THE PROPOSAL

Oliver detested coming to the coroners office. It smelled of antiseptic which was nauseating to Oliver. It was the same smell a hospital had. He could remember vividly how he threw up all over the hospital floor the first time he walked in. He was just eight years old and had injured himself while playing with a rusty nail. His mom quickly took him to the hospital without hesitation. He could recall feeling nauseous the moment they stepped through the hospital doors. He nudged his mom, alerting her on how he was feeling, but his pleas and cries were met with a deaf ear. The nauseating feeling overwhelmed him and he ended up vomiting on the floor. The nausea continued until he was 15. The smell became bearable but he could never get used to it. Oliver knocked softly on the coroner's office.

"Come in." a soft voice beckoned from the other side of the door.

>>pOliver heeded to the voice and opened the door slowly. A young looking woman clad in a lab coat sat down behind a grey coloured desk. Her blonde hair was put up in a bun. She smiled when her eyes landed on Oliver.

"Detective Oliver, you look charming as always."

Oliver smiled and took a seat directly opposite her. "And you look as beautiful as ever coroner Louise. It's always a pleasure to see."

"You flatter me Oliver." She said as she giggled.

Oliver cleared his throat and spoke.

"Are the documents ready?"

Louise shifted in her seat.

"Yes, they are. There's also something I would like you to see."

Louise got up from her chair and walked over to the cabinets. She pulled out several files and headed back to her seat. Oliver watched expectantly as brought out the documents from the files and spread them out of the table. She looked extremely focused as she picked out specific papers and handed it over to Oliver. He looked at them as saw that they were pictures of the dead bodies they had found recently. He looked over each of them in confusion. Oliver didn't know what exactly he was supposed to be looking at.

"These are just pictures of the corpses. Am I missing something?"

"Can't you the similarities between each body?"

Oliver looked at them again.

"Well, the injuries are the same for the most part." Louise shook her head.

"It's deeper than that."

She took the pictures from him and spread them out on the table.

"If you look closely at the open belly, you would see that some organs are missing." She said as she put a slender finger on one of the photos.

Oliver looked at the photos and could finally see what she was talking about. Louise moved her fingers to another Picture. She was pointing at what looked like the intestine.

"This organ had what looks like claw or bite marks. It was hard to identify because there is no human or animal with that dentition."

Oliver squinted his eyes and looked closely at the pictures.

"Is someone or something eating the corpses?"

Louise shrugged.

"That's the only logical explanation to this."

Oliver sighed and leaned back on the chair.

"Can I have these documents?"

"Of course, I'll send a copy to your office."

Oliver nodded.

"Thanks Louise."

"Take me out for dinner one of these days." Oliver chuckled.

"Sure."

Daisy sat in from of the mirror in the dressing room adjusted her hairdo. Other girls sat, talking and laughing cheerful. She wished she could be as happy as that. Being treated like a suspect and having a police officer tailing you all the time was quite bothersome. Daisy sighed as she put her braids into a bun. She ran her fingers over her sagging bags. Sleeping seemed to elude Daisy every since her encounter with the monster. She desperately tried to convince herself that it was all in her head but that didn't work. 'I need a fucking smoke or I'll lose my damn mind' She thought.

"Daisy, there's someone looking for you."

A tall girl in a bikini stood at the doorway with an empty tray in her hand. Daisy groaned loudly.

"Who the fuck is it, I'm on my break right now. I hope it's not that creepy perverted old man."

"Um, no it's not the old man. It's a girl."

Daisy cocked her head to the side.

"A girl? What would a girl want with me?"

the tall girl sighed.

"I don't know but she said she really needs to talk to you so you better go meet her, I have work to do."

She said and walked back to the café. Daisy sighed and reluctantly and left the dressing room. Her eyes caught a glimpse of a familiar face sitting over at the corner of the café. She walked over to her slowly.

"Hey, if it isn't the pretty detective lady!"

Maria flinched, almost spilling her cup of latte. She was already nervous about sitting in a café filled with bikini Batistas, so any slight noise was bound to startle her. She turned to see Daisy in a red bikini, hovering over her. She took a seat on the other side of the table. When I heard someone wanted to see me, I thought it was Kenna.' Daisy thought.

"So, what brings you here?"

Maria placed her cup down on the table and looked up at daisy.

"I wanted to talk to you about the monster."

Daisy tilted her head at Maria.

"And why would you want to do that? Do you want to tell me how I need therapy because I was probably seeing things that night?"

Maria shook her head.

"Not at all. You're not delusional. I've seen the monster too."

Daisy blinked at her.

"You've seen it too? So it wasn't all in my head?"

Maria nodded.

"How was your own experience with the monster?"

"I lost my way home because I was drunk and ended up encountering it. Luckily, I was saved by a someone."

Maria pursed her lips together as she remembered the old man and the little girl. She picked up her latte and took a sip from it.

"How was your Um, confrontation with the creature?" Daisy sighed.

" It was the strangest thing ever. The monster killed my father right in front of me and chased me all around the neighborhood. Well, I ended up killing it eventually."

Maria's eyes Lit up.

"You killed it? How on earth did you do that?"

"I impaled the chest with an iron rod."

Maria was astonished at how she was able to face a creature as terrifying as that. Maria's face beamed as a thought crossed her mind.

"If you killed the monster, then where's the body?" "That's where it gets weird. As soon as I pierced it's chest, it disintegrated into a cloud of smoke."

Maria gave her a puzzled expression.

"A cloud of smoke?"

Daisy nodded.

"I was too tired to think about it."

Maria was having a hard time wrapping her head around this new information.

"So, there's definitely more of these things out there. What are you going to do about it?"

Maria sighed.

"There's nothing I can do about it. We should be careful."

Daisy nodded.

"So, how's it going with Oliver?"

Maria cocked her head at her.

"What do you mean?"

Daisy smirked.

"C'mon, it's obvious that you're head over heels for him."

Maria could feel her cheeks get hot as she cleared her throat.

"Yes, I really like Oliver but it's one sided. Dating him is close to impossible."

Daisy raised her eyebrow.

"What do you mean it's impossible? There's still hope." Maria shook her head.

"It's a lost cause. I'm fine with just being his partner. It's as close as I can get to him." She said and drank her latte.

"But there's hope. Have you seen the way Oliver looks a-"

"Daisy! Your break just ended. It's your turn now!" Daisy gave Maria an apologetic look.

"Gotta run, we'll finish this conversation some other day." She said and walked towards the counter.

Maria smiled. Her first impression of Daisy was that of a very mean person. Maria was surprised at how nice she was. Finishing her cup of latte, Maria breezed out of the café and headed back to the office.

"When you told me to wear something nice for tonight, I didn't think that our destination would be a very fancy restaurant."

Trevor chuckled.

"I wanted to do something nice with you and this seemed like a perfect place for a romantic date." "More like fancy date."

"And you, are looking very beautiful tonight." He said as he looked at her from head to toe.

She wore a one piece off shoulder gown with a lacy hand. He took her hand and placed a soft kiss on it. Maria knew her cheeks were bright red due to how hot they felt. Trevor wrapped a hand around her waist and brought his face closer to her ear.

"I'd like to see what you look like without the dress though."

Maria pushed him back a little.

"Come on, we're outside. Don't do things like this." "So it's fine if I do it when we're inside?"

Maria couldn't help but flush. Cute. He thought.

"Shall we?" Trevor said as he extended out his hand to her.

She latched her hand into his arms and they walked into the restaurant.

"Do you have a reservation sir?"

Trevor nodded.

"A table for two."

The waiter dressed in a suit paired with a bow tie smiled at them.

"Right this way."

The waiter led them to an empty table and they took their seat. He handed them a menu and left. Maria opened it and went through it. Everything sounded delicious but she wasn't really feeling her appetite. "Have you decided?"

Maria shook her head.

"Why don't we order a drink first?"

"That would be great." She said as she put the menu back on the table.

Trevor signaled for a waiter. Maria looked around the restaurant while Trevor relayed their orders to the waiter. Chandeliers hung from the ceiling giving it a very beautiful lighting. Everyone who sat in the restaurant dressed in a very classy manner. 'It feels like I'm a princess movie' Maria thought as she giggled to herself.

"What's so funny?"

Trevor asked as he fixed his attention back to her. Maria shrugged. The waiter came minutes later with a bottle of wine and two glasses. He placed it on the table, bowed and left. Trevor poured wine into both glasses and handed one over to Maria.

"There's another reason why I asked you out on a date today."

Maria paused with her drink mid air. She could feel her anxiety building up slowly.

"What is it? Please tell me it's good news."

Trevor chuckled.

"It's not bad news and it's not exactly good news either."

Maria put her glass down on the table and sat up straight in her chair. Trevor cleared his throat and laced his fingers with hers.

"Maria, I know this might sound very corny but, ever since I met you, it's like my monochrome life had finally been stained with bright colors. You give me an indescribable joy and at this point I don't think I can live without you."

No, no, no, please don't say it.

"Maria I want you to be mine completely. Will you be my girlfriend?"

Maria was speechless. She could feel the sweat building up on her palms. She stared at his expectant face, not sure of how to reply him. Maria knew she felt something for Trevor but deep down, she knew that the person she was really in love with was Oliver and nothing could change that. She withdrew her hand slowly from his and looked away.

"Trevor, I don't really have an answer to that yet. Could you give me some time to think about it?"

Trevor sighed and then flashed her a small smile. "That's okay, take your time and think about it. I'll be hoping for a positive answer."

That was the last words both of them uttered. The rest of the dinner was filled with an awkward silence. Maria couldn't wait to leave and go back home.