Two years later,
Amsterdam,
It was morning.
A bicycle came to a halt outside the cemetery, and Raya stepped down from it.
In the bicycle's basket was the same bouquet of white tulips she had brought the last time.
Raya entered the cemetery.
Today, the caretaker was also present, a middle-aged Dutch man.
The moment he saw Raya, he asked in Dutch,
"You didn't come last week. Is everything all right?"
Walking toward the memorial, Raya replied,
"I was unwell."
The caretaker immediately asked,
"How are you feeling now?"
"I'm fine now," Raya answered.
The caretaker said nothing more.
To give her privacy, he quietly walked away.
Raya stopped in front of the memorial.
She came here almost every morning, why, only Raya herself knew.
She removed the previous bouquet placed there. It had wilted slightly.
Perhaps someone else had replaced it yesterday.
Raya placed the new bouquet on the memorial and sat down on the grass beside it.
The weather was beautiful today.
The air was calm, and the sky completely clear.
Lovingly, Raya ran her hand over the memorial.
She stayed there for hours.
Eventually, she picked up her bicycle and headed toward her café.
About ten minutes later, her bicycle stopped outside a café.
On the nameplate, written beautifully, were the words:
"Café de Shaarv."
Raya parked her bicycle in the café's designated area and went inside.
As soon as the door opened, a soft chime echoed through the space.
The atmosphere inside was peaceful and soothing, anyone who came here would instantly feel stress melt away.
The interior was cozy and simple, filled with a unique aroma that seemed to calm every restless thought.
Raya first watered the plants inside the café. Then she flipped the hanging board, turning the OPEN sign toward the front.
A short while later, Rajat arrived.
Raya asked,
"What are you doing here? Aren't you going to the office?"
"I quit my job," Rajat replied.
Raya looked at him, surprised.
"Why? You liked that job."
While wiping the counter, Rajat said,
"Yes, I did. But now I'm bored of it."
Letting out a tired sigh, Raya said,
"This month… that's the sixth job you've quit because of boredom."
In a low voice, Rajat muttered,
"Bad influence."
Raya glared at him in response.
Freedom was what Raya loved the most.
Being tied down to a single job was something she absolutely hated. The moment she lost interest in something, she would abandon it, no matter how much money it paid, even if it was worth millions.
In the beginning, this habit caused her many problems.
But with time, Raya turned this weakness into her greatest strength.
Since childhood, she kept herself busy learning something new every single day, so boredom could never touch her.
Because of her sharp mind, Raya learned things much faster than others.
In her attempt to chase away boredom, she had mastered so many skills that there was hardly anything left in the world she didn't know how to do.
From riding a bicycle to flying a plane, Raya excelled at everything.
And now, under Raya's influence, Rajat was slowly becoming the same.
It was ten at night.
Raya was alone in the café.
Rajat had left early because of some work.
Raya was preparing to close the café when three boys entered, laughing and joking among themselves.
One of them was bald.
The second had curly hair.
The third had long hair tied into several thin braids.
While gathering things, Raya said calmly,
"The café is closed. Please come back tomorrow."
Hearing her voice, all three boys turned toward her.
Standing beneath the hanging light, Raya looked strikingly beautiful.
The three of them scanned her from head to toe.
Raya was wearing a loose black shirt.
The top two buttons were undone, revealing her delicate neck and perfectly defined collarbones.
The braided-hair boy ran his tongue over his lips and said,
"Damn… she's beautiful."
The bald one nodded in agreement.
"Seriously. I've never seen a girl look this attractive in a black shirt before."
The curly-haired boy rubbed his hand over his pants and said,
"Just looking at her collarbone is making me feel things. I wonder how incredible her entire body must be."
At his words, the same look appeared in the other two boys' eyes.
They exchanged glances.
Their filthy intentions were clearly visible.
Communicating silently, they looked around and then began moving toward Raya with slow steps.
Raya was standing behind the counter, cleaning the coffee machine.
The three boys approached and surrounded her from all sides.
The smell of alcohol and cannabis emanated from them.
They were clearly heavily intoxicated.
Raya glanced at them once, then returned to her work.
It was as if their presence meant nothing to her.
Leaning his elbow against the counter, the bald boy said in a crude tone,
"Hello, miss. Beautiful girls like you don't look good focusing on lifeless machines. Look at us instead. Your charm has driven us crazy."
Raya heard him, but did not respond.
Her indifference bruised his ego.
He wanted her to be afraid.
Suddenly, the bald boy stepped forward and snatched the coffee machine from her hands.
Raya clenched her fists and closed her eyes, but said nothing.
Smiling, the long-haired boy moved closer. The other two closed in from either side.
Because of the counter, Raya was now trapped from all directions.
Only two inches separated them.
The café's atmosphere had turned unbearably tense.
Staring at her with lust-filled eyes, all three reached out toward her.
They were just about to touch her,
When suddenly, the café door flew open and a man rushed inside.
Dressed in a black business suit, he looked sharp and composed.
The three boys froze when they saw him, but did not move away from Raya.
The man bent forward, hands on his knees, panting heavily.
He had clearly run a long distance.
Raya opened her eyes.
Despite being surrounded, not a single crease appeared on her face.
Looking at the man, she said,
"Peter, what are you doing here at this hour?"
Hearing her voice, Peter lifted his head.
The moment he saw the three boys surrounding Raya, his eyes narrowed.
The braided-hair boy threatened him,
"Listen, whoever you are, if you value your life, leave quietly. Don't ruin our fun. Or we'll make sure you regret it."
Peter ignored them and stepped toward Raya.
"Bro, please. This is really important. Otherwise, I wouldn't have come to you. Just help me one last time. I'll do whatever you ask in return."
Raya did not respond.
The three boys grew furious.
Raya was already ignoring them, and now Peter was doing the same.
Enraged, the bald boy stepped forward.
"So you won't listen? Then plwe'll have to teach you a lesson."
Peter ignored him again.
The bald boy screamed and threw a punch at Peter's face, But Peter easily caught his wrist mid-air.
The bald boy attacked with his other hand.
In the next instant, both of his wrists were locked in Peter's single palm.
With a sharp movement, Peter slammed the boy's hand onto the counter and grabbed a fork from the stand, driving it straight through his palm.
Peter's movements were smooth, swift, and precise.
A horrifying scream echoed through the café.
The fork had pierced through the boy's hand and into the counter, pinning him in place.
Shaking his hand clean, Peter asked Raya,
"What are these insects doing here?"
Raya did not answer.
She stared at Peter as if he had committed a crime.
The other two boys were terrified by what they saw.
They understood immediately, they had picked the wrong person.
They rushed toward the door to escape.
But Peter extended his leg, blocking them.
Their feet tangled, and both of them fell face-first onto the floor.
Peter walked up to them and grabbed their hair mercilessly.
"You're way too full of yourselves. Come on, I'll fix that today. It's been a long time since I cleaned my hands anyway."
His voice was chilling.
The two boys screamed in pain, begging for mercy.
Peter showed none.
A strange madness now flickered across his exhausted face.
About twenty minutes later, Raya looked around.
Blood was everywhere.
The café floor had turned into a river of blood, flesh, and torn skin.
Raya stared coldly at Peter, who now stood before her with his head bowed like a criminal.
Angrily, she said,
"You've ruined my entire café. Do you have any idea how long it took me to clean this place?"
Peter immediately looked up.
"I'll clean everything."
Raya glared at him even more fiercely, making Peter feel awkward.
Raya let out a deep breath and walked away.
Peter took a step to follow her, then stopped, thinking better of it.
"No. Her mood is terrible right now. Following her won't be smart. I'll talk to her tomorrow. First, I need to clean up this mess. Otherwise, instead of helping me, she might kill me herself."
The next morning,
Raya was returning from the cemetery when she noticed a police car parked near the canal.
The mutilated bodies of the three boys, brutally killed by Peter the previous night, had been recovered from the water.
Raya looked in that direction for a moment,
Then continued riding her bicycle.
She stopped outside the café.
A blue sports car was parked right in front.
Peter was sitting on its hood.
Seeing Raya, he straightened up and smiled.
"So, you're here. I've been waiting for you for half an hour."
Raya ignored him, parked her bicycle, and walked inside the café.
Peter followed her in.
Neither of them knew, Someone hidden behind a tree was secretly clicking photographs of the two of them.