CHAPTER 2

I wake up sometime before the sunrise not because I wanted to you but because lately it has gotten a lot more difficult to stay asleep. I look at my room covered in darkness and the candle from the night before nearly gone I seen to have fallen asleep in my desk yet again while working on filling some previous cases. I stretch in my chair which groans under me and send up to open the curtains. It must not be that late because the horizon seems to be lightning with the Sun that is soon to rise but spraying me enough time that i can do some work out back in the forest and be back in time for breakfast.

I go through my basic routine; going to the only bathroom in the small, cramped home of ours which is the farthest little room on the way side on whose opposite side are two doors leasing to ivy and hazel's rooms with mine being across from the pitiful living room with 1 large and a small sofa and a very old rocking chair surrounding the table. It's draped in light colors; much to Ivy's charging of having some bright "fun" colors to bring life to our home, the drapes are the darkest shades of black with is not exactly light but goes well with the mint green walls and brown sofas. All in all it's a pretty decent living room as far as I am concerned. I pass the living room and the hall where Ivy and Hazel's rooms are across from each other and head straight to bathroom.

It is spacious enough that all three of us can stand at the sink and brush our teeth with six cupboards to accommodate all the medical supplies and toiletries. The shower is a bit small but cozy, we could not really afford a bathtub to Hazel's nonstop grumbling and my own dismay because nothing would be better than submerging in a bath filled with warm water after a hectic day of work but such is life. I spray myself with some water is freezing cold making me swear under my breath, I make a mental note to turn the water heater on and give Hazel some talk about how she cannot keep forgetting to turn it on when it is her turn. Shaking my head I take some water in my mouth and make a gurgling motion with it to get rid of the morning smell but not bothering to brush my teeth yet, which I know is gross but I really see no point in brushing my teeth before breakfast.

I go back to my room and quickly change into a warm pair of grey sweater and a blue trousers, not ideal for a lady but i have never been one to listen to such nonsense, tacking on a beanie, I make a beeline for the kitchen which in adjacent to the living room. Taking a glass of water and stuffing my mouth a piece of leftover pie from last night, i get my shoes one and step out in the chilly morning of February. Unsurprisingly there is not a single soul out this early on the streets, not even a drunken or homeless start passed out on a street maybe that is because of the freezing weather; nevertheless it is a lovely morning all the same.

I jog up to the forest which is not all that far away maybe 15 minutes of a jog. I run along the tress for a little while till i find a little clearing that I have taken a liking to since I have started to come here back in early September when we moved. I go in the middle of it and start with some meditating which in all honesty for this early in the morning is just sitting crossed leg on frozen grass, more like dead frozen grass but grass all the same, and taking long and deep breathes to unwind all the tension in my body from some particular cases that have been giving ne trouble. Like such a case I was assigned to work on nearly a month ago and it has gotten even more frustrating as the time passes by. I know a month by no means is a very long to solve a case but it is still gartering on my nerves. Maybe it has to do with a fact that the victims are teenage girls taken from their homes, sexually assaulted and then murdered and left in the river flowing near the eastern ends of the town and mostly importantly, I am not leading the case. I release a long suffering sigh at that, I know it is not unsurprising that I am getting assigned as the head of cases all the time but I would to think that with may track record I would get a little more respect. And my co-workers on this case are not something that I would exactly call fun to work with. Least to say I have been having a tough month and i feel the start of a really bad headache at my temples.

But all I can do at the moment is try to get along with all the people at the new firm and not break anyone's nose, which i am quite proud to admit that I have not. We have moved from our previous place of work to here just over 2 months ago, we; Ivy, Hazel and I, interned at the Criminal Department of London which was quite a big deal. Three 22 years old fresh out of university but it was refreshing start and we have stuck together for better or for worse.

After relaxing my body in a loose form with all the breathing I get up and go to my make-shift of an opponent from a nearby tree with a few branches to play as body parts and start throwing some punches and kicks. No matter how much Ivy keeps telling me to stay out of trouble i do have to stay in shape and fighting seems to relax me. I loose myself in the motion of it which resembles a quick dance for me and feel all the remaining tension draining from my body.

After a while I realize that the sun has risen quite up in the horizon, I always do tend to lose track of time when I am immersed in the relaxed motions of loose limbs striking and slicing through air. After a few deep breaths to get my breathing under control from all the motion I make my way back towards the house to start the new day. I do not particularly know why I have a good feeling about today, so with a little bounce in my step I walk up the two stairs and open the door to my safe heaven.