Chapter Four: Men of Vice (Part 1)

'Ed?'

'...'

Every day whenever I heard that voice calling me, I remembered that morning sunlight would always shine through the window in our bedroom, waking me up from my sweet dreams.

'Ed!'

And then I would reply with the words such as 'I know!' 'I hear you!' or '5 more minutes!'. There was never a day that my ass would spring up from our bed as soon as I woke up, no matter if it was a workday, Saturday, Sunday, or holiday, or whatever the day, I never cared. Consequently, I went to work late on a daily basis and got scolded by the boss until she was officially done with me and declared that Adel Ozward would never get to clock off work at 5 but always at 6 because he never arrived at 8 but always at 9.

Yet I thought it was totally worth it though. Going to work late every single day saved me that therapist session cost. I swore I could go insane the second week I get to wake up at 6 in the morning every day.

'Ed, your breakfast is getting cold! Wake up!'

While I was lying half asleep in my bed and also started to smell those heavenly bacon awaiting on my plate... I couldn't even care less. Between bacon and sleep, I always chose sleep. Hence, my little bro never succeeds at luring me out of my slumber.

And I had always been like that. Back then when mom and dad were still alive, I was also like that. So it seemed that my little bro might have picked up that habit of waking me up every morning from our late mom... or he just got tired of me never getting my pay raise due to being extremely unproductive to the point that I never gave a f*ck about going to work on time.

'Bro, just wake up! It's half past 8! You'd never get that pay raise at this rate! We've been living from day to day for years, don't you remember?!'

Ah... But after some time, all the responsibilities did catch up to me, the older brother who had a full-time job yet couldn't even afford us to eat out at least once a month... Me living a harsh life, it was no big deal. But my little bro living a harsh life? That realization became my daily motivation to wake up at 6 every day and go to work.

'Ed, please...'

'Alright, alright... I'm awake... Let's see, where's my breakfast from Chef Arie~' said the me who was crawling out of our bed on four limbs. And somehow I didn't know if it was just me or his voice was shaking as he called out my name...?

Before I knew it, I had already seated myself on this usual chair in front of our too-small dining table, staring blankly at my empty plate which had not a single particle of bacon on it. But in my hands, there was this set of knife and fork, waiting to do their duty already. I wondered why...

For some reason, the whole situation felt so weird, like... unreal.

And where was Arie? Where was my little brother?

'Arie, where are you?' As I called out his name, my eyes were moving around in directions I didn't intend to, it felt so strange as if I had no control over my own body. Everything felt so... dizzy.

'That... I should be the one who asks you.'

'Where are you, Ed?'

'Where have you been?'

'You left me alone.'

Those words he gave me, somehow they sounded familiar, too familiar, almost like they came out of a piece of record that was being replayed.

But I had never heard them before, had I?

'I... I'm sorry, Arie.'

Did I break our promise?

Such a thought made my eyes immediately well up with tears. They flowed down my face like rivers of misery, so many drops fell on my plate and then my hands. 'Please, stay with me... Stay with your brother...! Don't go... Don't ever leave me!' Frantically, I uttered those words out of my mouth, it felt like I was choking on my own thoughts and memories.

Oh... Memory... Was this all a memory?

Suddenly, everything around me, the world in my eyes, all became dyed in sepia, except for one thing: my own body.

What could this possibly mean?

'Why? Ed?'

'Why leaving me?'

'Why did you leave me?'

'Has my big brother become a liar?'

This... This was all my memory?

B-But I would never leave Arie? Never and ever. I made a promise and I intended to keep it forever.

'I-I-I I--?!'

Or was all of this simply...

A nightmare?

"AI YO, STUPID ADEL!!! GOOD F*CKING MORNING, BABY!!!"

"@#$%???!!!"