The Last Entry of Esther's Diary (Pages 20 to 21)

After an argument with Leo, being at home became a bigger nightmare. It was only in the last week of vacation that I finally managed to go to my mother and grandmother in Penarth, and to this day I regret that did not go to them right after returning from a week's vacation near the Cardiff Bay Wetlands Reserve, because it was only in my family home that everything seemed get back to normal. There were no more whispers, no shadows seen in the corner of my bedroom at night, no nightmares. When it was time to go back to Cardiff, I didn't want to get on the train. I chose this type of transport because while leaving home I didn't feel strong enough to drive a car.

When I was back in my apartment, I immediately felt the dark atmosphere that had been with me from the moment I entered that search engine again, trying to find this website about Scarlet Angels and a user the_scarlet_truth. I started to seriously think that maybe this was all some kind of punishment for messing around with this whole case? It made sense, it still does, so I regret that I was tempted then and opened this damn search engine. I should have removed it then and end this madness once and for all, but well... Now I guess it's too late for that.

In November, I returned to work and it made it easier for me because I didn't spend so much time at home. Sometimes I delayed my work, especially to leave the office very late and spend as little time in the apartment as possible. Unfortunately, it did not save me completely, because the most strange and terrible things happened at night. Partly it looked as if my apartment was haunted by ghosts. I heard whispers, saw a dark figure, when I came home various things were rearranged, sometimes they moved by themselves in front of my eyes, and with time after returning from work I found the house a total mess, especially the bedroom. In general, this is where the most was happening, so I preferred to sleep in the living room, on the couch. I had a hard time believing that the Scarlet Angels could have had anything to do with it, they were angels, heavenly beings, after all. Could they really torment me like that? Even if I deserved the punishment, it seemed too severe to me, in the end, after that day, I deleted the search engine completely and never looked into the Scarlet Angels case again.

On November 10, while I was at work, Leo, probably for the first time since I came back from vacation, asked me about something not strictly related to work. He asked me if I would like to go to court with him to the Mad Dog hearing on November 20, as an observer. Of course, I knew that the forensic opinion on Laurens Vermeulen's sanity had already reached the court, and that was why a trial was scheduled, but I didn't feel like thinking about it. Even though I was curious about the content of the opinion and the judgment that would be made and whether the case would end or not, but I didn't have the strength to go through this again, so I refused, and Leo accepted it without complaint. Under normal circumstances, he would probably try to persuade me, but the situation between us was still tense even though we theoretically apologized to each other.

Today, on November 20, when I write all this words, I was supposed to go to work normally, the more that Leo wanted to participate in the Mad Dog trial as an observer, and the Chief agreed that he would be late for work only on condition that I would be on the station, alone for a few hours, taking care of the work for both of us. Unfortunately, not only did I have nightmares full of some devilish creatures at night, but also woke up in the morning with a terrible headache. My head felt like it was about to explode and no pills helped me, I also felt terribly tired, as if someone had sucked all my energy out of me. Therefore, I was forced to call the station and take a day off, and even added that I might have to go to the doctor and take a sick leave, because I seriously thought about it. Then I silenced my phone completely, leaving it on the table in the living room. I didn't want anyone to disturb me, besides the noises only made my headache worse.

On top of that, when I stripped off to take a shower, I saw strange scratches on my arms, legs, stomach and back, as if I was fighting some wild animal. The weird part was that I didn't feel any pain, of course, until I got in the shower and the warm water touched the scratches. I somehow got through this nightmare shower, put on my bathrobe, went into the living room and, tired, I lied down on the couch. The headache finally eased a little, so I drifted away quite quickly.

I woke up late afternoon to hearing noises from my bedroom, as if someone had broken in and was turning everything inside upside down. When I got up from the couch, slightly struggling, and walked closer to the bedroom door, I even thought I heard someone tearing the wallpaper off the walls. Then, suddenly, I heard an animal roar, and soon after, it seemed as if something had hit the door, so I jumped away as if they had burned me, falling to the floor. I got up quickly, ran to the living room, fell to my knees in front of the painting of the Virgin Mary, and began to pray as hard as ever. It was probably half an hour before the roars and other noises from the bedrooms subsided completely, but I didn't dare to go there for another two hours. Instead, I sat in the living room and decided to write down everything that happened in my notebook, the one Leo gave me for Christmas, because I half-jokingly mentioned to him few times that maybe someday I would write a book about my work. Who would have thought that this notebook would be really useful to me...?

Anyway, it's been two hours and nothing happened but I'm still repeating the prayers in my head, and I have to go into the bedroom, if only to get dressed, after all, I'm still sitting on the couch with only bathrobe on. In addition, I need to find the number to the nearest doctor's office to be able to register for an appointment. Maybe I'm feeling better now, the headache is almost completely gone, but I'm still weak and someone needs to see those scratches I have and take care of them. It is possible that I will also have to consult a priest, maybe even an exorcist, because I must at least try to end these strange events and regain my composure. I will also have to hide this notebook somewhere, just in case. I don't know where yet, but it must surely be a place that no one, maybe except Leo, can think of. For if something bad will happen to me, I am sure that only he will try to find out the truth and therefore only he can read what is written here, although in fact I would prefer that this notebook would never be found.

At the end, I just want to add that after today's events I am rather sure that this thing that haunts me has nothing to do with Scarlet Angels, because it seems to be more diabolical than angelic, but I don't know by what miracle such a creature could stick to me. In any case, I hope that whatever this being is and however it ended up in my apartment, it will stop its actions against me. Because I do not want to endanger anyone of my loved ones.

~Esther Moore, 20 November 2020.