Chapter 5: The past

sob sob

Peter kept crying while remembering everything since his childhood.

Past Memories*

"Peter, wake up. It's your birthday today," a voice said, waking Peter up.

Peter looked at the person whose voice called him out and leaped into her arms.

"Oh, my child, why are you still sleepy? It is your 10th birthday," the voice said.

Peter was excited that day. He went to his school, distributed chocolates to everyone, and played with everyone.

He felt really good as this was a good day for him. While coming home, his dad gave him a whole cake and at home, they celebrated his birthday and wished him.

Later, after everything was done, he went to sleep. However, at sharp 4:10 pm, he was awoken by lots of shouts.

He tried to ask but saw no one was there on the second floor, so he went to the first floor and saw his grandfather crying on the ground. Beside him, his father was sitting there with teary eyes.

He looked at his mom, but she only asked him to go to another room. He couldn't understand what had happened, but he obeyed his mother's word and went to the other room.

Soon, both of his sisters came in and looked at him, then at each other, trying to think how to tell him.

"Sister, what happened?" Peter asked.

"This..." they looked at each other and finally the eldest sister said, "Grandma... she is no more."

He asked innocently, "What?" To which his sister explained, "She is no longer in this world with us." To which the innocent Peter asked, "When is she coming back?"

They tried hard to explain to Peter about the situation. He was a smart child, so he understood quickly. After explaining to him, both of his sisters went out.

Peter looked at the ceiling, wanting to cry as Grandma was closest to him even more than his mother. However, he couldn't cry no matter what. He was suffocating. He felt his throat drying and his heart burning. He wanted to cry but no tears came.

He saw his mom come in, so he acted like nothing had happened. That was the time from which Peter started hiding his emotions.

Later that day, Peter felt extremely sad as it was his birthday but also the day his grandma died.

After two months, he received another news that his favorite cousin, Steve, had died. He was just 11 years old and died due to a heart attack.

However, later Peter discovered that his cousin was beaten by his teacher. That's why he died. However, even knowing this, he wasn't able to tell anyone.

The next year, his best friend, who always took care of him, committed suicide due to a personal tragedy.

A year later, he developed an inferiority complex and stayed at home all the time.

However, over time, he healed and also made a girlfriend, but she broke up with him.

During 2021, when COVID-19 was rampant, his grandfather died in a hospital bed. Peter still blamed himself for his grandfather's death since he was a bit late to deliver the oxygen tank.

Later, he faced many issues—financial and others. However, just as he thought everything was fine, Sarah died in a road accident.

Back to present*

knock knock

The knock on the door pulled Peter out of his thoughts, and he looked towards the door and asked, "Who is it?"

"Sir, it's a delivery."

Peter opened the door and received the package. He closed the door and looked at the package, wondering what it was since he never ordered anything online.

He picked his phone up and turned it on. He soon saw a text message from Alex: "Hey buddy, I have sent you a package. It contains a physical drive which has something in it. Keep it safe; it's necessary for me."

Peter just texted back, "Okay," and switched off his phone. He was curious to see what was inside the drive but resisted the urge since it wasn't his.