"Hey, sis! When do you think the plane will land?" he exclaimed to somebody on the other side of the phone.
"What's with this niceness? It's grossing me out! Cut it, bro!" a female voice joked.
"Never mind then. Find somebody else to pick you up when you arrive!" The man was smiling while holding the frame of his family photo.
"Sigh...Sam... I know that they're gone, but you need to stop thinking about it. Let's sell their old house!"
Before Sam could even say a word she continued. "I know, I know, but it's for your own good. You need to move from the past!"
Sam stood there in silent, as tears were threatening to fall especially on the family photo.
The woman's voice called "Hello? Are you there, Sam?"
Quickly wiping his tears "Yeah, I'm here, just..." Sam couldn't even finish his sentence.
A heavy sigh came from the phone. "Sam, I know. Let's attend their funeral after I arrive. Sounds good?" The woman's voice gave Sam a little bit of optimism.
"Yeah," wiping away another tear. "Do you believe... They're in heaven?"Sam slowly wiped his deceased parents faces.
"Sam!" She didn't even finish her words before Sam cut her.
"Sorry, sis. I just have this heavy feeling about it."
Sam slowly placed the family photo back and walked toward the kitchen.
"the plane is scheduled to land tomorrow, so be ready! I'll be boarding now."
As the call ended. Sam stood there his phone beeping after the call ended.
"Bye Ina."
Sam made himself dinner and sat down to watch TV in the living room.
The next morning, waking up from the couch, Sam hurried through his routine, eating breakfast, brushing his teeth, and taking a shower.
As Sam arrived at the airport to wait for his sister, he remained there from dawn till dusk.
But she never showed up. He tried calling her, but there was no response.
he made his way to a set of chairs near the departure station sitting down.
Getting irritated that the plane still hasn't arrived.
Sam looked up at a nearby screen, only to see breaking news about a plane crash.
His mind began to race, refusing the possibility it could be her plane.
But as the names of the passengers were announced one by one.
fear gripped his heart.
Finally, after all the names had been called, Sam let out a sigh of relief. His sister's name wasn't on the list.
Slowly getting up, Sam made his way home.
After arriving, he tried calling her a few more times, but there was still no answer.
'Maybe her phone is just out of battery. Or maybe it's in airplane mode. she will call me if she arrives.'
No matter how much he tried to convince himself that everything was fine.
a deep sense of fear was gripping his heart.
Forcing himself to sleep, Sam took a sleeping pill and washed it down with alcohol.
Soon, everything around him began to blur thanks to the combined effects of the pill and alcohol.
It wasn't long before he fell into a deep sleep.
After what felt like an endless nightmare, Sam finally woke up.
Hangover, he glanced at the clock. It was nearing 12 pm.
After getting up he quickly run to the toilet to vomit.
He was holding his head in pain. He remembered he didn't eat anything yesterday that was why he had a hangover.
Looking at his phone he had received 8 missing calls from an unknown number during 2 am - 5 am.
Not knowingly he called the number back.
After just a few seconds, the unknown number picked up the call.
"Hello. I'm from IATA, short for the International Air Transport Association. We are deeply sorry to inform you of this, but it appears your sister switched her plane ticket."
The man was sad to announce it. "that plane crashed yesterday. I am truly sorry for your loss. Words cannot express the sorrow and heartbreak of losing a loved one in such a tragic way."
Sadness overwhelmed Sam in the worst way imaginable.
'If I hadn't acted like that... if I hadn't made her worry... she would have been alright. It's my fault. It's my fault. IT'S MY FAULT!'
His thoughts were spiraling out of control as it was drifting to depression.
---
Few weeks passed.
A man stood outside Sam's house, knocking on the door.
"Sir Sam?, Are you home? The boss is worried about you since you haven't been to work for two weeks." An Indian man who had a clean, ironed clothes asked.
"He sent me to check on you. You know, I'm your work partner Ishan."
After knocking a little harder, the door creaked open.
'Huh? He didn't lock the door?' hesitating for a moment before stepping inside.
'The boss said I should at least help him if he's sick or injured. He told me not to worry about work, he'll cover for us.'
the man muttered to himself as he cautiously entered the house.
"Sir, are you there?, im also sorry for entering."
After searching through Sam's house, the man froze in terror as he stumbled upon Sam's lifeless body hanging from the ceiling.
His panic was getting more and more as he fumbled for his phone.
immediately dialing for an ambulance. Once he made the call, he quickly phoned his boss.
"Boss... I'm so sorry. Sam... he's taken his own life. I already called for an ambulance."
On the other end of the phone, the boss let out a heavy sigh. "Ishan, you did the right thing. I'll be coming over shortly. Take the rest of the month off, I think it's best for you to recover from such a shocking experience."
"Understood, sir," Ishan said before leaving as his boss arrived at the scene.
Soon after, the cops arrived along with the ambulance.
"Are you the one who called the ambulance?" one of the officers asked.
"Yes, I did," the man with an extreme calmness answered back.
The cops questioned him further. "What was your relationship with the deceased?"
"Childhood friend and his current boss," he answered.
The way he looked raised suspicion among the officers.
"What's your name?" one of them asked, watching him closely.