I SLOWLY OPENED my eyes and the radiance of the LED lights hit my eyes. I tried to stand up, but I could not move my hands and legs. I felt my hands and feet tied firmly as I lay on the small wooden bed.
I kept my gaze fixed forward and swallowed hard because of the never-ending nervousness. I did not feel earlier that my head was inserted into a small hole, so I could not move it to see what was behind me. I couldn’t raise my head to catch a glimpse of what was above me, but I know what it is because my heart almost stopped pounding earlier at the sight of a gigantic, sharp blade on top of this wooden machine.
That long and pointy blade will surely cut my head.
I immediately averted my attention and dropped my eyes off beneath me. I noticed an enormous basket underneath me and I am certain that if my neck was cut off, my head would fall here.
I took a deep breath.
Someone
ADRASTOS sat in his swivel chair, placing his expensive phone to his left ear. “Come to my office, Xeros. You already know what you’re going to do,” he commands after answering the phone.Xeros nods his head before responding, “I’ll be there in ten minutes. Diabolos summoned me to his office. I think he has something important to discuss with me.”Adrastos heard him knocking on the door of Diabolos’ office and figured he was already there. “Alright,” he said, “just come here later after you finished.”He heard the door open before he replied to him, “Okay.”The person in front of him spoke in a deep voice before Xeros could turn off his phone. “Are you talking to Adrastos?” he questioned.“Yes, Diabolos,” Xeros said, looking at the man in front of him. He was dolled up formally,
“SON, you must study diligently, so you can get a decent job and pull us out of poverty. You know you’re our last hope, right? Your sister and brother already have their own families, so they can’t help us because they, too, are financially unstable,” mom stated after I graduated from senior high school.“Yes, mother. I will study hard for our family and will not let you down,” I responded to her while clutching my diploma. “After I finish college, I’ll look for a good job.”Dad smiled heartily as he turned to face me. “That’s right, son. You should plan your future when you are still young so that you don’t end up like your mother and me; who don’t have our own house, impoverished, and rely solely on street food sales for a living.”Mom nods her head, agreeing. “Derrick, don’t be like your brothers and sisters either! Even th
“I’M SORRY. I didn’t mean to break my promise. I assure you I won’t do it again.” I frequently hear people say that when they breach their promise, they made to someone.And then that someone will just keep patiently waiting for you to do your promise because they instilled trust in you. But It is still up to the person who made the promise whether they will fulfill it or just keep making new promises each day even though they cannot fulfill them because of some reason.But what about people who just make a commitment but have no intention of following through? “I just made a promise to you for certainty, so why would I keep it?” As he talked to her girlfriend, I overheard the man next to me say that.She slapped the guy in the face. “You said you’d marry me when we finished college, but what did I suddenly discover? Why did you give me up for the lady you met a
“SIR, can I ask for a second chance? I pledge to work hard in class. I am begging you, sir! I just really need this scholarship,” I said to Sir Alan as I battled to earn another chance at University.He let out a sigh. “Please accept my apologies, Mr. Villanueva. But you failed, miserably. You not only have a failing grade in one subject but nearly all of them.”“Sir, I’m sorry. I’m just having a hard time with architecture at the moment,” I said to him as I lowered my face in shame.I thought I could do well in this subject’s courses, but it did my brain cells done for architecture. Studying this is extremely hard and challenging.I’m not only attending college, but I also work hard to support my family. In my spare time, I manage the library in the institute, work as a server at a fast-food restaurant after my class, and after my shift end
TODAY IS SUNDAY, so I found an excuse with my parents for not going to school. I still haven’t told them I won’t be able to continue my education as a second-year college student because I failed and lost my scholarship.I was hesitant to tell them because I knew they would be disappointed. They worked so hard to make sure I could go to college because they expected me to help them get out of poverty. My younger siblings are still young, so they do not put any expectations on them. My youngest sibling was still in elementary school, and mom and dad were 43 and 45 years old, respectively.I had an idea to tell my mother about my studies when we were sitting on the narrow and old sofa. “I’m having a lot of trouble at school, Mom. Architecture is not something I am capable of. Hahaha,” I said to my mother, who was still preoccupied with folding our garments.Mom smiled at me after a brief exami
THE car came to a stop in the middle of a vast ocean. I took a deep breath and got out of the car. How many times have we almost been in an accident on the road because of Dabria’s driving speed? Cops have also chased us down for over-speeding! We were fortunate that we departed around morning and that the route was spacious. I thought I was going to die. I rotated my eyes all over the place and spotted a gigantic ship on the edge of the ocean. We must be in a private ocean because I didn’t see anyone else but the three of us. The surroundings were dark, but it didn’t stop me from noticing the broad trees around us, abandoned huts, dilapidated boats, and life jackets on the floor. I was out of the car while Dabria and Azrail departed for a bit because they stated they needed to take care of things here, so I was the only one in my area now. The wind was howling, and sand was flying into my eyes. “Ouch! The sand had gotten into my eye!” I yelled that I
“CONFESS your sin!” the man said in front of me as he looked at my eyes empathetically. Sin? Is committing suicide for the sake of money a sin? Was it my fault that I took this filthy job for money? Is sacrificing myself for money a sin? The answer is, yes. Suicide is a dreadful sin, but what can I do? I’m powerless to intervene. I was just a regular person who was coerced into doing something for money. Money is the world’s source of all evil. Can you see your parents putting in extra effort for you because they expect you to help them out of poverty? Because I can’t. I couldn’t stand seeing my parents working all hours of the day and night for me because they were confident that I could do everything they wanted. I was also sick to death of hearing from their mouths that I was our family’s hope. How can I help my entire family if I can’t even help myself?
UPRIGHT JERKER, what’s that? According to Adrastos, Mr. Duke Dalton selected the method of the upright jerker to kill me. I’m not familiar with that, but based on his comment, he said it’s easy.I shook my head. Is there a simple way to kill yourself? Nothing, of course. Why would he spend so much money if he was just going to kill me with the simplest method he knew? I’m also baffled by his statement that he sees himself in me, but we’re not the same person. What does he mean by that?Does he also plan to trade himself in exchange for money?Adrastos went over in front of me after saying goodbye to the audience and promising to return later. “Follow me to my office,” he said after he reached my place.“So, what are we going to do over there?” I moved closer to him. What are our plans? I expected to be killed as soon as I arrived, but there was st