1 He's Dead
The news that was supposed to be spread amongst the hundreds of people has leaked out accidentally. It causes an unprecedented commotion around the few countries of the continent, especially where Ansa Kho was leaving, the Philippines.
The sensation "End of the World" caused quite a commotion. Different opinions surfaced around social media- some were taking it as a bluff while others started to panic. The news of the upcoming end of the world burrowed holes for political and celebrity news. Markets were filled with people and the product demands surpassed ninety percent of the product supplies.
Local, National, and International Tycoons celebrated for this unforeseen event. Out of the blue, they earn hundreds of millions in a day. Companies have scheduled mass hiring and for the first time on the earth, the criminal rate, unemployment rate, and poverty rate percentage decreased so that it could be seen through the naked eye.
The lazy brats whether from rich or poor families also celebrate because they hear no more nagging coming from their parents' mouths. Other than those busybodies shopping for food supplies, emergency supplies, and other living materials, malls, and streets were also filled with teenagers.
If aliens saw what was happening on earth, they might think that there was a worldwide gala happening or the Christmas and New Year moved to another day.
While the world was celebrating, a young man could be found inside a locked two-story house. The young man breathed no air, his body was pale, and the temperature of his body reached several negative degrees Celsius, although the weather was fine and the sun shone the brightest.
This young man was Ansa Kho. His massive figure around one hundred-twenty pound could be found lying on the stairsteps. Both his legs were hanging at the edge of the steps. The blood on his forehead was still wet, indicating that the accident happened recently. An accident that cost a single life.
He was dead, but no one knows about this fact.
Ansa Kho usually lives alone inside the house they rented which can be found beside their home. Out of the twelve types of people, he could be considered as the infamous black sheep of the family. He was always alone and does not like to talk unless someone mentions philosophy and history.
As a Blacksheep, he was also very timid and a bit pessimistic which was something very few would agree with since they considered him as very pessimistic. Every day, he pretends not to remember a single thing until it becomes the worst psychological condition. Ansa Kho forgot almost everything.
Ansa Kho's family was not at least concerned that he did not go out for almost twelve hours now. Forgetting him could also be considered as the highest probability. Moreover, his parents were still drunk with the ecstasy they felt for the first time after their marriage.
What they forgot was there was no food or anything edible inside that haunted home. If insects such as spiders and lizards were foods that Ansa Kho could eat, then it would be much more acceptable. However, no corpse could eat such species. Otherwise, insects will slowly devour his being.
A day after his death, his family now felt something was amiss.
"Ices, did your brother come home?" Luna Kho asked her eldest daughter who was facing his laptop and tapping it endlessly. She was sewing her pants with a maroon-colored thread. She sounds uncaring, different from a real mother.
"I don't know," Ices Kho answered indifferently.
Her eyes were too focused on what she was doing. She was busy streaming and commenting on her favorite boy band's live video on Youtube.
"Ulan, how about you? Have you seen your brother?" Luna Kho asked her youngest child without even looking at what he was doing.
A minute later, the mother received no response. Thus, she put down the needle with a thread and the pants she was working with earlier.
"Ulan!" She yelled which flustered the eight years old boy.
He crammed and with trembling hands, removed the headset from his head. Rain Kho, nicknamed Ulan, was silently closing the tabs that contain the Youtube and xxx sites.
"I was just answering my assignments!" Even the young boy was unsure of what he was talking about. His mind was totally in chaos.
"Your brother?" Luna Kho asked once again with a strict voice.
"Away?" Rain Kho answered with a question mark. He did not know what her mother was referring to.
Luna Kho sighed and picked up her phone. She sent a message to her son and waited. Unfortunately, no one named Ansa Kho can read the message.
An RnB tone echoed around every corner of their home. Everyone looked into a single place— where the sound was coming from. The phone was right above the piano stand, charging.
"ANSA!" A loud mature voice echoed through the streets.
The young children happily played, flinched and then ran away, afraid that they would enrage the owner of the voice. As far as they know, that voice was a sign of war.
However, the person that just yelled the name heard no answer.
Luna Kho silently panicked. The worst images and scenarios were reeling inside her head. Although they seem not to care about the second child, Ansa Kho, he is still part of their family. Luna Kho still bears him.
"Ulan, check the rented house if Ansa was there." Luna Kho ordered in a stern voice. The poor boy could not retaliate and just followed his mother's orders.
The youngest, Rain Kho, with a messy look, lazily dragged his feet to walk towards the rented house. It was around three meters away from their home.
The boy knocked on the door while yelling his brother's name countless times. Rain Kho was young and obedient when it came to his duty, 'calling all elders of the house.' He was akin to a broken radio, repeating the same words for over thirty minutes.
"Ma, brother is not here!" Rain Kho declared in a slightly annoying voice.
What this boy only wanted was to watch his favorite Youtube creator, Jelly. Yet his mother would not even consider his unfilial feelings.
For a moment, silence hails the environment.
"Ices, try to look for your brother beside the roadway," Luna Kho's voice trembles a bit when she ordered her first child. "Or ask our neighbors if they saw him," she added.
It takes a long while before Ices Kho lifts her butt from the chair and does what she was told to do. She was frowning when she turned her back from her mother and slammed the door close when she got out.
Luna Kho sighed in frustration, thinking why her luck was so bad when she birthed the three of her children. She believes in karma for other people, but not karma for herself.
A lady wearing a yellow summer dress that emphasizes her hourglass figure could be found lazily trudging her body under the burning sunlight. Her back was drenched with sweat, but this lady seems not to care. This lady was Ices Kho. She knows her mother was very worried about her second child and as the eldest, she has the responsibility to know the whereabouts of his brother. But since there are no other forms of communication to reach out to Ansa Kho, she tried to look for him.
The neighbors were curious as to why the primest family was in discord. After Ices Kho went home and told her mother about the news, Luna Kho was immediately alarmed. There's a policy in the Philippines that missing persons can only be reported after 24 hours they were missing. Therefore, the Kho family asked their neighbors to help them search for the missing Ansa Kho.
While people were busy doing the operation, Ices Kho rested for the meantime. Afterward, she grabbed the house key of the rented house and brought her laptop along with her. She thought that her brother had jogged around the vicinity so she relaxed.
Later on, people's anxiety decreased at a visible rate. All people who knew Ansa Kho knew that he loved to jog, but they did not remember that he would always remind someone from their family once he did.
Footsteps approaching a single house and the jingle of the keys omit eerie vibes. With a loud click, the knob was immediately unlocked. Ices Kho opened the door and put her things on top of the table just beside the doorway.
She grabbed the skipping rope that was lying on the sofa and hung it on her shoulders. A piece of loud hip-hop music was vibrating throughout the entire house. She did some minor warm-ups before holding both ends of the rope.
There seems to be something that urged her to look around the house. When she cast her glance towards the stairs, she saw the cold body of Ansa Kho. The blood was dry and the environment turned cold.
Ices Kho shrieked loudly when she confirmed that her brother was no longer breathing. Luna Kho and Rain Kho ran towards the rented house and asked what was happening to Ices Kho.
Ices Kho pointed at the stairsteps and with a trembling voice she exclaimed, "HE'S DEAD!"
