Black Lotus

8 - Hollow

July 2, 2016 | Saturday

Again. July 2, 2016, Saturday.

Once more. July 2, 2016, Saturday.

I officially marked this day as the worst day of my life. This was the day I lost one of the most important people in my life. He was stolen from me and now I'd never get him back. This was crazy to me, how everything was just looking on the brighter side but tragedy struck.

It all started out with a phone call.

Today at Ethereal, I was busy. No, that was an understatement, I was running rapid. There was a huge article that I had to write on the Brexit vote, and I wasn't even halfway there. So naturally, I was stressed, doing multiple tasks around the building while I should've been writing that article. First, I had to conduct an interview with a new artist, which I didn't mind, since their music was actually pretty good. But again, when I thought I was free to write, Cameron asked me about doing a coffee run to Starbucks. I obliged. After all, she is my boss.

I was handed her car keys. But before I left, I needed to go get my cell phone. So I went to my desk and picked it up. I saw that Adelaide had called fourteen times, and Max had called eight. Seeing that Adelaide made more attempts to contact me, I called her back first.

The phone rang a couple of times, then Adelaide answered. "O-Oasis," she managed to say. I already knew she was hyperventilating and crying. "They killed him! They killed him! We were just driving and-" She spoke so fast, I couldn't hear everything she said.

"Wait, wait! Adelaide slow down, I can barely make out what you're saying right now. Take a deep breath, then continue."

Through the phone, I heard her follow my commands. "Ocean is... he's... dead. We were driving down the highway when a police officer pulled us over and when Ocean rolled down the window they shot him! Over and over again!"

"I don't believe you! I don't believe you!" I cried. Tears were streaming down my face but I knew it couldn't be true. Ocean wasn't immortal, but he was strong, and it's not even his time yet to go. He's too young and there's too many things he has yet to accomplish.

"You have to believe me, Oasis. I wouldn't lie about something like this!"

"How long has he been gone?"

"Since an hour ago. The last thing he said was that he loved you and he wanted you to live your life. After that, his heart monitor stopped beeping. I'm sorry," her voice croaked. She told me that he was still in the hospital bed, but the body was covered up with a sheet.

Body. I highly disliked that word. Ocean wasn't a body. Ocean is a he. Ocean is a living, breathing, fully functioning human just like the rest of us. Ocean is Ocean.

I hung up. In all honesty I wanted throw my phone across the room at the wall but I'd rather not cause a scene and draw attention to myself. Cameron came into the office and saw that something was obviously going on with me.

"What's wrong Oasis? Why are you crying?"

"Uh," I wiped away a few tears, "my friend just called me and my brother has passed apparently. Someone shot him."

"Wow, I'm so sorry. You know what? Forget all of your assignments, just take the rest of the day off. Take as long as you need actually, I know how hard it is to deal with a loss."