The plastic surgeon pushed his glasses up his nose and said to Mark, emotionlessly, "Mr. Mark, I believe Miss Tina is still suffering from mental illness. While I am not the right person to help with her mental treatment, I'm sure that you can find other experts who can help her."
Mark's parents also tried to remind him, but the surgeon beat them to the punch. Everyone noticed that Tina wasn't mentally stable. She experienced episodes of uncontrollable tearfulness, euphoria and temper tantrums all in one day. Her mood swings had become erratic, and her emotions uncontrollable, which in essence was a mental disability.
Mark was aware of the truth too, but he didn't want anybody else to judge his sister. "Shut up. That's none of your business. Just do what I've paid you to do," he said.
The surgeon shrugged his shoulders, and rubbed his hand against the back of his neck.
Indeed, it was not his business at all. All he needed to do was to follow their orders.
By the time, Bess and Abbott tried to contribute to the conversation, Mark had already left the room for Tina.
Soon the surgeon followed Mark's lead. Before he stood up to leave, he looked at Bess and Abbott and said, "Miss Tina is not feeling well today. I will come again some other time."
There was a beautiful garden behind their house. Even in the coldest winters, the flowers would bloom as if it were spring.
However, the garden was now used to raise rabbits, a great number of white rabbits.
When Tina was in the mood, she would kill two rabbits at time. But when was angry, she would kill at least five rabbits. Satisfying her need for instant gratification, had led her to get addicted to the mindless killing.
The rabbits raised in the garden did not live long enough, but the Tao clan would always buy more new rabbits to replace the dead ones. Tina was very particular about the kind of rabbits she wanted. They all had to be white and they had to be cheap. If they brought her an expensive breed of rabbit, Tina would throw wild temper tantrums.
In Tina's perspective, Emily was like a cheap rabbit. Buying well-bred rabbits at higher prices would raise Emily's status, which she could never allow.
Tina hated Emily so much that her hatred had become an essential part of her life. It became the part that kept her going.
Today, Tina was obviously very upset. She needed to satiate her bloodlust, so as usual she went to the garden to kill a few rabbits.
"Emily", she used to call them. Tina picked up a fat rabbit, which closely resembled a snowball, by the scruff. Displeased by its appearance, she complained, "How come this one's so fat? Never feed the rabbit with so much fodder!"
The maid who was in charge of feeding the rabbit was terrified by Tina's expression. Trembling in fear, she lowered her head and whispered, "I'm sorry, Miss Tina."
When Tina squatted down, the maid immediately pulled out a low, cushioned seat and placed it under her. She stepped aside to face Tina, and found her petting the rabbit gently in her arms.
Turning the injured part of her face to the other side, Tina sat next to the maid gracefully. From the maid's point of view, Tina's face was as beautiful and radiant as a painting.
Although Tina had a calm disposition, everyone around her was freaking out inwardly. One moment she was petting the rabbit and in the next, she stabbed it in the gut and drove the blade upwards, disemboweling it.
With a murderous smile on her face, she licked the blood spattered on her lips like a satisfied predator. There was nothing more creepy than a person with emotions that didn't match the situation. Tina was the perfect example of such a person.
Although, the maid had witnessed Tina's gruesome exploits many times, she still could not get used to it. Needless to say, Tina's mental instability was a growing concern for the people around her.
Tina wiped the blood off her face with a silk handkerchief, and suddenly turned to face the maid. "Why are you staring at me?" she asked.
Startled, the maid quickly withdrew her gaze and stammered, "Nothing. It's nothing..."
However, since Tina was feeling extra murderous today, she persisted on hounding the maid. Although blood was still dripping from her hands, she put the carcass on the ground and got up. Tina's bloodshot eyes twitched erratically, and with a perpetual grin on her face, she approached the maid, one small step at a time.
Tina's presence drained her spirit, seemingly absorbing it for her own selfish self. The maid staggered backwards, and she begged for mercy, "Miss Tina...no..."
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