Ch-1: Last Day

***

As the clock struck midnight, a cold breeze blew across the house with closed windows. But soon something appeared, that if seen by anyone, they'd be shocked and faint right after.

An ethereal human sized being came to be where the man laid on the bed looking at it with an unknown gaze for a few minutes.

Soon, the being wailed, cried, as if mourning the death of someone held dear. It was angry, angry not at the choices of the man or his actions but at their destiny that ensued their fate as it did.

Unbeknownst to her, her seething anger wasn't from just this life but a plethora of whose existence they couldn't have known in this deserted world.

***

Hearing unknown noises from the house next door, a neighbour called the police as they thought of theft since this house was abandoned since its owner's death 5 years ago.

On a dark moonless night around 2:30 A.M. on a street without any light suddenly lit up with a cacophony of sirens wailing.

The cops came to surround the house then asked the neighbours for details, after hearing about it, they decided to break through since it was abandoned nonetheless.

Cautiously, they crept up to the dilapidated looking abandoned house. The iron gates were open but they found the wooden door to enter locked which they easily broke due to its deteriorating condition.

Yet the cops were dumbfounded and shocked as the inside of the house was surprisingly arranged and dust free.

One of them mumbled "It can't be... Ghosts... Spirits ... Witch... No, it can't be..." It was so silent that everyone easily heard it and a tense atmosphere ensued.

The team captain thrashed him as he said "Focus! No such things exist. It may have been because the owner's relatives got it cleaned" to calm not only others but also himself.

The others joined the fray saying similar things

"Yeah, Captain Lee is right"

"True, we should find the thief"

"Haha, that twat must've been scared after he watched a horror movie"

""Haha"" They echoed.

Their chat seemed to ease the tense atmosphere and they used the already lit flashlights to find the light switch and turned it on finally.

They looked through every room finding all of them empty as the neighbour said, it was truly an abandoned house. But nothing looked missing, so they got confused as what can one steal from such a house, without trucks, as only furniture had remained.

…

…

…

Finally, after searching aimlessly for a few minutes they entered the bedroom and saw a man lying down with syringes and painkillers all around and immediately rushed to check his condition as he seemed to be alive.

The man had unassuming black hair with a brownish sheen to it making him appear unique even in this dark room. His face looked plain average yet not at the same time as he had sunken cheek and dark circles under his eyes.

His bare upper body bore no marks except where the man had put the last syringe whilst his lower body was donned in plain black trousers containing his wallet and phone giving his identity to them.

They soon felt his breath and pulse but it was already low compared to the normal and declining rapidly even further making them call the ambulance and give CPR as their protocols suggested.

They failed to notice the ethereal being which was observing this charade from above them.

By the time the doctors and medics came to check on him they said that he's already dead, the police had also verified that this man was actually the new owner of this place and the past owner's lover.

They decided to call on his family only to find them shocked as they had no idea about his whereabouts and neither his medical condition.

They only now realized why he was so stubborn about not getting married to the point of even cutting off contact with his own family.

They were shocked and grieved for his death but what was horrifying was the fact that their own child hid it from them.

His funeral rites occurred, the death certificate showed his medical condition as his cause of death and not overdosage as it was what the doctors concluded.

…

…

…

Even after so long, the cops had yet to find what caused the noises that alerted the neighbour yet no matter how hard they tried, they failed to.

Not knowing that their failure saved their lives from the thunder and earthquake that shook the entire world without anyone knowing except for a blinding light making it obvious that something happened.

That night was the night the whole world changed without anyone noticing as the core of the world was hit by a strong thunder and earthquake jolting it from its deep slumber.

The change would be anything but instant as it would take centuries for the people to even begin noticing the silent changes which may strike them in the near future.

***

While the ethereal being which was actually the soul of the man's lover watched him die and decided that if he ceased to exist then what does her existence matter anymore?

After all, she stayed stuck in the mortal world for a chance to listen to him, see him, even if only she could do so, she was glad of the choice she made even though it came with very heavy consequences of its own.

Her soul was weak, very weak and soon she started igniting her soul, her existence from this plane itself as soon as she felt his soul leave his body.

She wished that he could move on to hell or heaven or afterlife or reincarnation or whatever happens as she had resigned herself to stay here till her existence faded as she knew he would come for her.

It was a twisted and complex feeling of trust and love as she wished for him to move on but one part of her wanted him to come again as this conflict only fastened the pace of her soul perishing, she decided to wait and see with keeping hope for both the outcomes.

Yet true or opposite her desires; he came, every year, during this time he came, at her death anniversary, 22 July. He shared the same things but today he told her about stuff he never spoke about as if knowing it's his last time, as if he will die soon.

That's when it hit her and she paid the last price to come to reality and observe directly only to see his impending death, and she made the final decision feeling his soul detached from his body showcasing his death at exactly 3:00 A.M.

After excruciating pain for burning her soul and an unknown period of time just when her existence seemed to wane, thunder struck, along with an earthquake. In the bright light their souls vanished from this world, this plane of existence, this reality.

Their existence did not vanish, but both of their souls did from this world.

This became their last day of existence in this world which changed it forever even without anyone intending for it to happen.

***