Chapter 4: Running Away

Edna turned around. The mysterious man was no longer seen. No matter how much she tried to enhance her vision, she found no trace of him. The man seemed to disappear out of thin air.

Edna then remembered the condition of her body, which was still covered in blood. She ran towards the bridge in the middle of the city. Edna rarely left the Westfall residence, so she had a bit of difficulty finding direction. During the ten years that she lived here, she had no more than ten chances to leave the house.

She was strictly forbidden from meeting other people. Of course, as a figure whose existence was unwanted, Edna was quite aware of her situation. She was an illegitimate child. Even her two stepsisters said that she was a disgrace to the family.

If Edna showed her face to everyone else, Lucy as well as Marionette said a curse would fall on the Westfall family. Edna believed it, because she once bumped into a guest, and the next day, Lucy and Marionette got sick.

Edna didn't know if it was just a coincidence, but it really happened. And as a result of her negligence, she had to give her blood to treat Lucy and Marionette. Since then, Edna had never dared to meet anyone without her father's permission.

Edna was a bit lost. She didn't know where to go because she knew nothing about this city. She stopped for a moment near the river dam to wash her face, which was full of blood using the flowing water.

She took off her beret and let her brown hair down. Her hand then reached into her pocket, where she kept the scissors to stab Jonathan. Remembering the incident earlier, Edna got goosebumps again.

Now, there was no turning back, as she had come this far. Edna cleaned the scissors from Uncle Jo's blood and then used them to cut her hair short. The strands of her hair were carried away by the flow of the river. That way, no one would be able to find her trace.

After cutting her hair short, Edna threw away the scissors into the riverbed. It was the only evidence that could point her as a killer.

Edna put her beret on again and continued her journey. She walked an hour aimlessly. Finally, when it was getting colder and there was no place that could be used as a shelter, she infiltrated a carriage without horses.

It seemed the carriage was no longer used because there were no horses to pull it. Edna used the carriage to rest. She had been awake all night and soon it would be dawn. If Edna didn't move quickly, she would be caught. However, Edna couldn't hold back the fatigue hanging on her eyelids.

She needed rest. Thirty minutes was enough. Edna closed her eyes while hugging her bag tightly.

***

The vibration of the carriage woke her up. She looked around and felt a little lost.

"Where is this?" Edna muttered in confusion.

Edna tried to remember what happened to her. Until all the memories of last night rushed at once, starting from what her family planned for her to when she became a criminal. Edna immediately woke up, forgetting her severe headache.

The girl looked through the window that connected the carriage and the coachman's seat. Two men were seen, busy arranging the horses to the carriage where she rested. Seeing them, Edna then moved as quietly as possible so that the people outside wouldn't notice her presence.

She slowly opened the door of the swaying carriage. Just as she was about to close the door again, someone called out to her with a roaring scream.

"HEY! What are you doing in there!" His scream frightened Edna. She didn't want to get involved with people in this city. She was worried that her father and stepmother would know her whereabouts.

Edna ran as fast as she could. The man who shouted at her also ran to catch up with her. Seeing a person suddenly step out of the carriage and flee so fast, there were only two possibilities; either the person was a thief or an assassin.

It was already early in the morning. The sun looked dazzling, and there were many crowds of people Edna didn't recognize. She ran in circles to where her feet took her. Edna didn't really care because the most important thing was that she could get away from the man who kept shouting at her.

The man's shout, however, attracted the attention of others. The guards patrolling the area quickly followed Edna after getting a report. Double bad luck! If she was caught, she would be punished on the spot.

Edna had no other choice but to push away anyone who got in her way. The streets in the city were really crowded. Her petite body helped her to slip away easily among the crowd.

She then entered one of the churches and closed the double-leaf door with difficulty. The church was the only place she could hide because she had nowhere else to run to. And after the commotion from outside died down, Edna let out a breath of relief and rested her exhausted body on the cold floor of the church.

GRRLLL…

Her stomach started rumbling. She was hungry. However, Edna didn't bring any money in her pocket when she left the Westfall residence last night. She only brought jewelry, and the jewelry needed to be sold first so she could get money to buy food.

Edna leaned against the church door and looked ahead. The church was empty. It seemed the priest was praying behind one of the booths behind the altar. Edna then looked at the mosaic on the altar.

She had become a murderer… Would this sin of hers continue to haunt her until the end of her life? Edna felt tired and upset. She was upset with her condition and had no place to run away.

Would she forever be a street rat who kept running and being chased around? Why couldn't she have a normal life?

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