The Hidden Secrets
Melisa stared closely at her father, she had been wanting to ask something that had been bothering her mind.
“D-Dad?” Melisa swallowed hard, nervousness clearly visible on her face.
"Yes, my dear? Is there anything you want to say?"
"Um...after dinner tonight, I want to ask you something, Dad?"
“What's wrong, Melisa?” Mrs Smith asked trying to find out. She felt anxious every time Melisa tried to ask something.
“It's okay, Mom. I'm just asking something that's not that important."
"You want to play for secrets, don't you?" Max asked, he looked unhappy.
“Why do you talk like that? None of your business!"
"Okay, you don't need to fight. All right, Lisa. After dinner, meet me in the office. You can ask whatever you want to ask!”
"Thank you, dad." She said flatly.
After dinner, she immediately met her father in his tudy. She looked confused, not knowing where to start.
"Dad, I'm coming?" She asked nervously.
"So, what do you want to ask?" Mr. Smith seemed busy tidying up the documents scattered in his desk.
"Dad, I want you to tell me about the sadistic murder that happened to Louis' family 10 years ago." Melisa asked the question that had been bothering her for a long time with fear, but her father didn't budge.
"Didn't you read it in the newspaper? What else do you want to know?"
"Regarding the illness I was suffering from at that time, could it be related to that tragic event?"
“Where do you think that comes from?”
"I-I don't know, it's just that when I was still sick, I remember that I often had nightmares about a terrible incident, like a very sadistic murder and-"
“Never mind, darling? You're just relating your illness to events that have nothing to do with it."
"There's nothing to do? Wasn't it you who covered the incident in the newspaper? I remember a little bit, I used to follow you at that time."
“Your illness and the tragic incident that happened to Louis' family are completely unrelated. I won't answer strange questions like that again, so it's better to cool your head and forget about the illness that attacked you at that time, you understand?"
"But can you tell me what disease actually attacked me at that time?" Melisa asked again, she still didn't want to lose and would try to find out the truth about what happened to her.
“Typhus and pneumonia.” Mr. Smith said. Melisa was stunned for a moment, looking at her father who looked very upset.
"Okay, Dad. Thank you, good night!"
She decided to give in for now and left the room. She knew there was something her father was hiding from her and she still didn't give up trying to find out.
"Even asking Mom or Max is useless. They must be conspiring to hide the secret from me. I have to find out myself. But how?" In her mind, her thoughts only flashed about the secret illness she had experienced for years, including the nightmares she often experienced at that time.
This morning Melisa acted like a crazy stalker, at school she seemed busy walking around the university area looking for someone. She is looking for Jack Louis, the strange and mysterious guy. She don't know what crossed her mind, why Jack Louis, who she believed would help solve the problem of the mysterious illness she once suffered from, made her forget most of her childhood memories, especially memories related to Jack Louis.
In the back yard of the arts faculty, she saw Jack Louis sitting alone under a tree reading a book. He looked very serious, still with a cold expression on his face.
“Good morning, Jack?” She greeted Jack as she walked over to the young man.
Jack turned his gaze to Melisa who was trying to take a step closer to him, but only a few seconds later, he immediately focused back on the book in his hand.
“Oh my God, this guy is really weird.” She thought. But she doesn't want to lose, she will continue to try to get Jack to look at her.
“Umm...Jack, what book are you reading? May I know?" She asked trying to be brave. With a spoiled voice and a seductive look typical of young women.
Melisa looked closely at Jack's face while resting her chin. Jack's dark brown eyes continued to stare at the book in his hand, his clean skin contrasted sharply with his red lips which made Melisa a little embarrassed.
She still didn't expect that this strange young man had such a handsome face.
"What do you want?" Finally, after a long wait, Jack spoke, even though he said very few words. But it was enough to make Melisa amazed.
“Hahaha...sorry, actually I need your help. But maybe you don't want to help me. So I want to-” Melisa was very nervous, she kept lowering her head.
"I can't help you." Jack answered as he continued reading.
"What? But I haven't told you what I need. Why don't you just reject it straight away?"
"What do you want?" Jack asked, there was no expression at all on his face, which made Melisa a little annoyed.
“I don't care, you have to help me. Since this is so important to me, of course it has something to do with you too.”