**EPISODE EIGHTY-NINE**
**THE CLASS THAT TAUGHT MILO HOW TO DIE**
**Part Thirty: THE LESSON THAT SHOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN TAUGHT**
---
The bell...
rang again.
DING.
Milo sat perfectly still.
Twenty-seven children stared at him.
The teacher stood beside the blackboard.
The words remained:
HOW TO DIE FOR THE FIRST TIME
Milo slowly raised his hand.
The teacher looked at him.
"Yes, Milo?"
"I have another question."
"Of course."
"Why am I in school?"
The teacher smiled.
"Because you were absent."
Milo frowned.
"From what?"
"Your first death."
Silence.
One child giggled.
Another whispered...
"He doesn't remember."
Milo turned.
"Remember what?"
The child immediately looked down.
Milo stood.
"Who are you?"
The child shook his head.
"I can't tell you."
"Why?"
"Because you're not supposed to know yet."
Milo looked at the teacher.
"Can someone please explain what's happening?"
The teacher nodded.
"Certainly."
She turned to the blackboard.
Then wrote:
TODAY'S OBJECTIVE:
MAKE MILO REMEMBER WHY HE DIED.
Milo stared.
"That's the objective?"
"Yes."
"Could we maybe have a less depressing subject?"
The teacher considered it.
"No."
"Mathematics?"
"No."
"History?"
"Technically, this is history."
Milo sighed.
"Of course it is."
A child in the front row raised his hand.
"Ma'am?"
"Yes?"
"Can we have recess?"
The teacher looked at him.
"After Milo dies."
The child nodded.
"Fair."
Milo stared at him.
"Why is everyone so casual about my death?"
The child shrugged.
"We've seen it before."
Milo froze.
"What?"
The entire classroom went silent.
The teacher slowly turned.
"Class..."
She smiled.
"Page one."
Every child opened a book.
Milo looked down.
There was a book on his desk.
He hadn't noticed it before.
He opened it.
The first page contained one sentence.
MILO DIES.
Milo stared.
"No."
He turned the page.
MILO DIES AGAIN.
"No."
Another page.
MILO DIES DIFFERENTLY.
Milo slammed the book shut.
"Absolutely not."
The teacher nodded.
"Excellent."
"What?"
"You've reached the first lesson."
Milo frowned.
"What lesson?"
The teacher wrote:
LESSON ONE
DEATH IS NOT THE END.
Milo looked at the sentence.
Then at the teacher.
"I already know that."
The teacher smiled.
"Do you?"
Milo hesitated.
The teacher leaned closer.
"Then tell me..."
She whispered.
"...what happens after you die?"
Milo opened his mouth.
Nothing came out.
The teacher smiled.
"Exactly."
---
1. THE STUDENTS
Milo looked around the classroom.
Twenty-seven children.
All different.
Except...
they all had the same eyes.
Milo pointed at the first child.
"What's your name?"
The boy answered.
"Seven."
"Seven?"
"Yes."
"That's your name?"
"Yes."
Milo pointed at another.
"You?"
"Fourteen."
Another.
"Twenty."
Milo frowned.
"Are those numbers?"
The teacher answered.
"Versions."
Milo stopped.
"What?"
The teacher continued writing.
"Each child represents a version of Milo that never survived long enough to become Milo."
Milo stared.
"How many versions?"
The teacher smiled.
"Twenty-seven in this classroom."
"And outside?"
The teacher paused.
"Would you like the comforting answer?"
"Yes."
"No."
Milo sighed.
"How many?"
"Too many."
One child raised his hand.
Milo looked at him.
"What?"
The child said...
"I'm the version that became a poet."
Milo blinked.
Another child raised his hand.
"I'm the version that became a king."
Another:
"I'm the version that became a murderer."
Another:
"I'm the version that never learned to walk."
Another:
"I'm the version that became a refrigerator."
Milo stared.
"A refrigerator?"
The child nodded proudly.
"Very successful."
Milo rubbed his forehead.
"I don't want to know."
Tarzan's voice suddenly came from somewhere behind him.
"Refrigerator is good career."
Milo spun around.
"Tarzan?"
Nobody was there.
Milo looked under the desk.
Nothing.
"Where are you?"
Tarzan answered...
"Present."
Milo looked toward the teacher.
"Is he invisible?"
The teacher nodded.
"Currently."
"Why?"
"Because he failed invisibility."
Milo frowned.
"How can someone fail at being invisible?"
Tarzan answered...
"I was too handsome."
Milo closed his eyes.
"Of course."
The children laughed.
The teacher smiled.
Then...
one child's laughter stopped.
He looked toward the classroom door.
"Ma'am."
The teacher turned.
"Yes?"
"Someone is outside."
The room became silent.
Milo looked at the door.
A shadow moved beneath it.
Slowly.
Back and forth.
As if someone was walking outside.
Milo whispered...
"Who?"
The teacher didn't answer.
The shadow stopped.
A knock came.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
BOOM.
The children lowered their heads.
Milo stood.
"What is it?"
The teacher whispered...
"Your first memory."
---
2. THE DOOR THAT REMEMBERED
The classroom door opened.
Nobody stood outside.
Only darkness.
Milo approached.
The teacher grabbed his arm.
"Don't."
"Why?"
"Because once you step through..."
She hesitated.
"...you may remember everything."
Milo stared at the darkness.
"Isn't that the point?"
"No."
"Then what is?"
"To remember only enough to survive."
Milo frowned.
"That's ridiculous."
The teacher nodded.
"Welcome to memory."
Milo stepped through.
The classroom vanished.
He stood in a hospital.
Machines beeped.
A clock showed:
03:17
Milo looked around.
A bed stood in the center.
Someone was lying on it.
He approached.
The patient was...
himself.
Milo stopped breathing.
The younger Milo opened his eyes.
He looked terrified.
A woman stood beside the bed.
Diana.
But she looked different.
Younger.
Angrier.
Sadder.
Milo whispered...
"Diana."
She couldn't hear him.
The younger Milo looked at her.
"Am I dying?"
Diana nodded.
"Yes."
"Will I come back?"
Diana's eyes filled with tears.
"I don't know."
Young Milo smiled.
"That's okay."
Diana held his hand.
"Why?"
"Because..."
Young Milo looked toward the ceiling.
"...I think someone is waiting for me."
Milo felt a chill.
The machines began beeping faster.
03:18.
03:19.
03:20.
Young Milo whispered...
"Is anyone there?"
Milo froze.
The question.
The first question.
But this wasn't the first question.
It was happening again.
The same question...
inside a hospital.
Diana looked toward the corner.
Something stood there.
A faceless figure.
Milo whispered...
"No."
The figure leaned toward young Milo.
Young Milo stared at it.
Then smiled.
"You."
The figure nodded.
Milo shouted...
"NO!"
Nobody heard him.
The figure touched young Milo's forehead.
The machines stopped.
03:21.
Young Milo died.
Milo stood frozen.
Then...
the dead body disappeared.
Diana screamed.
The room went black.
Milo fell backward.
And a voice whispered...
"That wasn't your first death."
Milo turned.
The teacher stood behind him.
"What?"
She pointed toward the bed.
"That was your first recorded death."
Milo stared.
"Recorded?"
"Yes."
"Then what's the difference?"
The teacher answered...
"Your real first death happened before you were born."
Milo's face went blank.
"Excuse me?"
The teacher smiled.
"That's tomorrow's lesson."
Milo stared at her.
"Tomorrow?"
She nodded.
"If you survive today."
Milo sighed.
"Why does everyone here talk like that?"
The teacher smiled.
"Because we're educators."
---
3. THE EXAM
The hospital disappeared.
Milo was back in the classroom.
The children were waiting.
The teacher placed a paper on his desk.
"Final examination."
Milo looked at it.
There were only three questions.
QUESTION ONE:
WHO ARE YOU?
Milo wrote:
MILO.
The paper changed.
WRONG.
Milo sighed.
He crossed it out.
He wrote:
THE ANSWER.
The paper changed.
WRONG.
Milo frowned.
He wrote:
A CHARACTER.
WRONG.
He wrote:
A QUESTION.
WRONG.
He stared at the paper.
"Can I write 'I don't know'?"
The paper changed.
CORRECT.
Milo stared.
"Seriously?"
The teacher nodded.
"Excellent."
Milo looked suspicious.
"This exam is rigged."
"All good exams are."
He moved to Question Two.
QUESTION TWO:
WHEN DID YOU FIRST EXIST?
Milo thought.
Then wrote:
WHEN THE BOY REMEMBERED ME.
The paper changed.
WRONG.
Milo frowned.
He wrote:
WHEN THE STORY CREATED ME.
WRONG.
He wrote:
WHEN I WAS BORN.
WRONG.
Milo dropped the pencil.
"Then when?"
The paper answered:
WHEN YOU WERE MISSED.
Milo froze.
"Missed?"
The teacher said nothing.
Question Three appeared.
QUESTION THREE:
WHO MISSED YOU?
Milo stared at the paper.
He wrote:
DIANA.
Wrong.
TARZAN.
Wrong.
THE BOY.
Wrong.
THE FIRST MILO.
Wrong.
Milo became frustrated.
He wrote:
THE STORY.
Wrong.
He threw the pencil.
"I give up!"
The classroom became completely silent.
The teacher slowly smiled.
"Correct."
Milo blinked.
"What?"
"You gave up."
"So?"
"That was the answer."
Milo looked at the paper.
The three questions disappeared.
A new sentence appeared.
THE FIRST THING YOU EVER LOST WAS YOURSELF.
Milo stared.
Then another line appeared.
THE FIRST THING THAT MISSED YOU WAS THE HOUSE.
The classroom shook.
Milo stood.
"The house?"
The teacher nodded.
"The house was built around your absence."
Milo's chest began burning.
The door inside him appeared.
The children gasped.
The teacher stepped backward.
"Everyone out."
The children ran.
Milo remained.
"What is happening?"
The teacher whispered...
"The house is remembering you."
---
4. THE HOUSE COMES TO SCHOOL
The walls cracked.
Brick appeared.
One brick.
Then another.
Then another.
The classroom transformed.
Desks became furniture.
The blackboard became a wall.
The ceiling became a roof.
The classroom...
was becoming the house.
Milo looked around.
"This is impossible."
Tarzan's voice came from behind him.
"Not impossible."
Milo turned.
Tarzan finally became visible.
He was wearing a school uniform.
Milo stared.
"You changed clothes."
Tarzan looked down.
"Apparently."
"You look ridiculous."
Tarzan smiled.
"Thank you."
Diana appeared beside them.
She looked worried.
"Milo."
He turned.
"Diana."
She looked around.
"It's coming."
"What?"
"The house."
Milo looked at the walls.
"It's already here."
Diana shook her head.
"No."
She pointed upward.
Milo looked.
The ceiling had disappeared.
Above them...
was an enormous eye.
Watching.
Milo whispered...
"The witness."
Diana shook her head.
"Not a witness."
"Then what?"
"The owner."
Milo stared.
The eye blinked.
The entire building trembled.
A voice spoke.
"Welcome back."
Milo looked upward.
"Who are you?"
The voice answered...
"I am the house."
Tarzan raised his hand.
The voice paused.
"Yes?"
"Do you have a kitchen?"
Milo stared at him.
"Tarzan!"
"What?"
"This is not the time!"
The house answered...
"Yes."
Tarzan smiled.
"Excellent."
Milo grabbed his shoulder.
"Stop asking the house questions!"
The house laughed.
Diana looked at Milo.
"Too late."
Milo sighed.
"What happens now?"
The house answered...
"Class is dismissed."
Milo relaxed.
"Finally."
The house continued...
"Forever."
Milo's expression changed.
"What?"
The doors slammed shut.
BOOM.
Every window disappeared.
The walls moved inward.
The children reappeared.
Twenty-seven versions of Milo stood behind the teacher.
The teacher smiled.
"Lesson Two."
Milo swallowed.
"What is it?"
She pointed toward the blackboard.
New words appeared.
HOW TO REMEMBER THE DEATH
THAT HAPPENED BEFORE YOUR FIRST LIFE
Milo stared.
Tarzan slowly raised his hand.
"Can we fail this class?"
The teacher smiled.
"No."
"Can we transfer?"
"No."
"Can we eat?"
The teacher considered it.
"Perhaps."
Tarzan smiled.
"Best school ever."
Milo looked at Diana.
"Do you know what happened before my first life?"
Diana's face became pale.
"Yes."
Milo froze.
"You do?"
She nodded.
"What?"
Diana looked toward the children.
Then toward the house.
Then toward Milo.
"You weren't born."
Milo frowned.
"Obviously I was born."
"No."
She stepped closer.
"You were..."
A pause.
"...remembered."
Milo whispered...
"By whom?"
Diana looked at the blackboard.
A final sentence appeared.
THE HOUSE REMEMBERED MILO BEFORE MILO EXISTED.
Milo's chest burned.
The door inside him opened.
But there was no darkness behind it now.
There was...
a nursery.
A tiny bed.
A wooden toy.
A window.
And a child sleeping peacefully.
Milo stared.
"That's me."
Diana nodded.
"No."
Milo looked at her.
"Then who?"
She whispered...
"That's the boy who existed before you."
Milo stepped closer.
The sleeping child opened his eyes.
He looked exactly like Milo.
But younger.
Much younger.
The child smiled.
Then whispered...
"I remember you."
Milo's blood ran cold.
"How?"
The child pointed toward the doorway.
Someone was standing there.
The faceless figure.
Holding the same pen.
The figure looked at Milo.
Then at the child.
Then said...
"Now you finally understand."
Milo whispered...
"Understand what?"
The figure lifted the pen.
"You were never created."
The pen touched the page.
"You were..."
Scratch.
"...replaced."
Milo froze.
Diana closed her eyes.
Tarzan stopped smiling.
The children disappeared.
The house went silent.
The faceless figure wrote one final sentence.
THE ORIGINAL MILO IS STILL ALIVE.
Milo stared.
"Where?"
The figure pointed toward the sleeping child.
Milo looked at him.
The child smiled.
Then...
he stood up.
He walked toward Milo.
And stopped directly in front of him.
The child looked up.
"Hello."
Milo could barely speak.
"Who are you?"
The child smiled.
"I'm Milo."
Milo whispered...
"So am I."
The child nodded.
"I know."
"Then which one of us is real?"
The child thought for a moment.
Then smiled.
"Neither."
Milo frowned.
"Why?"
The child pointed behind Milo.
Milo turned.
The classroom was gone.
The house was gone.
Diana was gone.
Tarzan was gone.
The witnesses were gone.
Only a vast white space remained.
And in the distance...
stood an enormous empty chair.
The child whispered...
"Because we're both waiting for the person who remembers us."
Milo stared at the chair.
"Who?"
The child smiled.
"You."
Milo's chest burned again.
The door inside him slammed shut.
BOOM.
Everything went black.
Then...
a voice whispered in Milo's ear.
Not the house.
Not the witnesses.
Not the boy.
Not Diana.
Not the faceless figure.
A completely new voice.
A human voice.
It whispered...
"Wake up."
Milo opened his eyes.
He was lying in a bed.
Someone was holding his hand.
He slowly turned.
Diana was sitting beside him.
Crying.
Milo whispered...
"Diana?"
She looked at him.
"You're awake."
Milo tried to sit up.
"Where are we?"
Diana didn't answer.
Milo looked around.
A hospital room.
Machines.
03:17.
He froze.
The clock changed.
03:18.
Diana squeezed his hand.
Milo stared at her.
"Have we done this before?"
Diana began crying harder.
"Yes."
"How many times?"
She whispered...
"I stopped counting."
Milo looked toward the corner.
The faceless figure was there.
But this time...
it wasn't watching Milo.
It was watching Diana.
Milo whispered...
"Diana..."
She looked at him.
"What?"
"Who is that?"
Diana turned.
There was nobody there.
She looked back at Milo.
Her face changed.
Because Milo was no longer looking at the corner.
He was looking directly at her.
And he whispered...
"Why are you pretending you can't see him?"
Diana froze.
The machine beside Milo began beeping.
03:19.
03:20.
03:21.
The lights went out.
A child's voice came from underneath the bed.
"Class is not over."
Milo looked down.
A tiny hand appeared from beneath the bed.
Holding a pencil.
Then another hand.
Then a face.
The child crawled out.
It was the little boy.
He looked at Milo.
Smiled.
And said...
"Tomorrow..."
He raised the pencil.
"...we learn how you were replaced."
The hospital door slammed shut.
BOOM.
And from the hallway...
twenty-seven children began chanting together:
"MILO IS NOT THE FIRST."
Pause.
"MILO IS NOT THE LAST."
Another pause.
Then...
"MILO IS THE SUBSTITUTE."
Milo stared into the darkness.
And for the first time...
he wasn't afraid of dying.
He was afraid of discovering...
who he had replaced.
**TO BE CONTINUED...**
Written By,
Ivan Edwin
Pen Name :Maximus.
©All Rights Reserved