433 The Funeral
The magnitude 9.0 earthquake was the first great earthquake in the century that hit Zone A. It hit without warning and killed without mercy.
And among the ones who were killed in this unexpected incident were Ren's parents. When Ren was confined to the hospital, Helen and Troy were on their way back to get his clothes and prepared the necessary papers for Ren's confinement.
They went to the hospital using the private helicopter of the hospital so they were taking the train on the way back home. If only the earthquake struck a much later time when Troy was already driving Ren's car to the hospital and they might have lived.
However, accident struck in the most unexpected time.
The earthquake came while they were inside the train. If only they had been inside a building, they might have been saved because every structure had provisions for earthquakes.
However, the roads in the sky were built differently. All it took was a portion of a beam or a column to collapse, and an entire section would crumble. It just so happened that this section was where Helen and Troy were.
Unlike the flying cars, the trains were clamped under the road on strong steel beams. They weren't flying. So if a section of the road breaks, it was a matter of time before the train followed.
No one survived when that section of the train fell fifty meters above.
It was an unfortunate accident — one that Ren wasn't prepared for.
Two days after he knew of his parent's death, he had already gotten out of the hospital, but he still couldn't accept his loss.
And now, under the rain, standing in front of their tombstone, Ren didn't know what to feel.
Ren casted his eyes to the freshly dug soil. His parents were down there, and God had taken them.
He didn't know what God needed his parents for. One thing was for sure — he needed them more than God did.
The Priest said that they were 'finally home,' with a dopey look on his smug little face.
Ren's nail dug deep against his palms. He imagined rearranging the Priest's face with the end of a shovel.
His parents already had a home! In one of the most luxurious condominiums in zone A. And he even had another one currently built in a five-hectare lot.
Who was supposed to live there, then?!
If ever he got to heaven, Ren would kick his ghostly ass around the God damn place, and he would burn those pearly gates.
What was left now?
What was his purpose now?!
He tried so hard to shift their fate, but they were still stolen away from him even after all he had done.
From the start, his parents were the center of his everything. They were his motivation. And for them to be snatched away like that . . .
What was he supposed to do now?
Ren bit his lips until he tasted that metallic tang of blood, feeling like the only love he had ever known drained right through his boots and was replaced by ice.
The pain of not being there in their last breath was more painful than losing them.
Ren was unable to speak, unable to breathe, nothing. The world around him became a blur of color that melted into grey.
The weight in his chest and the locks in his throat. The pain in his heart would come forward by the slightest reminder of their memory.
Ren wanted to beg, plead, and get down on his knees.
Give them back!
Give them back!
Ren felt a hand brushing against his and a velvet-like voice reaching his ears.
"Ren . . ."
Evie stood by his side, sunken eyes staring back at him.
Her silver eyes looked as if the moon had been encased inside small glass marbles. The smooth sphere appeared to have been cracked, and crystal clear liquid had started to leak. The little water droplets streamed down Evie's rosy cheeks.
Ren felt warmth spreading through his body. His hand trembled, and he could hardly speak.
At this moment, when she held his hand, he didn't feel the galaxies collide. Now, her touch soothed him. It set his internal chaos quiet.
He was on the brink of losing himself, but her soft caress warmed the coldness inside him. The small crystal beads that trailed down his cheeks to the neck to his chest melted onto the cloth he wore and were washed away by the rain.
The Priest continued his speech until the ceremony was over. People began to express their condolences, but Ren wasn't stable enough to meet them.
Throughout his hospitalization, to his parent's funeral, and until they were laid to rest — it was Evie, Leonel, and Leonel's parents who took care of everything.
Ren was thankful, but right now . . . he wanted to be alone.
The ceremony ended, and slowly, people dispersed until Ren was the only person left in front of his parent's tombstone.
His eyes were dazed as they pinned themselves to the stone marker that had been erected for them. His father and mother's name were carved into it, along with the year of their birth and death.
A tear fell from Ren's eye as he stared at the words. He wiped it away quickly before looking up again.
"Why did you have to leave me?" he asked softly, still unable to accept their death.
Eventually, Evie and Ren were back in their home.
Stepping into those familiar marble floors, a sense of desolation hit Ren that almost made him buckle. He could see his mother in the kitchen, peeking at him and greeting him home.
His father was just sitting in the living room, reading the daily news. It was almost like he could still see and hear them.
But when he moved to touch them, they disappeared, leaving only the ghost of their memory behind.
"Ren . . ." Evie called when he saw Ren paused, his eyes stretched, and his hand extended like he was reaching for something.
Ren flinched and slowly turned to Evie. Seeing her in a black dress with sore red eyes reminded him that the nightmare was real.
They were dead.
Ren's face was unreadable, but his voice betrayed his facade, exposing his grief. "S-sorry . . . I want to be alone right now."
Evie opened her lips but closed them again. She couldn't speak. There was a large lump in her throat that wouldn't go away no matter how many times she swallowed.
Even after Ren was inside his room, Evie couldn't say anything.
She didn't know how long she had been standing outside his door, looking at it with a daze, until she was startled by the sound of glass breaking, objects rattling and falling onto the ground like they were thrown off from the table – and finally a scream so loud and agonizing, she had to cover her mouth to repress her wails.
Ren . . .
