FIRST'S / LEONTHAN HORTAIA'S POV
I went home. A home that doesn't fit into being called 'home'. A home where there is no father. A home where there is no mother, but only my brother and me.
"Bro!" My 15-year-old, a year younger brother, called me as I took off my shoes. "Look, I beat your high score. Bleh!" he boasted, and I saw him playing video games.
"Silly you." I patted his head. Rey must be having a good time.
I roam around our condominium, and there's something wrong. I checked out the laundry. There is indeed something wrong.
"Shaunrey!" I called him out.
"What?" he answered in an irritated tone, still playing games.
"What's the meaning of this?" I snatched his school uniform from the laundry and showed it to him.
He gazed at me for a second. "My school uniform, perhaps."
The uniform that I readied for him yesterday was unused yet left alone beside the laundry.
"Why are you ditching classes?" I asked him with a stern look, knowing what he had done.
"What's wrong with that?" he replied with his full attention to the game. I unplugged the screen. "What's wrong with you?!" he bawled.
"I think that was supposed to be my line. What is wrong with you?" I mockingly corrected his question.
"You don't understand." He stood up, trying to escape from me again.
"Then spit it out. Did your friends teach you to rebel against me?"
"Don't involve my friends with this."
"Then, do you ever think that it was easy to be your parent?" I raised my voice.
"I never wanted you to be mom or dad! Because there's not a second that you can replace them!"
What I did next left him hanging. I slapped him in his face. He walked out.
"I'm not yet done with you, Shaunrey!"
He slammed the door and went outside the condo. I was left with a heavy sigh.
This always happens. Rey accelerated when he was in elementary grade, that's why we're both in grade 10. We were attending the same school before our parents died. But after that incident, he got transferred to Peleya School because he caused problems with other students in my current school, Vosejo High School.
When our parents died, Rey started to ditch his classes. He even failed in a few subjects, and there's a big possibility that he will repeat a year. Sometimes Shaunrey goes to our uncle's house when we are arguing. Our uncle is a big help to us in coping with our situation, losing our parents. Mom and Dad died in a plane crash. It was all sudden that they were gone in the blink of an eye. We sold our house and rented a condo for the two of us. My parents died when I was in grade 8, so my brother and I transferred to a public school. Glad that my parents have their savings, but it will surely not last. We need to stay with our auntie in Canada, but as much as possible, we don't want to leave this country because we have a lot of good memories left in this place.
My memories come together as puzzle pieces. It's becoming clearer than ever. I always dream of my parents about what happened to them during the plane crash. Were they crying or screaming? What did they feel when they were about to face their end? Did they think about me and Rey? Why does it have to be them?
That tragedy has left a huge hole in my heart that pulled me to be one of the players of the tri-games. I got so desperate, blinded by the goal that I wanted to achieve, the results paid off, making me the winner of it. But after claiming the triumph, it wasn't what I expected at all. The prizes were not that great. I do not feel empty, but I am not filled. There's still something missing, but I can't get a hold of what it was.
I spent too much of the money I won from the tri-games and bought luxury. I have no plans of using 'time' and 'health' because I thought money would resolve everything. I have no use for 'health' because I cannot bring back the dead with that. It only applies to those who are ill yet still living. Author, the hologram, only mentioned the downside of the 'time' after winning. You can bring back or bring forward the time to save your loved ones, but that incident can still happen in a different time frame. Indeed, Stealth Level is the greatest prize of them all, yet it has a price.
The answer came to me when my parents showed themselves to me through a dream. A dream with a bright view after endless nights of nightmares. That single dream might not bring back their lives, but it has brought me back to life. They walked up to me with a warm smile. They seem so happy and bright. I have never seen them so delighted as that. They are in a heavenly place where, once you go there, you will never think of coming back to Earth. It was all a beautiful vision without a conversation, but it spoke to me. Mom and Dad have no regrets, so I should be at peace. After that night, I started welcoming the day with anticipation of being better for myself and my brother. I am healing.
I went to our room and held out our mom's necklace. This is her favorite necklace that my dad gave to her when they got married. For some reason, she always wears this when going out, except on the day of the tragedy. It was like a reminder that something would happen, and they left this purposely as a keepsake of themselves. They entered the world and got married with this necklace, then they left the world and the necklace to be in heaven together.
Little did I know that I would never think that my brother was also chosen to play the game. This game is supposed to be for those who are in pain, desperate, and for those who struggle in a world that made our lives worse. Rey is also suffering like me. He is also experiencing misery. I loathe myself for not obtaining my memories from the start. I must have saved my brother from the game.
All players are left with little to no memories of themselves after entering the game. This is one of the game's schemes to make us kill each other because we hold no definite emotions towards co-players. Rey already died in that stage, and there's nothing I can do about it. He's been weak, so he doesn't deserve to win; that's what the game is all about.
Forgive me, Rey, for I have not been the best brother for you. I can't fulfill the role of being a parent that our parents have left me with. I will be stronger for you.