I Did Something Bad ✓

Epilogue

FIFTEEN YEARS LATER…
11: 00 A.M.
Proses N' Pastries, Huntsville

It wasn't a surprise for the people of Huntsville to see the iconic YouTuber Melissa Richards in front of a local café.

Though she had visited a multitude of cafés in the 23 years of her lifetime, the aroma of homemade cocoa welcomed Melissa like nobody else. The jingling bells of a dream catcher, the smell of coffee and pastries, and the silence of the café that substituted the evermore bustling sound added fuel to the fire of the home vibes.

Reserving herself a table near the glass window, Melissa had her gaze roam everywhere until she heard the sound of flip-flops from the kitchen.

A late-twenties woman pushed away the cream-coloured curtains of the kitchen to see her solitary guest wait for her. Sunkissed like a pro, she stepped out of the kitchen while straightening her pink apron, her hands on the quote: “All's fair in love and poetry.” Placing the tiny strand of her golden blonde hair behind her ear, her straight face broke into a warm smile as Melissa got off the seat to hug the humanoid ball of sunshine.

“So glad to meet you, Miss Hawkins,” Melissa greeted while patting her back.

“So glad to meet you too, Miss Richards.” August broke the hug while greeting back. “Would you like to have some chocolate coffee?”

“Yeah, sure. I would love that.” Melissa broke into a shy smile as she sat on the chair along with August.

“Okay.” August turned back to the kitchen and yelled, “Rhea, one coffee for Miss Richards.”

Shifting her focus back to August from the kitchen entrance, “It was so happy that you agreed to the interview.”

Letting out a chuckle that had maturity all over, August countered, “Your motive was worth it.”

“So, shall we start, Miss Hawkins?”

***

THE SOFTER SHADES (Season 2, Episode 3)
Manuscript of the interview with August Hawkins
Interviewed by Melissa Richards

Melissa: Hello, Miss Hawkins!

August: Hello, Miss Richards!

Melissa: Thank you so much for accepting my request to interview you.

August: That's fine, Miss Richards.

Melissa: So, shall we start, Miss Hawkins?

*August shows her thumbs up*

Melissa: To start with, I have asked the subscribers to send questions to ask you, and I have handpicked the best ones. Let's go with the first question, by Aaron Abbott from Boston.

“Hi, Hawkins! I have been following updates on your case since I was ten. And… I was always curious about the way you killed the girls. Why did you have to kill everyone similarly, though Betty Allen was the main criminal?”

August: Hi, Aaron! It was a good question. But no, I didn't kill the girls similarly. Though the methodology was the same, I had ensured that Betty had faced the worst before her death: how Alex had faced before his. She had a nasty breakup, she was framed for two murders, her friends didn't believe her, and she had recurring memories of her past mistakes. But, Dorothea and Emma had no idea that they would die until the moment they saw me approaching them with my butcher knife.

Melissa: Now, the next question is by Diana from London.

“What was August Hawkins feeling about Betty Allen before her death and after?”