Chapter 2: Tragedy Strikes

As the morning sun pierced through the curtains, Hashi reluctantly opened his eyes, greeted by a new day drenched in despair. He mechanically went through the motions of his daily routine, brushing his teeth and taking a bath, but there was an emptiness in his movements, a void that echoed the loss that consumed him.

Stepping out of the bathroom, his heart heavy with anticipation, he called out for his mother and brother, expecting their warm presence to fill the air. Silence was his only response. Confusion seeped into his thoughts as he realized his mother had not returned from the store, and it was his brother's turn to remain at home. The absence of their voices and laughter painted a bleak picture in his mind.

Questioning the absence, he searched for reasons why they hadn't come home the previous night. It wasn't a special occasion or his birthday, leaving him perplexed. He remembered working late into the night, treading softly to avoid disturbing their rest, unaware that they were absent from his life entirely. These thoughts churned in his mind as he mechanically prepared breakfast, his hands moving without purpose.

Growing worry gnawed at his soul, pushing him to reach out for his mother's voice. But each attempt met with an agonizing silence. Determined, he dialed his brother's number, yearning to hear his familiar voice. Alas, the phone remained eerily quiet. Anxiety clawed at him as he packed the breakfast he had prepared, his heart heavy with trepidation.

The path to the store felt longer than ever before. Each step was accompanied by an unsettling emptiness, a growing void that consumed him. Yet, as he walked, he couldn't help but sing a tune his mother had lovingly sung for him and his brother. The melody, once filled with warmth and joy, now echoed through the empty streets, carrying a haunting sense of loss.

Approaching the store, a pungent metallic scent filled the air, causing Hashi's heart to skip a beat. Fear held him hostage just outside the entrance, his body paralyzed by the foreboding aura that lingered. Summoning all his courage, he pushed open the door, his eyes widening in horror at the sight before him.

"NNNNoooooo!" His anguished cry reverberated through the desolate store. There, bathed in crimson, lay the lifeless bodies of his beloved mother and brother. Time seemed to stand still as Hashi's world crumbled around him. He rushed to their side, his tears cascading down his face, pleading for the nightmare to dissipate, for his family to return from the clutches of death.

With trembling hands, he clung to his mother, desperately urging her not to leave him. He turned to his brother, his voice quivering as he called out his name, as if summoning him back to the realm of the living. The weight of the truth settled upon his shoulders - their lives were brutally taken in a senseless act of robbery, a loss inflicted upon them by the cold, heartless hands of fate.

As the villagers shared the grim details of the heinous crime, Hashi's heart shattered further. The world around him became a blur as he laid his loved ones to rest, their graves serving as a solemn reminder of the void left in his life. Returning to his now desolate home, he sank into a chair, his gaze fixed on a future devoid of hope.

Hashi found himself lost in the remnants of his past, replaying memories that now existed only in the depths of his heart. His family, once the anchors that held him steady, were torn away, leaving him adrift in a sea of

despair. Each breath felt heavier than the last as he questioned the purpose of his existence. Was there a reason to carry on when everything he held dear had been mercilessly ripped away?

Just as he teetered on the precipice of surrender, a sudden wave of unconsciousness crashed over him, pulling him into a void of darkness where his pain and anguish momentarily faded away.