Juson drove in silence.
The engine hummed beneath him, low and constant, but it did nothing to quiet his thoughts.
The policeman.
The dust.
Herik's strange behaviour.
Everything kept returning to the same feeling.
Something was wrong.
Not normal wrong.
Something deeper.
His fingers tightened around the steering wheel unconsciously.
The streetlights passed one after another across the windshield, briefly illuminating his tired face before darkness swallowed it again.
He exhaled slowly.
Then turned the steering wheel.
Not toward the school.
Not toward home.
Toward the riverside.
The road ahead stretched almost empty. Only a few distant headlights appeared now and then before disappearing again behind turns and buildings.
Juson pressed the accelerator harder.
The car surged forward.
Cold wind slipped through the slightly open window, brushing against his face.
He just needed silence.
A few minutes away from everything.
Away from the questions building inside his head.
The road curved gently near the river barriers.
Juson turned left—
And froze.
A figure stood directly ahead.
Too close.
A woman.
For a split second, his mind failed to react.
Then instinct took over.
His foot slammed against the brakes.
The tires screeched violently against the road.
The car jerked sideways slightly—
—but not enough.
The side of the vehicle struck her.
Her body crashed against the roadside railing before collapsing onto the ground.
Silence followed.
Complete silence.
Juson's breathing became uneven instantly.
His chest tightened.
"No… no…"
He stared through the windshield for a second that felt much longer.
Then threw the car door open and rushed outside.
The cold air hit him sharply.
The woman lay near the edge of the road, trembling weakly.
Still alive.
A strained whimper escaped her lips.
Juson knelt beside her immediately, panic flooding through him.
"I… I didn't see you…"
His own voice sounded distant to him.
The woman tried to move but cried out softly in pain.
Juson looked around instinctively.
Empty road.
No witnesses.
Only the river beyond the barriers and the distant sound of water moving in darkness.
His hands shook badly as he carefully helped her sit up.
"It's okay," he said quickly. "You'll be okay…"
But even he didn't believe those words.
The side of her forehead had started bleeding lightly.
Her breathing was unstable.
Juson swallowed hard and lifted her carefully into the back seat of the car.
The moment he shut the door, his eyes drifted toward the bag lying near the passenger seat.
The maid's clothes.
For a second he just stared at them.
Then silently picked the bag up again.
The riverside barriers stood only a few meters away.
Juson stepped closer to the edge and threw the clothes into the darkness below.
The bag disappeared without a sound.
Gone.
He stood there for a moment longer.
Breathing heavily.
Then quickly returned to the car.
The woman groaned weakly behind him.
Juson immediately started the engine again and drove toward the nearest hospital.
This time slower.
His heartbeat still hadn't calmed.
The hospital building appeared ahead after several long minutes.
Bright white lights.
Emergency entrance.
Juson stopped the car abruptly and rushed out.
"Help!" he shouted while opening the back door. "Someone's injured!"
Two nurses and a ward boy hurried outside with a stretcher.
They carefully pulled the woman out of the car while asking questions he barely processed.
"What happened?"
"Road accident?"
"Was she conscious?"
Juson answered automatically.
His mind felt disconnected from his body.
The stretcher wheels rattled loudly across the hospital floor as they rushed her through the corridor.
Juson stood near the entrance, breathing heavily while watching them disappear behind swinging doors.
Then a nurse approached him holding a clipboard.
"Sir, your name?"
Juson looked at her silently.
Only for a second.
But inside his head, thoughts collided instantly.
Police.
Questions.
The clothes.
The trunk.
Hakiten.
Everything.
Then he spoke.
A false name.
The nurse wrote it down without hesitation.
"Phone number?"
Another lie.
"Address?"
Another one.
She nodded and quickly moved on to the next question.
Juson answered everything calmly now.
Too calmly.
As if someone else inside him had taken control.
When she finally thanked him, Juson only nodded once.
Then turned around.
And walked out of the hospital.
Without looking back.
---