Red Apathy

That day was a day just like any other. It was the same Tuesday where I was run on an errand to buy ingredients for dinner. It was the same noon where I had to accompany my little brother. It was the same summer where the heat was sweltering, and the ground cracked under my footsteps. It was the same neighborhood where I had been living ever since I was born.

The silence that was typical on days like these, was shattered by wailing.

I simply kept Ty close as I felt his grip tighten on my sleeve.

"What... what was that...?"

"I'm sure it's nothing. Let's just walk on home."

The earth trembled beneath our feet as the wailing voices grew louder, more intense, piercing through the thin walls of the houses. The voices only grew more distinct as we realized none were coming from ours.

I've been having visions.

Visions of the grim future occasionally come to haunt me in my sleep. Among all those countless futures, was one that I knew was waiting for us inside of the same building we've been living in our entire lives. One that I was silently hoping for. Wretched I may be, but it was one I also wanted my little brother to see, to understand.

He screeched into my sleeve as the unmistakable stench of decay assaulted my nostrils. The pool of blood had already dried, seeping through the tatami mats and slowly being erased by the scorching hot summer.

"Sit outside Ty, I'll check on them." I gently ushered my sobbing little brother onto the porch.

There was really nothing to check. They were definitely dead. Even if they weren't, what good is there to know? I walked over my dear sister to get some changes of clothes, and set aside my dear mother to reach whatever sealed food we have on our shelves.

My little brother hugged me as I set foot back onto the porch.

"I'll find us somewhere to stay for a few days, then after I take care of things here, we can come back, okay?"

Thyme simply nodded, as he always does. His face that was already red from the heat was now even redder from crying. It was only then that I noticed he was staring at me through his teary eyes.

I lead him by the hand as we make our way to some unknown destination.

Away from the house we slept in. Away from the neighborhood we lived in. Away from the indifferent summer of a Tuesday noon, just like any other.