• I never doubted you for a second. I had no reason to believe I was wrong. Time and time again you proved yourself to me, and my belief in you grew stronger.

    The first time I heard of you, you were just one person in a hundred. You were just another individual. You’d heard of me, but never seen me.

    When I first met you I didn’t know how you’d respond to me. I introduced myself, and you seemed shocked, though you barely showed it at the time. We talked, asked questions of each other, and gauged the other’s intellect. That was the start of our friendship.

    We turned heads wherever we went – we were the most intelligent male students at college – and we were as different as night and day. In the beginning, I only wanted to determine your personality, but before I knew it, I found myself calling you my best friend. My only friend.

    There came a time when I needed your help. It was a risky job with no immediate end. My current co-workers were almost next to useless compared to you. I had nothing to lose by taking you into my confidence. You showed yourself to be apt and did your part well. I could find no fault. I expected that of you: the pampered prodigy.

    A new player entered the game. She introduced herself as your girlfriend. Despite the hordes of girls you surrounded yourself with it seemed that she regarded you with something more than simple affection. I could see love and devotion in her eyes. The way she worshipped you was proof of that. I was jealous, but only mildly. But there was something vaguely wrong: the girl’s love seemed one-sided. I couldn’t help but feel that you felt little or nothing for her. I let it go, thinking that I might be attaching too much importance to it.

    Suddenly, a complication arose. We were forced to divert our time to resolving it. The relationship between us became strained as tensions mounted. Together we struggled to resolve the problem. But then your girlfriend became implicated. The situation almost got out of hand. Voluntarily, you isolated yourself just like her, and we kept careful watch over the two of you.

    The pressure was almost too much for your father to bear. He isolated himself similarly, and the three of you suffered through nearly two months of confinement. Things were never the same after that ordeal. Your persona had altered so much that it was unnatural. I just could not let go of my previous ideas and views about you. Life continued as normal, but the connection between us had changed.

    To ease my mind and erase my doubts, I kept close to you. I followed you everywhere, despite your girlfriend’s protests. I kept surveillance on her as well. It was necessary, if perhaps a trifle selfish, for it was all for my peace of mind. I was stubborn. I refused to let go of my pre-conceived beliefs.

    As for our task, we were forced to start from the beginning. You were a great help as always, in spite of your different personality. In the process, I couldn’t help but notice your new attitude towards your girlfriend. For the first time, I saw genuine affection and concern. You protested when she offered to help us and reprimanded her when she took the initiative anyway.

    We risked our lives for what we believed in. We walked a dangerous path. Being who we were, we disregarded all the dangers and dedicated ourselves to our cause. It cost me my life and – in the end – yours as well.

    You asked me once, and I told you: I could always see it in your eyes. I have been aware of the fact ever since I first met you to the day I died.

    You were there as I was dying – disbelieving, shocked and crying out for help. But it was all a mask. You revealed your true self to me just before I died. I almost expected it – I knew you so well by now.

    I never doubted you for a second. I never did believe that I had been wrong.

    You were my best friend and you were my greatest enemy.

    You were a mass-murderer – the killer I’d been searching for – and you had outsmarted me.