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Pain crashes the soul yet a burning fire fixes it.
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A small chatty voice muffled into my ears, making me furrow my brows.
Someone was too noisy.
I tried to open my eyes to see who was disturbing my sleep. I blinked many times but the light was too bright; my eyes had a hard time adjusting.
"Max, are you awake? Can you hear me?" I followed the source of the voice, though my head felt hefty. I squinted to see clearly.
As the vision started to get clearer, a girl with long and slightly curled burgundy hair was plastering her bitter-sweet smile at me. Her caramel eyes glittered in happiness but ironically reflected some sadness.
"Juliet?" I mumbled. My legs were a little heavy, yet I tried to move my upper body up. "What brought you back? Are you not supposed to be in Canada? Since when did you arrive?" I asked continuously.
"I arrived two days ago. I almost had a heart attack upon hearing the news from Lex. I was worried, so I begged my mom to see you." Something was wrong judging by the expression on her face.
"What news? Was it that bad that you needed to come in such a rush?"
"Y-you don't remember?" She stammered a bit, her voice was full of suspicions.
My heart throbbed for a second, there was an emotion, too strong; it was trying to take over, but I didn't let it overpower me.
The door opened and an average framed guy with a well-developed chest and shoulders, wearing a hood on his head, came rushing in.
"Max? You okay now? Is something aching?" It was Lexter, my only guy friend who was always missing. I stared at him, not quite sure if I knew what he was talking about.
"Lex, I don't think she can remember what happened," Juliet said. Her eyes were not leaving mine.
I looked at the two of them, perplexed as to what they were talking about. I searched for some memories in my head, but an electric shock ran through my brain which caused me to feel dizzy. I grabbed my head and I noticed a dextrose injected in my hand.
"Just take your rest, Max, the doctor will be here anytime soon," Lex said.
"A doctor?" I ran my eyes through the white room and noticed a familiar veranda from the wide window adjacent to my bed. Then, I realized I was in our private house quite far from the city. "What will a doctor do here?"
I took off the blanket and tried to stand, but I had a hard time pulling my lower body.
"What happened to my legs? I can't move it." I asked hysterically. "Juliet, why can't I move my legs?" My chest started to pound loudly and rapidly as I tried to change the positions of my legs. My attempts were futile, nervousness and fear prevailed in my mind. I didn't know what to do.
"I-I'm not sure why, Max," she said worriedly.
"Where is Baba?" I asked but they didn't answer. They just exchanged glances. "Where's mom? Where's my phone? I'll call her." I shifted my head and looked for my bag, then someone pushed the door open. My eyes glittered in hope upon recognizing a familiar man with a big and tall body.
"Baba?" I mumbled.
"How are you feeling?" he asked as he walked towards me. I saw Juliet muttered something to him.
He approached closer and I recognized him. "U-uncle Danny? W-where is Baba?" I asked. Uncle was my father's elder brother, they were quite identical except that he appeared more mature than my dad. With his busy life, he had forgotten how to smile.
"Can't you remember anything?" he asked. I shook off my head as an answer.
"Uncle, I'm not certain about what I should be remembering right now."
"Max, you were comatose for more than a week. I've run some tests on you. Gladly, the results are fine. Based on the CT scan, you don't have any fractures in your head."
"If that's so, why can't she remember what happened a week ago?" Juliet inquired.
"The probable reason she can't remember anything is a temporary memory loss, or she might also be driven by motivated forgetting." The private doctor next to uncle answered.
"I don't understand, why would I experience memory loss?" My voice cracked as I laughed at the absurbity of their words.
"Max, why don't you eat first, your stomach had been empty for days," Lex suggested.
The skin on my forehead crinkled at the expression of his face, but I disregarded it, "Where's Mom and Baba? Can you call them please."
"Max... " Sadness overpowered uncle's voice, I didn't think I would like whatever he was going to spill.
"What? What's going on? Why are you showing off that kind of face?"
Nobody answered and it frustrated me. "Are you keeping something from me? How about Mom and Baba? Where are they!" I demanded though part of me didn't want to push for it.
"They're gone," uncled mumbled softly. For a second, I felt like I was a lemon cut in two.
"They are dead," he added.
Three words. Just three words and it was like I was deliberately being squeezed to death.
"That's not a good joke." My heart stopped palpitating for a while. I pleaded for a response, but they all shifted their eyes away from me.
"But how did that happen-" I stopped as memories started to bring me back to the scene I wished had never happened. I got glued to my bed.
It can't be!
"Max, be strong." Juliet was already rubbing my back, worried that I was left dazed.
"No, it can't be," I uttered, not even sure if it reached their ears. "Tell me that it was just a nightmare." I was speaking while still lost in space and emptiness. My voice as I spoke was begging for acknowledgment but all I had received from them was regret and pity.
"Tell me!" I demanded as I wanted them to say something I would be happy to hear.
"Be calm, Max." Lex hushed me and held my shoulders, suddenly, I felt an itch on my neck. Gradually, I lost my strength.
My parents are dead. How am I suppose to leave now that the ones' I treasure the most are gone?

Q: What can you say about Lexter and her uncle's actions? Is it justifiable?
I didn't know things would go this fast. If I had been at least informed that they will leave this world, I should have hugged mom longer, I should have at least took a good look at my father's face. I should have not been so rude to them. Why couldn't life or fate give us that privilege, that way, we wouldn't have many regrets in life? "Max, let's go! The weather looks bad, it will rain anytime soon. We'll go back here another day, okay?" Juliet tapped me on my shoulder. I placed my hand on her hand and looked her in the eyes. "No, you go. I'll stay here a little longer." I smiled, though it was a weary one, it was enough to let her feel that I would be fine. "Max, I understand your situation. I am also in agony about what happened, but it's painful seeing you like this. Your paren
"Are you sure you are going to apply to that company?" Lex asked while pointing at a convex 24-story high-rise building captivating his eyes from the window of his car. Its semi-baronial style and high-class structure were quite impressive that it kicked other buildings out from ones' sight. "Wouldn't it be hard for you to move on when you're there?" There was so much worry in his voice as he spoke, and I understood where it was coming from. But I couldn't think of him in that instance, there was something more important than what they feel, and that was my revenge. "I'll search patiently for pieces of shredded evidence they had left and work hard to form the picture-puzzle of the culprit. I will make them pay for what they've caused me. And this place shall witness my initial step." The seat belt was probably screaming as I tightened my grip on it and it wasn't far from the current state of my hea
After what felt like years of searching, I finally found an office named after Mr. Lleneda. I knocked, but no one answered. The papers felt so heavy on my arms and I got exhausted for searching his room, so I pushed open the steel door and decided to put the papers on the table. Facing it was a two rectangular-shaped sofa with a glass table in the middle. It felt so soft and tempting; right before I realized it, my body was already lying flat, lost on its cloudy like texture. A few minutes later, after I felt an increase in my energy level, I got up. No one is around yet, this is a good opportunity to start looking for information. My hand roamed around as it tried to feel the surfaces of each object, not really sure of what to look for. The office was clean yet covered with a thick cream-colored curtain which made his room look dim. There were more or less three portraits plastered on the
While waiting for our order to come to the table, Lexter started talking about his meeting with the private investigator. "Our investigator had been looking through various profiles your parents had a connection with. He couldn't find any suspicious individuals yet, but-," he cut his words short, hesitant if he should say it or not. "But?" I urged impatiently.
The dark and gloomy sky was bathed in magical silver light and I can't help but watch in awe from the comfort of the soft foamy front seat of Lexter's car. He decided to stop for a while on the near edge of the world so we could breathe from the stress and frustrations of life. "How's your back? Can you feel any crack on your spine?" he interrupted, worried about the condition of my back after I told him everything that happened in the room.
The vibrant hues of red blended with tangerines and purples painted the sky and sent a quite invigorating panorama that welcomed us as we landed in Narita International Airport. The rays touched down in the horizon behind the shadow of a mountain peak as the moon appeared on the other side to catch up with the escaping sun. No one but myself seemed to appreciate the nature-sent invitation as passengers moved swiftly out of the plane.
When the day bleedsinto nightfalland you're not hereto help me through it all,I let my guard down and let you pull the rugI was getting kinda used to being someone you love.
It was getting late, so I decided to go back to the hotel. But as I approached the grand entrance, a couple of familiar faces in their black tuxedo made their way out. I turned my back on them and shifted my movement opposite to their direction. I kept an eye at them over my shoulder as I slowly walked away. They all rode in different automobiles and it moved one after the other. I didn't avert my eyes as they slowly disappear from my sight. They were stakeholders of the company, same with my parents, I just wondered why they were here. I knew that Mr. Ryle was in a m