ¿ Cuál es su energencia ( Hello this is the police. What is your emergency. )

Ixora gazed at the phone , her eyes on the receiver , she stared at the knife in Sebastian heart and Ramona bashed head .

" Hola ( Hello.)?" The voice spoke again . " Hey kid! Go and play your pranks elsewhere . If you are having fun tricking an officer of the law , i will get you arrested...."

" Please help me . Save my parents. Please.." Ixora whispered inaudibly and her runny nose made her speech sloppy.

" Wait. Kid . Talk to me. Okay. What's your emergency. Name your address. Talk kid!" The voice yelled alarmed.

" Som... S... " Ixora stuttered and bursted into fresh tears" Someone killed my parents!!!" She howled crying uncontrollably. The voice at the end quietened down .

" Kid. I want you to relax. Take a deep breath , tell me your home address we will be right there okay ." The voice adopted a soft , and more gentle tone but it didn't ease Ixora at all.

Ixora stared at her smeared bloody hand. The sight of blood and the thick scent of blood nauseated her. She felt sick immediately and she wanted to close her eyes and wished it was a nightmare . A terrible one she would scream out of soon with her parents running to her and coaxing her .

" One , two, three. " Ixora shut her eyes in desperation" please be a nightmare. " She muttered with her eyes shut tightly . After a few seconds , she opened her eyes and the stark of reality dawned on her. Her parents were truly dead. Unable to contain this all , she took out the knife out of Sebastian heart .

The door opened that very moment as Aunt Clarice rushed in. " You bad child!!!" She staggered fearfully seeing the knife in Ixora hands along with her bloody face and smeared hands.

" You killed your parents." Aunt Clarice furiously yelled rushing out of the house to get for help from the neighborhood.

Sebastian and Ramona got rushed to the hospital but couldn't make it , they were announced dead minutes later they arrived at the hospital . And Ixora . She lived with endless guilt. If only she hadn't pulled the knife , would her parents had survived?. Was she really a monster? Did she killed them ?

Aunt Clarice made it her daily job in tormenting her , reminding her consistently of her parents death. Two days after the cops came for forensic and found Ixora footprint all over the evidence. On the knife , her footprint. The stairs , the door knob and the table sink. They were basically clueless about what had occurred. Had the little girl really killed her parents . Did she perfomed this act subconciously ?? The police came to a conclusion that she killed her parent in her subconciousness because she was suffering from a disease of the brain . Clarice made it worse for Ixora and it was easy for everyone to see her as a murderer who killed her own parent while sleep walking because they scolded her . But the obvious question glaring at thier faces was left unattended to . How did she killed her parent ? How did she a girl of ten ended up murdering two grown adult ?

Not everyone believed her , the truth was sealed in Ixora memory , the memory never forgotten , the tatoo . A tattoo on Sebastian wrist. They know who did it. Mafia's. Yes you heard right. Mafia's. Probably Sebastian got himself involved in dirty secret but he got killed by them. Surprisingly the cops kept shut and swept the matter underneath the carpet and made Ixora the culprit . Ixora has been living with this guilt ever since she got released from the correctional center at the age of thirteen and ever since she stayed with Aunt Clarice her only guardian .

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