2359

One

CHAPTER 1: KATHLEEN

The first thing Kathleen noticed was the silence.

She was an ordinary kid, the type who always listened to her parents and one who believed in good studies. She was also born into an Asian family, the ones with older twin brothers, another older brother, younger triplet brothers, an over protective mother and a stern father. Kathleen was an ordinary kid and she never would’ve predicted the series of events that all happened in the period of one minute, a minute that changed her life, forever.

Just before it had all begun, her mother was busy casting her magical spells in the kitchen, the scents of mysterious concoctions wafting out onto the dinner table. It always amazed Kathleen how her mother, who was proud of her culture, was able to create and remake traditional recipes. On the downside, the family rarely was allowed to eat out. It was disgusting and oily apparently. Still, it was these little things that made her mother seem just a tad bit paranoid about society, just a tad.

Her brothers, the three annoying triplets, were busy challenging the other, seeing who could make the best toothpick tower. Feet swinging up and down from atop of the kitchen table, one was jumping up and down, another was crying with anger and the last was simply there grinning with mischief in his eyes. Tom, Timmy and Thomas were their names and Kathleen swore all of them shared the same middle name ‘trouble.’ The three rascals were troubles makers and they knew it. If toothpick towers had seemed impossible, explain glue tack paintings and grass pencils. The family had already long gotten used to their little ramblings and ignoring the three had become a daily routine.

Her other brother, with the last two being at University, was taking refuge on the family couch, the red leather somewhat soothing, and was busy playing a game on an old Gameboy. Apparently, he had gotten the device at a cheap sale and the boy had a weird thing for retro gaming – Pokémon seemed to be his favourite. Its old beeping noises could be heard two rooms away and it was dead obvious when the boy was up gaming as he never bothered with headphones. If you didn’t know better, he looked like a future gamer and maybe even someone wouldn’t be able to get a job. Nelson, as that was his name, was actually an avid game designer who had sights on creating future toys for current society.

Lastly, Kathleen herself was entertaining herself with the sights from the dining room window, the old street light outside flickering on and off as though a child was playing with the switch. The wooden chair she sat on came as a match with the table with its designs being one a kind. It was her favourite chair, carvings of flowers and birds adorned the arm rest and it was nice to swing on, its legs sturdy enough to hold her weight. Also, because she was in a good mood, she was wearing an old watch her grandmother had gifted her with. Its old hands moved with a light tick every time the minute hand would go to indicate another sixty second cycle. It was the pride she wore usually on cool crisp nights like these.

It was an ordinary night. Her father would come home at exactly 0000, her mother would finish cooking at 0010, they would say grace at 0015 and Kathleen would be able to get in bed at 0100. Apparently, it was a good tradition that families had to have a dinner together and, due to her father’s work, dinner was always at around midnight. Such a lifestyle should be tiring, you could argue, however, for this Asian family, it was just another one of their strange rituals. But, this night was different.

Never had there been a more appropriate time for the words ‘the silence was deafening,’ like fate had planned it all from the start, as soon as Kathleen’s watch indicated the minute hand had moved to 2359, silence fell upon the dinner table. Her brothers had stopped whining and the outdated beeps paused. At first, the girl welcomed it. It was hard for her to get a moments silence in a household as busy as this one and it was much needed at times she couldn’t get. However, it wasn’t long before Kathleen felt the unease which hung in the air. Slightly worried, she turned to face her brothers, all of whom were poking sticks at each other. What really got to her was the fact that they were perfectly frozen. For the three of them to stay perfectly still at any given time was impossible. Their cheeky eyes seemed to glint under the soft kitchen light and Kathleen began to realize that none of the three were breathing.