They say that hearing was the last sense to go when dying.
And when a person is about to die, he or she will enter a state of unresponsiveness. A state when a person no longer responds to stimuli.
In a groundbreaking study published many years ago, neuroscientists provided the first empirical evidence that some people can still hear while in an unresponsive state hours before dying.
And that seemed to be the case for Neil Caiben.
Fifteen minutes before he died. He was inside an ambulance with two paramedics tending to him. A man and a woman. They were headed to the city hospital about half a kilometer away from the construction site.
Then suddenly, the excruciating pain that tormented him just a few moments ago vanished. A feeling so comfortable and free of any pain replaced it.
Then there was the weird sensation that he was finally leaving his body. He felt it so vividly. A feeling of overwhelming peace and comfort.
At that moment, he wasn't Neil Caiben, not the son of the prostitute, not the lonely man tormented by his own circumstances, nor the man that Clarissa abandoned. He wasn't anything. It was just this raw form of consciousness where he was just existing very happily.
'Ah! So is this what people feel when they're about to die?' Neil had a thought, his mind functioning more clearly and more rapidly than usual. 'I better be dead for real this time or I might lose myself to this otherworldly ecstasy.'
The two paramedics tending to him could see Neil stare at them so peacefully, specifically to the guy. Neil was smiling weakly as the single streak of tear fell down from the corner of his eye.
Contrary to whatever it was that they were thinking, Neil was staring at the male paramedic because he reminded him of a meddlesome stranger he met at the local pub not too long ago.
Maybe it was just his brain making him see stuff in delirium from the shock of his fall but that ain't it. The paramedic by his side was utterly identical to that guy. A meddlesome person he had no choice but to become good friends with. If they were even friends at all considering their unconventional relationship.
It was raining that night and he went to the local pub located a few meters away from his house. He always goes there regardless of the weather. He actually liked it better if it rained.
He would sit by the window. A cheap bottle of chilled beer in his one hand, a nicotine vape on the other. Then he would sleep with whoever woman who wanted to do it with him.
He always wondered what his mother felt doing this kind of stuff for a meager amount. He wondered why she kept doing this kind of 'job' instead of finding a decent one. But when he was doing it himself, he finally understood her a bit.
There was the lack of opportunity that even if you graduated high school, landing a job is still far-fetched. Rondo has a bad reputation. Employers wouldn't want to work with people from Rondo.
And more than once, Neil was convinced his mother was probably the loneliest person there is.
He did it with a lot of ladies of different sizes and ages but not once did he ever feel loved, or fulfilled, or comforted.
Yep, there was pleasure and ecstasy. That overwhelming sensation whenever he climaxed but he always felt hollow for some reason.
Every time he received the payment, he always wanted to beat himself senseless till he couldn't walk anymore. He felt like he was the filthiest, the lowest of the low, and the most disgusting piece of shit he had ever known. He was disgusted with himself.
Then he would go home. Lie down on the bed to overthink for a few hours till drowsiness takes over him only to be tormented by the memory of his mother and Clarissa in his dreams.
He wouldn't wake up till noon and when he did, he would spend the next hour or two ruminating either to get out of bed or to sleep some more.
And then when the night came, he would go to the pub and repeat.
His life was nothing but a repetitive cycle of self loathing.
But it started to slowly change on that one rainy night.
Like usual, a cheap bottle of chilled beer, a nicotine vape, and seated by the window. And then a woman that goes by the nickname Mariposa signaled to him, waving her one hand at him. You have a customer was what she meant.
And like an A.I. already programmed on what to do in cases like this, he stood from his seat and headed to the room Mariposa told him.
He stared at the king-size bed in the middle. There was a box of condoms by the bedside. The whole room reeked of cinnamon rolls from the scented candles. And finally, he can hear the shower running in the background.
'Just close your eyes and get this over with already,' he scolded himself when he felt like backing out again.
Then he sat on the corner of the bed, fidgeting his fingers, clicking his tongue. A habit he had whenever he was anxious or uncomfortable.
It didn't take long until the water finally stopped running. He can hear the wet footsteps coming from behind him.
He took a deep breath and put on a smile then turned his back.
However…
What greeted him wasn't what he expected. It wasn't even a woman. It was a man. A really gorgeous man who couldn't be any older than twenty-five. Platinum blond hair and eyes as dark as the night. He sported six packs and he was really tall. Taller than Neil Caiben. A single piece of navy blue towel wrapped around his hips.
"Heh! I know I'm rather good-looking but you don't have to stare at me like that, you know? It's embarrassing." The man said in a playful voice.
"Uh, I'm sorry. I think there was a mistake." Neil said before heading to the door. He made it clear to Mariposa he won't be sleeping with a man regardless of his situation.
"Nope! There's no mistake. I specifically booked for you."
"Please don't misunderstand but—"
"Oh? I thought you'd sleep with anyone for money. Guess I'm wrong, huh." Though he said that, his tone suggested otherwise. He sounded like he was having fun and Neil took that seriously.
"Why? If I say I do, would you still do it? Just telling you though, I won't stop even if you beg and I like doing it raw. For reference, I'm the top. What? Still wanna do it?" Neil taunted, his annoyance was clear in his voice. He didn't have plans of actually doing it though.
"Try me then." The man was grinning as if he won already.
"...Ha! Sorry but I'm not into men." Neil said before finally walking out, slamming the door behind him.
He was already a couple feet away when…
"Fine! I'm sorry! I kid. I kid, okay? I didn't book you to do that anyway. I'll pay you double. Please, hear me out first."
"We won't do anything?" Neil was suspicious.
"I promise."
"You won't do anything weird?"
"I already promised, haven't I?"
And just like that, Neil returned to their room.
"You can call me Bagani. Don't worry, I'm not suspicious. I've no ill intentions at all, I swear." He introduced himself. "See? I'm changing into my pajamas."
"Anyone who says they aren't suspicious are the most suspicious."
"A little trust won't hurt, you know?"
Then seconds flew by, then minutes, and then hour.
"We really didn't do anything." Neil muttered in disbelief.
"Hmm. Is that your way of flirting?" Bagani said, his voice a bit groggy.
Just like he promised, he didn't do anything that would make Neil uncomfortable.
After he changed into his navy blue satin pajamas, he just read a couple chapters from his pocketbook and went to bed afterwards.
Sure, it was good he was staying true to his words and all but it was very awkward for Neil. He just sat at the corner of the bed, answering a question or two from time to time. Like his hobbies and nonexistent childhood.
"Why'd you even book me if… if all I'm doing is sit and chat?"
"I see. You wanna have sex that much, huh."
"N—No. That's not what I mean."
"Then?"
Bagani was honestly curious. He always thought that getting paid for doing nothing is the best job there is.
"—must be nice."
"What's nice?"
"Having enough money to fool around, I guess."
"Hmm… You wanna know why I booked you?"
Neil didn't answer but instead, he stared at Bagani with curiosity.
"It's because I'm lonely. So. Fucking. Lonely."
Bagani didn't answer any of Neil's questions after that. He pretended to be asleep, ignoring all of Neil's persistent calls.
This didn't happen only once or twice. It continued for months. Bagani would book Neil to do nothing else but to accompany him every night.
Neil finds him weird. 'Is this how rich people make friends?'
Bagani would tell him all sorts of random things. The novels he read, lame jokes that aren't funny at all, telling Neil to move on from his emo phase already and so on and so forth. He's a meddlesome dude.
Then one day, on Neil's twenty-fourth birthday on January 13, Bagani suddenly stopped coming. No warnings. No advance notice or something. He just… stopped coming.
Neil tried asking Mariposa about him but oddly enough, she claimed she didn't know any man called Bagani. Even more so a foreigner with platinum blond hair.
'Is this her way of protecting the client's identity?' Neil wondered.
Still, he was a bit worried.
He didn't know why exactly but he waited night after night at his favorite spot. By the window with a cheap bottle of chilled beer and nicotine vape.
But they don't have the same effects anymore. For some reason, everything reminded him of Bagani's nightly naggings about how he should improve himself instead of wallowing in self-deprecation, slowly killing himself.
Then he had enough. He tried following that meddlesome friend of his for once and tried to change his life for the better.
But then there he was.
Around two months after he started working at the construction site, he fell from the seventh floor, spraying blood everywhere, slowly dying with zero chance of survival.
As he stared at the male paramedic, he thought he was seeing things. Because for a split second, there was a purple glint in the paramedic's eyes.
That was the last thing he saw before his eyes began to blur. And then… nothing.
His senses stopped functioning one by one, only his hearing left.
It was only darkness. He was at ease but with a slight discomfort, fear, and regret lurking somewhere in the corner of his chest.
He began hearing lots of things. Like people talking and stuff. Arguments, laughter, normal conversations…
Neil finds it funny how sensitive his hearing has become that they were echoing in his head. He stayed like that for what seemed like a very long time.
Then he heard someone whisper in his left ear. "You did a good job, my friend." It was Bagani's voice.
And then…
"—time of death: 14:21 of April 1, 20XX."