Fortunate to Have You This Lifetime

“Relax, just treat it like a chat among friends. Being too nervous won’t help you remember the details of that day.” Purple Summers reminded her with a smile.

Purple looked young, and her smile seemed pure and innocent, which helped Jessica relax a bit.

The three of them found empty seats and sat down.

Purple started by asking some irrelevant questions to get Jessica into the right state of mind before focusing on the food they ate that day.

“The food couldn’t have been the problem.” Jessica said, “The hot pot ingredients were all cooked together, and all five of us ate it. Our drinks were the same too.”

Purple asked, “Before you played spirit board, what did you eat and drink?”

“…Just some snacks, like potato chips and chewing gum.” Jessica tried to remember, “And there was rice wine that Cyrus Davis brought back on purpose. The sorceress said we needed to sprinkle it in the southwest corner before playing spirit board…”

“How many people drank the alcohol?” Purple asked her.

Jessica remembered very clearly, “Only Cyrus drank it. He didn’t hold the bottle tightly when he put it down, and accidentally dropped it, so none of us got any.”

Purple thought for a moment and asked, “Was Cyrus the first one to have a problem?”

Jessica nodded, looking somewhat scared, “He started acting weird when we played spirit board, laughing strangely from time to time. We all thought he was pretending, trying to scare us. But then his hand kept shaking, and then… Then he fell to the ground, convulsing and rolling his eyes…”

As Jessica recalled the scene, her eyes filled with tears, “Cyrus’s dad said I killed him. If it weren’t for me suggesting going to the haunted village… None of this would have happened…”

Marcel Jefferson comforted her, “They died from tetrahydrocannabinol poisoning, which has nothing to do with you. Don’t blame yourself too much. It’s normal for the families of the deceased to have extreme emotions when they can’t move on from the pain.”

“I understand… thank you, Mr. Jefferson. Please, find the truth. Otherwise… otherwise, I really can’t bear it…” Jessica burst into tears as she thought of the saddest moments.

Going on a happy trip with friends, only to have others die while she survives – far from feeling any joy from surviving, Jessica had to face strong feelings of guilt and blame from those around her, as well as public pressure.

Seeing her emotional state, Purple stopped asking questions and began sipping on her coffee while deep in thought.

The sorceress’ drug was given in a very small dose, just enough to induce hallucinations for a short period of time, and it required alcohol to activate its effects.

But only one person drank alcohol, and three people died. This meant the sorceress’ drug wasn’t the direct cause of death.

So… How did they die?

Jessica sensed tension in the silence and nervously asked them, “Was I not helpful to you?”

Purple smiled, “We did gain some information.”

Jessica felt a bit relieved.

Purple then asked, “Between finishing dinner and playing spirit board, were you guys always in the room?”

Jessica shook her head, “The guys went out for a little while.”

“They went out?” Purple immediately followed up, “To do what? How long were they gone?”

“Not too long, maybe… three to five minutes.” Jessica hesitantly replied, “I think they went out to smoke. When they came back, I could smell the smoke on them.”

Purple frowned instinctively, “They smoked? Why didn’t you tell the police?!”

Purple’s sharp gaze caught Jessica off guard, and she looked helplessly at Marcel Jefferson, “I… I forgot. Is this important? They often smoked at school

too…¹