I wasn"t born a n.o.body. I wasn"t someone to be looked over. I wasn"t just "someone". I was someone near the top. I had people"s eyes on me.I wasn"t a mistake.
I was blessed.
Now, in this new life, it seems like I have to start over…
… as the complete mistake the universe itself had created.
__________
I had quite the life.
Sport cars, pretty girls, huge mansion, and pets of all kinds. That"s what I have. I have a decent family too, I guess. My mother spoils me to the lengths of buying everything I wanted. I"m not that close to my brother… I have a little sister that loves me more than our parents… and I"m in bad terms with my a.s.shole father.
Okay, a not-so-good family.
What else do I have…?
Oh, right.
I"ve been arrested before from false accusations of being with those thugs back in the corner streets because of my all-black clothes and mask, but that"s the second most interesting thing that happened in my life. The first being the short brunette standing by my side.
I looked down at Cherry, discerning the faint blush hidden underneath her thick red scarf that protected her from the cold. She caught a glimpse of me and looked up, her green orbs and freckled cheeks showing vibrantly. I smiled, she looked away.
Cherry"s the prettiest girl in my eyes. She"s the most humble person I know. She"s not someone who"s after my family"s fame like those models crazing for the spotlight. I don"t care what people say.
She"s short? Nah man, she"s cute.
She"s fat? Nu-uh, she"s s.e.xy.
She"s an idiot? Bruh, she"s my idiot—hands off!
Cherry"s my world… as well as Shiro.
"Orion, Shiro slipped away from his leash again…" The girl sighed, stopping on her tracks and pointing at the pure white husky playing in the thick coat of snow on the sidewalk, making it look like there"s a floating red collar if I hadn"t worn my spectacles (hah! Fancy word for gla.s.ses—). "… naw… he just wanted to play." She awed as she walked over near the heterochromic pup.
I followed her as she crouched down to retrieve Shiro. Pushing up my gla.s.ses, I smiled at the two while taking out my phone to take pictures. Ignoring a couple of thousands of notifications, I went to the camera and called Cherry to look up and smile.
I took the photo and fumbled around to set it as my wallpaper.
We started walking again after letting Shiro play to hopefully get some hot drinks to ease the coldness of the weather. Cherry took the lead as she was walking the white fluff. The busy streets and towering buildings are creating the perfect ambience for this sweet walk with the most precious thing in my world.
"You know, Ori," Cherry paused on her tracks, making me halt as well.
"Hm?" I hummed, "What is it? Is something bothering you?"
"No, I mean… it"s just that…" She sighed, "We"ve been together for almost eight years now and… I"m surprised that you haven"t dumped me yet because…"
There was a short pause.
"Because of what?" I tilted my head to the side and brought down my black mask, revealing my face hidden from the crowds. "People"s way of thinking? Their judgement? I don"t care about them, love." I walked over to her and by her side, brushing my shoulder against hers. Wrapping my arm lightly around her neck, I leaned closer and whispered, "You… you"re my everything."
I didn"t see it, but I know her eyes widened from surprise.
I didn"t know she thought that way.
I continued my steps and took the lead instead, ignoring the crowd that gathered around us upon recognising my face. I then tucked my fingerless-gloved hands in my pockets, holding tight a small box after the touch of it. "It"s not the time yet…" I thought as I released the velvet box from my tight grip. "I"m going to take her there first."
A bark echoed in my mind.
Hearing Shiro"s aggressive bark, I snapped out of my trance. That dog doesn"t bark like that unless around my brother. I narrowed my eyes and swiftly turned around, discerning Cherry"s back facing my way. It seems like she still haven"t—
BANG
A loud explosion stopped my thoughts.
Someone let out a scream in that short time span, making me look at the crowd who got their heads all craned up, and some are ready to bail out of the crowded s.p.a.ce. I looked up and saw a chunk of the building that has been under construction for a long while now fall at an incredible speed.
I looked back at Cherry who"s holding Shiro in her arms, frozen shock in place. With just that, I felt my body move instinctively—more like, unconsciously, as I saw that she was in position where the ruin could crash.
"CHERRY!"
Placing all of my strength in one place, I pushed her out of the way before feeling a light sting brush on my back.
"ORI…!"
I fell forwards and felt blood and gore spill out of this fragile body. I wasn"t in pain, which means the adrenaline from earlier had numbed everything… but it"s slowly wearing off. Since that half of my gla.s.ses is broken and bent in the wrong direction, I can only see through my left eye.
I looked to my side and… oh, it seems like my phone fell out of my pockets.
Funny, the screen shattered too. It"s even showing the lock screen that contained the picture I took with Cherry and Shiro earlier.
Speaking of Cherry—where is she?
Oh, she"s right in front of me, a few feet away. It seems like she"s saying something, but I can"t really hear anything except those annoying high frequency sound wave things.
"Ch… ry—" Huh, weird. It seems like I don"t have the strength to speak. I"m also tired.
My phone"s screen turned off and it showed the reflection of my pitiful self. "Oh… the metal pole pierced through me…"
I felt eyes on me, making me notice the crowd that gathered around me. Soon, my precious Cherry cut through the crowd and her step faltered just in front of me before hurriedly cupping my cheeks with her warm, bare hands. Shiro followed her, and he looks to be whimpering.
"…ion!"
Finally, I can hear things, but the pain is increasing too. I smiled weakly at Cherry, "—C… ry…"
"No, please, Ori… s-save your strength…!" Tears were starting to form around her eyes.
Oh please, I can"t bear to see you with that face. I can"t. I"ll feel like an a.s.s if I leave this world now.
Right, before anything else—
I gathered all of the strength I have left to make my left hand go to my pocket and retrieve the velvet box. I slowly, and painfully, took it out and tiredly presented it to my crying, sweet girl. I made the best attempt to hide away any pain on my face, but I can feel the excruciating agony throughout my flesh and insides.
"Ori…!"
I pushed the box towards her and closed my right eye.
She hesitated before taking the box with her shaking hands.
She opened it with utmost care before letting her emotions spill.
Inside the box lies the simple golden ring with a single diamond on it. It also had our names engraved underneath it. She loves simple things, so I know that she"ll love the ring I was supposed to present to her later this starry night in the first ever place I met her.
But this is the best time I needed to show it to her, for my own time is running out.
My eyes feel heavy, and I want to close them so badly.
And just before I did, I saw orbs similar to my blue ones blended with the crowd. I saw the s.a.d.i.s.tic smile I know and am familiar with. "Why is Gerald…?"
With that, my tired eyes and body received their well-deserved peace.
"ORION…!!!"
__________
Well that concludes my one h.e.l.l of a life. I died. It"s game over.
My sister is going to be upset and my brother… he and my a.s.shole and r.e.t.a.r.ded father would probably throw a party or two. My mother? Oh, dear… I don"t know what she"d do!
I didn"t even get to know what Cherry"s answer would be. I doubt she"d be happy engaged with a dead man.
Now that I"m here, dying is not that bad, I think. I have read many books that said that the afterlife is either a black void or the well-known heaven or h.e.l.l. But it"s none of the like.
Sure, it"s a void, and I"m floating even without a… body. But it"s a white s.p.a.ce filled with reels of memories and past events of my life. Right now, it"s rolling the most memorable times that happened in my life like a movie – the day I became the so called modern piano prodigy; the day my team won the sports compet.i.tion; the day I received Shiro; and most of all, the day I met Cherry.
It"s convenient to not have gla.s.ses with out of the world optic grade. I can freely see anything, and everything.
Looking through everything is placing a large amount of regret on my non-existent shoulders in this white canvas full of reels. Knowing that I don"t get to fulfil my plans is a big let-down.
I"m not bragging but, I"m someone to be called humble. Though my mother would buy everything I wanted, the things I ever wanted were simple garments and a minimalistic room. She was the one who kept buying me sport cars of sorts. Granted, I sold a few to give the money to a couple of charities for children and planting trees—
Hold up.
As I"m hovering and thinking back of the things I"ve done, the memory is starting to play in front of me.
I narrowed my eyes. If I could clear my throat right now, I already did.
Okay…
Aside from doing nice things and s.h.i.t, I wasn"t really someone to be called a role model. I was someone to be described as a… bad boy? I don"t know why, but ladies who were after me called me a bad boy behind my back. Don"t ask me how I know—I had my sources.
As the memory plays in front of me again, I thought of earliest memories and things I have done to see if they"d play and, of course, they did.
Now this gives me a cheeky idea. I don"t know if it"s possible, but it won"t hurt to try, eh?
I walked, well, hovered, through the semi-hologram reel that plays the memory and followed it to the very end, leading me to a broken tape that contained the very last moment of my life.
I swear I saw a familiar lad with his s.a.d.i.s.tic smile right before I took my last breath, but it isn"t showing in the reel… and since I"m dead, I can"t do s.h.i.t about it, or to even find more s.h.i.t about that. I just have to move on.
…
Bdum tss
No! Don"t leave! I"m not gonna make another joke in this part of the story—I mean, not gonna break the fourth wall too!
As I watched the reel replay the last second of my life over and over, the idea in my mind that made me wonder still lingered: Can I seek through the days after my death?
The silly thought echoed in my mind. It"s absurd to think that I could possibly see what happened after death—that would break the rules of this universe, I think. Because I know that once you"re dead, you can never see your life, unless for vengeance… it"s just my theory but it makes sense. Probably.
I will break something if I—
The reel glitched for a moment, and my non-existent eyes widened at the same time.
Black, glitching dust started to manifest and create a new reel next to my past. It connected moments later, revealing a holographic screen of broken sound and static. It was a bit scary, considering the fact that I might"ve just broken the universe itself, but it also got my curiousness perked up.
Soon, I was able to discern figures in the movie reel – a tall, white blur next to a pet.i.te one stood on a gra.s.sy land. People seemed to gather around, with a striking red blur in front of them next to a black blur. When everything became clear, the realisation hit me upon noticing that I"m watching my own funeral.
People who stalked and idolized me from all around the globe gathered there. Of course, family members are there. Some silently giving respects, and some are silently cursing me. Cherry is there too, crying while holding a white rose with her hand, hugging a framed picture of mine.
It seems like she"s wearing the ring I gave her. I hope she cherishes it like how I cherished her. I know it will remind her of the love and care I gave her.
I still care.
My mother, whom I got my rosy skin and soft, wavy white hair from (from albinism from her father and mother), have her arms around my sweet Cherry while holding a white rose and Shiro"s leash. Oh, how dear I was for her.
The scene changed quickly to point at my grave. My name, date of birth and death was engraved in white gold on a marble tomb, underneath those are the words that follow:
"A beloved son.
A lover.
A humble knight.
He who lies here now brings his music on the other side.
He who lies here deserved everything.
He who lies here saved a life.
He, who lies here, is a hero."
It"s sad to know that people cared about someone like me. I know it"s a bit cheesy, but I can feel their love through that. They… they cared for me, even if I didn"t really appreciate them as much they appreciated me. I don"t know about my little of a dweeb brother, but he"s someone who cared deep inside, so I showed my… care (?) even for a bit.
I don"t regret buying him and a.s.sembling him that gaming setup he wanted. Those seemingly sparkling blue orbs of his said it all.
My sister, too, cared for me. She"s close to me more than our parents and brother, and we were inseparable, until my end came, I guess.
She"s one of the three precious thing I have.
Those last two being Cherry and Shiro.
They… they are my treasure. I have no words for them other than… I really cared for them and loved them.
Right now, I don"t really know what to do other than watch my own funeral. I want to know more. I want to know what will happen when I"m gone… when I"m not around anymore.
I so badly want to shout… to yell that "I"m here!" But even I can"t shout those two words. I don"t have the voice to do so. I can"t say that I"m here, watching them as they stare at my grave with their pitiful faces full of tears.
The reel extended further with broken scenes.
At this point, I"m not even surprised anymore.
The movie continued and showed what happened to each of my family members—whether they"re days, months, or years prior to my death. But those long hours doesn"t seem to apply in this dimension, in this blank, white s.p.a.ce. What would amount to years in the living, only amounts to seconds, or minutes maxed, in this white world.
Time doesn"t apply here, it seems.
My mother argued with my father a lot after my death, and separated from him after a fight to build a charity in my name to help the children. Father refused so, she went ahead and built up the charity… that was named after me of all people.
My little sister went with mom and became the vice president, helping many families, children, and orphans all around the world. And I must say, she grew beautifully. That black hair she got from that a.s.shole of a father grew perfectly for her, but the white hair would"ve been perfect. Just saying. Her blue eyes from our mother burns with pa.s.sion to help people.
I"m proud of her.
Cherry moved on, but remained unmarried. She became the right hand of the president, my mother, of the said charity group. She grew taller and prettier, with the same pa.s.sion burning in her green eyes. That is what makes me love her even more. She still wears the ring, which puts ache to my non-existent heart.
Sadly, Shiro died ten happy years prior from my death, but he did left offspring"s to bring joy and happiness to our Cherry. Even his four pups greatly resembled him.
You go, you little mutt! Daddy"s proud!
My father was murdered a few years after he and mother separated. But, honestly, I think no one really cared for him except for mother and my little sister (who were the only ones that attended his funeral aside from Cherry). His s.h.i.ts were exposed so people genuinely hated him… but I do feel pity for him. To see that he was just being hard-hearted to protect our family"s name was surprising… but he did become greedy and an a.s.shole as a result.
My brother? I don"t know.
The reel didn"t show him.
Deafening silence followed as the reel reached its abrupt stop. Probably because it has nothing to show after everything else. I did nothing but stare at the tattered edges of the end of the reel. It was like I was having a staring contest with the reel, waiting for something to happen.
After what it seemed like eternity, something weird happened. The reel"s end flickered, once again extending with long, blank screens that soon revealed many scenes I somehow recognise.
I narrowed my eyes and leaned closer to one part of the reel, discerning a familiar white-haired, masked man from something that shouldn"t look like real human beings.
Right before I identify the man though, the screen flickered and shut off.
Soon, the horrid single word that slowly etched on the screen sent me back in the darkness.
"ERROR"