In My Hands, Know Suffering

32: And Suffer The Consequence

If Kerxis was asked to define how Time had treated him, he would answer it with a smile. Time, when he was a boy, felt like the longest and painful experience. It was brought by the words of his parents who stressed his mental state. He wasn't good enough or something was missing. His father would say, "Damn it, Kerxis, pull your head off the clouds and concentrate! You want to sleep in the basement again?"

Kerxis could never really understand what he should be concentrating on. His studies? He knew he was doing well in school. He followed his parents instructions. He was a good boy, but his mother wouldn't even pull him to a tight hug even after writing a Letter of Gratitude for Mom on Mother's Day tasked by their homeroom adviser.

Time, when he was a teen, years after Castellone's birth, became worst. He felt like he was running a race he can't win, he was driving through lengths he couldn't finish. He almost surrendered after a supposed defeat. His parents didn't allow him the luxury of friends or someone to talk to, as if they were putting him to a test, waiting for something in him to awaken. If he disobeyed, he would sleep in the basement as punishment, the cold and dark space in the house. But, when his parents died, when he thought they would never stop with their words, he felt free.

He stood on his own, finally able to make decisions for himself. He experienced making friends. He finally spoke to his younger brother like he never did. He graduated college. He landed a job. He fell in love, got married. He was starting a family soon. Everything was alright. He didn't let his childhood eat him. He was the pillar that stood strong for himself and his brother, and now, his wife.

Perhaps time wasn't always an asshole to those who have mastered the agonizing demands of patience. Time, at present, had been treating him well with the blessings deprived of him during childhood. It was payback, perhaps an apology.

But, it would seem like Time was slipping away from his grasp once again. Especially in this one critical moment that he had to face alone. Time was indeed a cruel one.

Kerxis tried to call home for several times now ever since the meeting had concluded. Sure, they landed another successful deal with the clients and stakeholders, but that wasn't the highlight of the day. Flarion hasn't been returning his calls which she normally didn't do unless she was busy with work, but she wasn't right now. Her panicked voice was the sound that drove him insane for the rest of the day right after placing that call earlier.

He tried to call again. When she didn't answer still, he left a brief message, that he was driving home that instant. He had already called the cops just in case. It was afternoon when he pulled the car over the garage doors and wasted no time as he dashed inside the house.

"Flarion?" He called out the minute he got inside. Frantic, he searched the rooms in the ground floor when she didn't greet him upon his arrival. She would always greet him. There wasn't a day after her arrival in the house that she hadn't greeted him.

He looked through the kitchen and dining room, the living room was as empty like the rest. He was by the entertainment room when he heard a thudding sound from the floor above. It immediately stole his attention.

"Flarion?" He tried again, but no one answered while he slowly ascended the stairs. When he was halfway upstairs, he heard the slightest sound, like a puddle of water being stepped and splashed over. He swallowed. There was no bathroom at the second floor for water to spilling by the sound of it.

He headed for his parent's old bedroom, it was to be converted as the bedroom of their baby soon. It was the first room after the flight of stairs. No one was there.

He moved towards their bedroom, his brows furrowed when the sound grew louder. He went over his drawers and pulled the lowest line. He took a pistol that was concealed under the board that served as platform for his clothes. The silence was getting unusual and he still haven't seen Flarion anywhere around the house.