Chapter 4: Sibling
Midway on the journey back home, Rendy, pushing his sister's wheelchair, smiled as he looked at her from behind.
Reina, aware of her brother's expression, then said, "Why are you smiling? You're weird."
Rendy chuckled softly while pushing his younger sister.
They stopped in front of the newspaper office where Rendy used to work. The office that fired Rendy.
Rendy glanced at the office building.
His heart still felt the betrayal by his coworkers.
Reina then spoke up, "Isn't this your workplace?" she asked.
"Yes," Rendy replied.
Seeing the building made Rendy's blood boil. He then pushed his sister's wheelchair away from that location.
During their journey, they stopped again in front of the university where Rendy had been shot.
Rendy suddenly experienced nostalgia.
He imagined the event repeating in his mind.
Rendy vividly remembered the aroma, atmosphere, and feeling of that moment.
Sweat started to trickle down Rendy's head as he imagined the incident.
The face of the bald man who shot him also flashed in his mind, raising many questions that Rendy didn't want to answer in his head.
"Brother?"
Reina's voice broke Rendy's thoughts and snapped him out of his fearful reverie.
Rendy then resumed pushing his sister's wheelchair.
They moved on.
After a few meters, Rendy stopped due to fatigue.
Reina looked up at her older brother.
"If you're tired, we can rest for a bit," she said.
Rendy smiled at his younger sister, then his attention was stolen by an ice cream vendor nearby.
When Rendy was little, their late mother always bought ice cream.
And that ice cream vendor was their mother's favorite.
Rendy recalled all the flashbacks about his mother.
When Rendy was a child, he was a crybaby, often crying even when left alone in the kitchen for just five minutes.
If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
And every time Rendy cried, he was always taken to that ice cream shop.
But When Reina was born, Rendy start grew from being a crybaby into an independent child.
Rendy then looked at his younger sister.
"Want some ice cream?"
Reina smiled and nodded eagerly, as if ice cream word was magic.
Rendy then pushed his sister's wheelchair towards the ice cream shop.
Rendy opened the door. When they entered, there were already many people inside, waiting in line.
Rendy glanced at his younger sister.
"It's crowded," he remarked.
Reina smiled at her older brother as if to say she wanted to stay in line.
Rendy decided to queue up.
After a few minutes of waiting in line, Rendy finally reached the cashier.
The server had a grumpy face.
"Which flavor do you want?" she asked curtly.
"I'd like strawberry and chocolate in a regular cup," Rendy replied.
The server went inside to prepare Rendy's order.
After a while, she returned and handed two ice creams to Rendy.
When she looked at Reina, her initially grumpy face turned into a smile.
She looked at Reina joyfully.
"Hello, sweetie, I hope this ice cream makes you smile," she said to Reina.
Reina just sat in her wheelchair, smiling shyly.
Then Rendy asked about the price of the ice creams.
The server replied that it was 10 ren.
Rendy reached into his pants pocket and realized he was still wearing the clothes from his own funeral.
Embarrassment swept over Rendy. He didn't have his wallet with him in this outfit.
He looked at the server.
"I'm sorry, I don't have any money," Rendy said, then handed back the ice creams.
Reina looked a bit sad when the ice creams were returned.
The server felt sorry for Reina and handed one of the ice creams to her.
"This one's i paid." said the server.
Reina smiled.
Feeling uneasy, Rendy thanked the server.
After that, they left the ice cream shop.
They only got one ice cream, but for Rendy, what mattered was seeing Reina happy.
Reina eagerly licked her ice cream.
After that, they hurried home.
Upon arriving home, Rendy immediately locked the door.
Their house was neither too big nor too small. It used to be their mother's parents' house.
Rendy let Reina move around in her wheelchair by herself.
Feeling tired, Rendy looked towards the sofa.
The sofa looked inviting for relaxation.
Rendy approached the sofa.
Suddenly, a knock on the door was heard from outside.
Initially wanting to lie down on the sofa, Rendy went to the door and opened it.
Standing in front of the door was an elderly couple, looking surprised to see Rendy from their wrinkled faces.
They were the elderly couple next door, Mr. Flint and Mrs. Fiana.
After Rendy's mother passed away, they were responsible for taking care of Rendy and Reina.
They did this out of a simple reason. It was about the debt of life owed by Rendy's mother.
Mrs. Fiana once had a stroke. There was no one in the area who knew how to take care of a stroke patient.
But Rendy's mother was an experienced hospital nurse. She could take care of Mrs. Fiana.
After successfully caring for Mrs. Fiana, Mr. Flint felt indebted to Rendy's mother.
Therefore, they always took care of Rendy and Reina after their mother passed away.
Mrs. Fiana approached Rendy and held his cheek.
"Is this really you, Rendy?"
"Yes," Rendy replied.
"I saw you rise from the coffin at the church," Mrs. Fiana said.
"I wanted to approach you, but there were many police at that time," she added.
Rendy just smiled. It was true that there was a slight commotion at the previous church when Rendy rose, caused by a green creature.
Rendy then asked, "Did they catch the culprit?"
Mrs. Fiana and Mr. Flint shook their heads.
"How much money did they take from you?"Rendy ask
Mrs. Fiana hugged Rendy.
"That's not important. What's important is your resurrection. I'm sure your mother wouldn't want you to meet her so soon," Mrs. Fiana chuckled softly.
After that, Mrs. Fiana went inside the house to check on Reina.
Leaving Rendy and Mr. Flint outside the house.
Mr. Flint approached Rendy and smiled.
"Tell me, how afterlife?" he asked.
"Did you get picked up by a sexy angel as taught by The One's teachings?" he added.
Rendy laughed at that.
After a few minutes of joking around, Mrs. Fiana came out.
"Rendy, I heard you got fired, is that true?" she asked.
"Yes," Rendy replied.
Mrs. Fiana then approached Rendy and hugged him.
"Be patient, try applying to various jobs and don't forget to pray to The One," she said.
"Okay," Rendy replied.
Then Mr Flint added, "By the way, change your clothes. Why are you still wearing funeral clothes?"
Rendy laughed at that. Then Mr. Flint and Mrs. Fiana went back to their house next door.
Feeling itchy in this outfit, Rendy then closed the door and walked towards his room.
In his room, he took a towel behind the door.
Then he walked towards the bathroom.
He opened the bathroom door and entered, closing it tightly.
He then took the carnation from his clothes and threw it in the bathroom trash can.
He then took off his black suit and opened his white shirt, undressing completely.
He took a dipper nearby and scooped water from the bath.
He poured the water from the dipper over his head like a waterfall.
After rinsing himself, Rendy then took a bar of soap and applied it to every corner of his body.
After that, Rendy started rinsing his body again.
A few minutes after showering, Rendy came out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his lower body.
He took his dirty clothes and put them in a box next to the bathroom.
Then he walked towards his room.
He closed his room so that no one would enter.
He then opened his towel and began drying himself.
While drying himself, he remembered the promise of the slave of death in the realm of death.
He felt that the Slave of Death might not come after all.
After drying himself, he started putting on underwear and then wore clothes like a white T-shirt and black shorts.
Feeling fully dressed, Rendy then walked out of the house.
He then hung his towel on the front clothesline.
After that, he went back inside and looked at the sofa.
Still tempted by the sofa, he jumped towards it and lay down there.
There, he began to close his eyes.