Every year, on the first day, at the first minute of the first hour, 1 thousand people are chosen at random to make the ultimate choice.

These thousand people all come from the slums, and all have backward morals.

But this story is not about those people who lie and steal to live; no, this story is about a naïve young boy who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

His name was Alex.

He grew up in the worst part of the slums, yet still sees the light in the suffocating darkness.

He was too pure for the world.

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Alex woke up with a start, blinking blearily and looking around dazedly.

He had no idea where he was, or even how he got there.

Around him slept many other people. Too many to count. Not that he could count anyway, but he liked to think that there were too many to count.

He sat up and tried to look around, trying to find out where he was.

There were no walls he could see, and it was pitch black. The only light illuminating the area were the floating torches, lit and too high to touch.

It slowly dawned on him that he couldn't see his mother anywhere, and his sister was nowhere to be seen.

He was all alone.

He had to hold hope.

Maybe they were just really far away?

Maybe… maybe they were as lost as he was?

Maybe they were at home, wondering where he was?

Or maybe, just maybe, they were dea--

NO. No sad thoughts.

He had to stay happy. Upbeat. Someone in their family had to, and he had taken on the role after the others didn't want to.

So… what now?

Should he start wandering in a random direction? But he'd get lost that way!

So he should stay put. Yes! Stay put! Don't wander! Just like his mum told him to!

So he waits patiently. And even more patiently. And even more patiently. Until-

A light! A light that isn't a torch!

It's coming closer! What should he do?

Should he run?

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But it doesn't look scary.

In fact, it looks… almost lonely.

Aww. Someone needs some hugs and cheerful compliments!

Alex decided to wait patiently for the light to come closer, because he was told to stay where he was when he was lost and to not move a muscle.

He trusted his mum to not lead him astray.

So he waited patiently for the light to come closer.

He did not wait long, and as the light drew closer, it began to take the shape of a person.

This person had smooth, silky white wings on his back.

They look heavy. His back must be in a lot of pain.

As the person drew even closer, Alex saw that they were floating. How odd.

He didn’t think that people have learnt how to float yet. Alex wants to float as well!

It looks so fun!

The person stopped around a meter away from Alex, not that he knew how far a meter was, but he liked to think it was that far. It made for interesting stories.

The person started talking in a calming tone, making Alex drowsy.

But Alex wasn't about to be rude to the person and fall asleep! He would never live down the same of that! So he pushed through, and listened to the person as they talked.

The person held two chalices, both filled with liquid. The left one was filled with a clear, bright white liquid, while the other was filled with a murky, dark black liquid.

The person offered him both chalices and said to only drink one.

"Are you going to drink the one I don't take?"

The person nodded at Alex's innocent question, and gestured to the chalices again, inviting him to take one.

Alex took the chalice with the murky black liquid, leaving the white liquid for the person.

He smiled and drank all of the liquid in his cup, and waited patiently as the person drank from their chalice.

Beaming with happiness as the person finished drinking, he suddenly felt nauseous.

He slapped a hand over his mouth and tried to seem normal to the person. He didn't want to look like he didn’t enjoy the gift he was given.

The person, on the other hand, shined brighter, almost bright enough to blind someone, but not quite.

Soon, Alex's world was spinning and he felt even more tired and exhausted and lethargic.

He didn't like that he was feeling that way, but still tried to seem normal and happy, intent on making it look like he was happy and bright.

It did not last long.

He soon dropped to the ground, asleep.

The person looked calmly down at him, smiling slightly and asked a single question to the unresponsive Alex.

"Do you regret it?"

Though the person received no reply, they were satisfied at the answer they got.

The person turned and left, leaving the unconscious Alex lying with the other thousand people.

Soon, the loop repeated itself, with some people waking up and running away instantly, only to find a looming wall, an inescapable prison and a creepy person with grey wings, and others who started trying to loot the other unconscious people, aiming to get as much money as they could. They met a very angry person with black wings.

In the end, the result of the choices these people made were predictable.

They all chose to drink from the white cup, leaving the black cup for the person.

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Alex woke up with a start, blinking blearily and looking around dazedly.

He was in his bed at home, and he was ever grateful.

He stood up instantly, experiencing a short wave of vertigo before running to find his family and hug them for a long time.

He never wanted to get lost again. Ever again.

A week after he drank from the black chalice, a knock came on the door of his house.

He scrambled to the door, hoping to keep the person at the door waiting for the shortest time possible.

He opened to door to find a whole entourage of people, all wearing the distinctive white robes that belong to those who reside in the Heavenly Realm.

They offered him a place in Heaven, but he refused apologetically, saying that he wanted to stay with his family, if that was alright with them.

They accepted, and said that they always had a place for him in Heaven, should he want it.

Alex was perplexed. Why would they offer him a place in heaven? He had done nothing of note in his short life of 14 years.

He explained to them that surely there were other people more deserving of this gift than him. He… he was nobody of worth.

He had done nothing to warrant this kind of offer.

But they obstinately refused, saying that out of everyone, he was the one most deserving of this gift.

And Alex… well, Alex still wanted to stay with his family.

And they were alright with that. They always had a place for him in Heaven, should he want it.

They left without warning, there one second and gone the next. Leaving only a small chalice on the ground as proof of their visit.