Teacher's Regret (2)

Shawn POV

I can still vividly recall that day, you know? It's etched in my mind like an indelible stain. I remember every single emotion that coursed through me, as if time had frozen in that moment.

The weight of sadness was heavy, it felt like a heavy cloud hanging above my head, casting a gloom over everything around me.

'I'm sorry sir, but there's nothing we could have done, we were simply too late.'

Our hearts were crushed when we heard that statement, we were too late to save our mother.

Back then, our father was tending the shop, out at work like how he usually is. Perseus and I arrived home from the park, we were staying home and resting then for a while as the doctors or whatever suggested that we take time off to grieve over our brother.

The school also let us have a week of excused absences for it and on that particular day...my brother went in the house first as I watered the garden outside, but as I got the hose ready, I heard a terrified scream coming from the inside.

I dropped the hose and ran inside, I can hear some cries coming from the living room, but the door was shut then. I pounded on the door, asking my brother to open it up, but all he screamed back was to call our father, and that he can't let me see what was inside the room.

I just did what was asked because I didn't know what else to do, but about 10 minutes later, I can hear sirens that maybe the police or an ambulance around the area, but this time, it did turn out to be an ambulance, and it was parked outside the house.

Perseus then rushed out of the house and directed the medical professionals into the living room, his hand was covered with blood and his face was full of tears, and yet, I don't know what was happening, I tried calling Mom as well, and even her place of work after receiving no replies, but they replied saying that she wasn't at work that day as she called to tell them that she quit yesterday.

And as I was trying to go to check what was going on, my brother just hugged me and stopped me in place, and just continued this sort of weak cry, saying that I shouldn't see it.

Dad arrived a couple of minutes later, he parked hastily on the road, and as he got out, I can still see that his hands were still dirty as he worked as a butcher. He saw us and then rushed inside, and just as he arrived at our doorstep, the paramedics pulled out this stretcher with a covered body.

And it finally dawned on me, why Perseus asked Dad to come? And as I called Dad, he called the paramedics to come to the scene. Despite the sound of the sirens, I heard the statement the paramedic say while shaking his head.

'I'm sorry sir, but there's nothing we could have done, we were simply too late.'

Dad just fell onto his knees and broke down, it was the first time that I've ever seen him cry. I then looked at the stretcher, and I knew who was there, no one needed to tell me, and the blood on Perseus' hands...it was revealed to me a lot later that our mother cut herself, but back then...I did not understand why our mother also had to go.

We've already lost Ezra, losing our mother too...it was unfair.

It was really hard to move forward from that, we had a hard time eating, studying, and sleeping...and out of nowhere, my father suggested that we move as the house reminded us too much of our loved ones, we lost 2 of our family members in the same house, and there was nothing we can do about it.

But for Perseus, it was only just the start. He witnessed the death of our brother firsthand, and then, he also witnessed the death of our mother. And he then started hallucinating, saying that he was starting to see Ezra everywhere.

There was something that was happening to him, and nothing can explain it, one of the first things was his avoidance of eye contact, the doctor say that it was related to him staring into the eyes of our dead loved ones. And whenever he look someone in the eyes, it reminded him of that, so it scared him.

And at some point, it got out of control, especially his hallucinations of seeing the ghost of Ezra, saying that he can sense him close by, pointing at nothing but air, Dad was concerned, but there was nothing anyone can do.

The doctor just said that hallucinations can take different forms, such as seeing the deceased loved one, hearing their voice, or sensing their presence. These hallucinations are typically vivid and realistic, and they may provide a sense of comfort or connection to the person who has passed away.

That was an understandable explanation, but one day, I remember finding my brother holding a knife in an attempt to cut his eyes, saying that he no longer wanted to see. It was a temporary solution, but Dad suggested that Perseus can wear a sleeping mask, and that was the start.

We discovered that he can use mana a long time ago, and Ezra taught him a bit about how to control it, within a few days, he learned to be able to see through the sleeping mask due to his need to see since he can't function blindly, and his hallucinations disappeared.

We tried many times to get him to just go on his days without any sort of blindfold, but the hallucinations always came back to him, it shook him up so much that we just all agreed for him to wear it till he get it over with.

As Dad was still trying to find a place to move to, we had to still attend school, Dad said that we can just stay home, but me and Perseus agreed to a change of scenery, and another nightmare began.