[CM] THE CASE

Everything in the universe is interconnected, and the universe itself is nothing but an endless chain of cause and effect. —Holbach

White floor tiles, gray metal table.

The icy air penetrated from the collar, which was the temperature that all the dead could feel, and it was also the temperature he was familiar with.

body temperature.

He lowered his head in confusion, and saw his hands and the white cuffs on his wrists.The gaze moved slightly upwards and landed on the metal platform where a 20-year-old girl lay, her lips were blue, her eyes were closed, and her blond hair had lost its luster.Two stitched wounds started at the shoulders and crossed across the chest - from the dissection.

She is dead.

Suddenly there was a whimper.

He looked up, and across the metal table, a blond girl was sobbing.Her hair was tied back, and her delicate face was full of grief.She clutched the collar of the brown coat tightly in her palm, and her light blue nails almost pierced the fabric.Green eyes stared at the girl on the metal table, motionless as if stuck in glue.

The high nose bridge and full forehead are exactly the same as the girl on the metal stage.

He stared at her blankly, knowing exactly what she was going to say to him next.

He's been through it so many times, it's like a broken player that keeps replaying a segment and there's no way he can stop it.

The girl raised her head slowly.Tears rolled out of the eyes, slid down the girl's pretty cheeks, and melted silently into her brown coat, leaving dark water stains.

no, don't say...

The girl's lips trembled, and finally moved according to his familiar trajectory, turning into his familiar syllables and forming his familiar sentences.

That is a question.

The girl asked him: "Can you feel, what she felt before she died?"

Then the world began to shrink extremely rapidly, and all sounds faded away in an instant.The light was the last to leave, so he could see the girl staring at him, motionless, as if clinging to his answer.In the end, the girl disappeared before his eyes together with the light.

total darkness.

Griffith opened his eyes, and the first thing he saw was the lights on the ceiling.Round, without extra line decoration.

He stared at the lamp for a while before his sense of hearing awakened.The heavy breathing was amplified, and he tried to calm down, feeling a little better.Then, he turned on the switch of the desk lamp, and the soft light illuminated the room.The time displayed on the phone is 5:01 am, which is too early to wake up for the weekend.

Griffith closed his eyes, then opened them again in less than ten seconds.He lifted the quilt, rubbed his hair and walked barefoot to the bathroom.

Griffith's apartment is not too big, with one bedroom, one living room, one bathroom and a small kitchen.But he tidies up so neatly that he doesn't look messy.The furniture is fresh wood and the wallpaper is beige.The dining table is just outside the kitchen, a small table with just two chairs.Of course, usually only one chair is used.

Griffith changed, opened the refrigerator, took out the bread, and the peanut butter.He plugged in the toaster and flipped the switch.Turn on the fire, pour the milk into the milk pot, and wait for it to bubble finely.

When breakfast was ready, Griffith sat at the dining table and glanced up at the clock.

5:20.

It always feels weird to have breakfast so early.But forget it, I still have things to do today.

After breakfast and packing up, Griffith went back to the bedroom.There is a desk next to the window, a magazine is spread out, and long iron nails are stuck in the gap between the books. Griffith picked up the nails, took a piece of brown paper from the bedside cabinet, and began to punch holes in the brown paper according to the magazine.The holes are arranged in a special pattern, and if Reid is there, he can recognize these holes immediately: it is Braille.

It took Griffith more than an hour to concentrate on punching holes in the paper.After an article was nailed, Griffith looked at the time again and found that it was almost there.

The sanatorium is in the suburbs, and it takes a lot of time to start from here.I hope the road is not blocked now.

Griffith put the brown paper into a black satchel, took the keys, and headed out.

He is not wearing a suit today, but a simple shirt and jeans.Griffith preferred the look to the suit.

Taxis were not as difficult to find as expected. Griffith quickly called one, the driver was a talkative middle-aged man.A little fat, probably related to his long-term career in the driver's seat. As soon as Griffith got into the car, the driver greeted him warmly: "Hi, where are you going?"

"Good morning, to Sauter Sanitarium."

"That's a long way out there," the driver grumbled. "That's why it's so early, boy."

"……Um."

"Is there any family there?"

"is a friend."

"Oh. I hope he gets better soon."

"Well, thank you."

The driver seemed to see that Griffith didn't want to talk much, so there was no further sound from behind. Griffith saw the steel and concrete buildings passing by him one by one outside the window, and then the tall buildings became sparse and the scenery became desolate.

Empty and quiet.

I gave the driver money and a tip, and got off at the gate of the nursing home.The yellow taxi left, and Griffith walked to the door of the nursing home and knocked on the window of the concierge.A guy who looked like a security guard poked his head out: "Hi, you're finally here."

"Hi, Phill." Griffith greeted him with a smile.

"I haven't seen you for half a month, what are you up to?" Phill opened the door for Griffith.The iron door creaked open.

"Well, I've been busy lately, you know, with work." Griffith vaguely skipped the question, "Is Sally there?"

"Yeah, she's usually in the hall at this time." Phill pointed inside, winking at Griffith teasingly, "Go, she might be waiting for you."

"Well, thanks, Phill."

As Phill said, as soon as Griffith entered the hall, he saw the blonde girl sitting by the window.Her eyes were covered with gauze, and her white hands were groping on the paper.

It was the girl Griffith saw in his dream.

Griffith walked over and stopped in front of her.

The girl seemed to be able to see.She raised her head and asked suspiciously, "Foster?"

"Hi, Sally."

"Hi, Foster." Sally laughed at the familiar voice.If there is no gauze, this smile will look better: "I haven't seen you for a long time."

"Well, the new unit is a bit busy."

"I know, BAU. Dad has always thought highly of you," Sally said. "Congratulations on getting a job there, Foster."

"…thank you," Griffith said sincerely.He took out the kraft paper from his satchel: "Uh, I brought you this, an article I read before, I think it's well written."

Sally opened her hand so that Griffith could put something in her hand.Touching the uneven hole, Sally was stunned, and asked hesitantly, "This...isn't it printed?"

"Yes, I did it myself." Griffith explained, "The article can't be found in print, so I did it myself...I don't know if there will be mistakes or what is not done well, so...you Don't mind too much."

Sally fumbled down the two rows, and Griffith knew she was reading.

"Thank you," Sally said. "You...you've been so kind to me, Foster, thank you."

"You're welcome, Sally."

Sally sounded excited: "I don't know how to thank you. You found the person who killed my sister, and you are so kind to me. I don't know how to repay you for this..."

"No, you don't have to think about it. Sally, we're friends. That's what friends do." Griffith reassured, "How are you feeling lately?"

Changing the subject, Sally was no longer obsessed with the previous question: "It feels good, but Dad doesn't want me to be discharged from the hospital, maybe he was scared. I really won't do that again, really, but he doesn't believe it. .”

Griffith looked at the girl's gauze.There used to be a pair of beautiful green eyes underneath, but now, the girl has blinded herself.

Griffith sighed: "It's nice to have someone here to take care of you."

"But it's too boring, I can't do anything now." Sally shrugged, "Fortunately, I have you, Foster."

"It's not fair for you to say that. I'm sure Mr. Walker will be sad."

"Oh, he won't." Sally said disgustedly, "He won't let me out of the hospital, and I don't want to mention him at all."

Griffith smiled at Sally's childishness: "You can't think like that, he's doing it for your own good after all."

Sally snorted softly, expressing her disdain for it.

Just then, Griffith's cell phone rang suddenly. Sally was taken aback, and Griffith quickly apologized to her: "I'm sorry, I forgot to adjust the vibration."

"no problem, no problem."

The text succinctly announced the end of Griffith's visit, and Griffith bit his lower lip. "Sorry, Sally, I might have to go."

"There's a case, isn't it?"

"Ah."

"Go ahead." Sally said with a smile. "That's the bad thing about BAU. Dad told me that too."

"I'm so sorry, Sally."

"It's okay." Sally shook her head, "I hope you can help those people like you helped my sister, Foster."

Griffith looked down, and Sally couldn't look at him, so she tried to face the direction the voice was coming from.White gauze replaced her eyes, but Griffith could imagine the solemnity in those eyes.

"I will," Griffith heard himself say solemnly.