1. A Giant Halo in the Sky
Laying on my bed just like any other day with my eyes wide open, staring at the ceiling, eagerly waiting for my alarm clock to ring. I have always been an early bird so I tend to wake up a few minutes before the alarm rings, but due to my pet peeve I always wait for the alarm to ring before I get up from bed to commence my daily activities.
In the meantime I think about my job in the convenience store as the cashier. My manager offered me a promotion yesterday. It will be a great help to my current financial situation but that also means I'll be away from my little sister for longer amounts of time.
Beep beep.
My alarm starts to ring, I stretch my right hand towards the table by my bedside, smashing the button to turn it off. I look around my room, the paint has become even more worn out and there are a few cracks on the wall, that's to be expected since we are an average family.
"Good morning mom and dad." I can't help but stare at my deceased parents' picture frame on the wall. They passed away two years ago in a ghastly accident. Thankfully I was already an adult at the time so all the responsibilities of my parents fell on my shoulders.
Apart from being her caretaker I am also my little sister's role model. So I think carefully about every decision I make so I don't set a bad example for her.
Time to begin my day. "Hello Amsterdam, it's 6:05am. It's your trusty weatherman Dean bringing you today's weather forecast. Make sure to put on light clothes 'cause it's gonna be sunny throughout today." I swipe on my phone, listening to the weather forecast. I am wearing only my underwear at the moment since I prefer to sleep light. I guess I'll throw on sweatpants and my signature black T-shirt — I really like it because my little sister gave it to me as my 20th birthday present. She literally wrote 'Best Big Bro in the World' at the back.
Slam! Slam!
I open and close my bedroom door. I head down to the kitchen to prepare breakfast. Upon walking down the stairs I can already see my little sister on top of the couch staring at her laptop screen with huge dark eye bags underneath her eyes. "Hina!" I shout from atop the stairs, running to meet her. "You are barely tethered to the physical plane! Just because there's no school today doesn't mean you shouldn't get any sleep."
I close her laptop, carrying it from the couch. "You are such a meanie Riven! Humph!" she says, sitting upright and turning her face away from mine. "Go have some sleep, I'll wake you up in a bit for breakfast." I pat her on the head, trying to calm her down. "And I was just about to kill the area boss," crocodile tears slide down her petite cheeks. Knowing my little sis, she is trying to emotionally blackmail me into giving her back her laptop.
"Nice try, I give you 5 points." I begin walking to the kitchen. "Just 5 points? So stingy." She covers herself with a blanket. She's just so addicted to that video game that she constantly plays in class, at home, even when we go to the park to spend time in nature. What's it even called again? Bakodang Online. Yeah, that's the name. It's currently the most popular video game around and it was released about two months ago.
I'm not a gaming kind of guy, I prefer to spend my leisure hours out in the calm and serene embrace of nature, but I'm not low-tech either. I decide to prepare something extra special for breakfast today. What could be a better option than pan-stirred golden eggs, toast, bacon and Ramosline assorted tea — it's my little sister's favourite brand of tea, though it's quite expensive. This serves as the perfect bribe.
I drop her laptop on the kitchen slab where I am sure I can monitor it and prevent her from taking it back. After arranging all the ingredients, I begin to cook. Ever since I was a kid, cooking has been one of the very few things I was good at. After a few minutes I am finally done. "Little sis, I know you are still awake using your phone. Stand up and head to the dining table."
I hear her grunts from the living room, she's such a complainer, that's what makes her so cute. I plate the meal, designing the toast with smiley faces made out of chocolate spread, and carry it over to the dining table. "Finally you decide to grace me with your presence, your meanieness." I can sense the sarcasm in her voice, she isn't ready to drop the beef.
"Shut up! My complainant subject." I stuff her mouth with bacon, her amber eyes brighten immediately. "I accept your bribe, oh! Is that Ramosline tea? I totally forgive you for everything you have done to me so far." She grabs the teacup, chugging down all of the tea in one go, she's such a glutton.
"Now that you are stuffed I have very important news to tell you, my dear little sister." I stand up from my chair and hold her by the shoulders, her face fills with anticipation. "I just got a promotion." She jumps up from her seat. "Woohoo! I'm super happy for you big bro. Does this mean we get to go on more vacations?" I smile at her excitement. "But I have to spend more time at the store now, so I won't have enough time for you."
She holds my hands, looking straight into my eyes. "I'm not a kid anymore. You don't have to always look after me." This is such a beautiful moment, I wish my parents were here to witness it too.
Ding!
A strange sound echoes in my ear. "Big bro did you hear that?" It isn't just me, my sister hears it too. The weather forecast says it will be sunny but the light penetrating through the window is far too little. I open the window and stare outside. Instead of seeing the sun I see a giant bright ring-like halo amidst the pitch black sky. "Big bro what's happening?" my little sister asks. "The sun Hina, the sun is gone!" She rushes to the window. "What the hell is that thing in the sky and where's the sun?"
There are various theories about the sun burning all of its energy out one day and going cold, but they don't say it will just disappear into thin air. I look closer at the giant ring. Within it there is a timer counting down from one minute.
"A giant halo has just appeared in the sky and the sun is nowhere to be found. If it is a terrorist attack I would
encourage you guys not to panic. But in this completely abnormal situation please panicccccccckkkk!" A live broadcast playing from my phone is suddenly cut off.
"Little sis, do you have any reception?" My network bar is completely blank. She shakes her head, she doesn't have any reception either. "Arghhhhhhhh!" someone screams from the house next door. "Please help me it's taking me!" Upon hearing the voice I hurriedly open the door and run outside. I see a man holding on tight to a light pole, terror eroded his face,trying to resist the pulling force of the portal at his back.