44
August 2022:
Some time had passed.
I graduated from RIT last month. It was a joyous occasion. All the students were very really enjoying the graduation ceremony.
Me and Ethan had big smiles on our faces when we received our degrees and certificates of completion.
But amidst all this joy, my eyes still searched for those two. Charlie and Seth. My two close friends who had disappeared from the face of the earth. But no matter how much I tried I still couldn't find a clue as to where they were.
I was sitting on my bed as usual and had just finished my daily call with Irena.
We started chatting at the start of January 2021 and we instantly connected. She visited Rille a few months later and I went to meet her there. Things went pretty smoothly for me. This time I was never hesitant and managed to win over her pretty quickly. It's been a year now since we had started dating.
Now that I had finally got Irena back in my life, I again started to think about the questions that were unanswered after I had again come back to life.
A few of them which I can remember now are:
What exactly happened to me? How can a mere human like me go back and forth in time?
What happened to Charlie, Seth and Iris? Why they had just simply disappeared?
Am I the only one who remembers the past?
I was doubtful whether the promise of a happy life after signing the contract was true or not. A part of me was still suspicious.
But now the question in front of me was: where do I start from?
My only hint was the aftermath of me signing the contract. After I signed it and came back, time had reversed back to the 3rd year. So a simple hypothesis was that even for the previous two time reversals maybe somebody else had also signed the contract. I wanted to test this hypothesis and in case it failed then I thought of exploring other options but to keep things simple I started with this hypothesis.
The first benefit of signing the contract was that my past sins had vanished and I was promised a better life which was actually happening. Who else also fitted in this criteria? The first name that instantly came to my mind was none other than Ethan.
In the past, he had killed people and was a miserably poor orphan. But what about his new life? His parents were well off. He had no sins now and he also got his desired government job. Wasn't this something similar to me? A promised better life. I hence decided to confront Ethan.
When I had come back in time, I talked to Ethan about Seth and Charlie but he straight away refused to identify them. This timeline's Ethan didn't know them at all and he was pretty sure that they were no friends of his.
At that time, I paid no heed to the matter but I still had my doubts. Wasn't it simple? Why would Ethan or anybody who has committed heinous crimes bring light to the past? The normal course of action for them would be to pretend. I was sure that none of them would themselves accept anything even though they remembered it. So I took a bold step.
Blackmail.
I bought a new number and registered its location as Rille so that Ethan would not doubt me. Then it was pretty simple. This number became my source of blackmail which I used again and again in the future as well.
I just messaged Ethan about some of his horrendous deeds from his dark past and wanted to see his reaction.
It worked wonders.
'Hello, Ethan! How are you? Enjoying your new life? A life free of your past sins,' I texted him.
'Who the hell are you bastard??' asked Ethan over text.
'I am someone whom you failed to kill kid. I have come to take my money back,' I replied to him.
'What money?' he asked.
'You still haven't remembered me. I am the same guy because of whom you were able to make into RIT. The same guy whom you cheated and then brutally assaulted near the old abandoned bridge,' I replied as I took over the dead broker's identity from the past life.
There was silence. Ethan didn't reply for 5 mins. He just left the message as seen. A part of me thought that maybe he really did not remember anything from the past. And I thought he blocked me.
'Hello! Are you dead, kid?' I texted.
He then replied back.
'Are you Adam?' he asked.
I was shocked. This bastard was no fool. Maybe he did catch up to me. Did he remember that I asked him about Seth and Charlie when the time was reversed the last time?
'Who Adam? I don't know anyone of that name. But how could you forget me? You tried so hard to kill me. That cut on my neck has still not fully healed yet even though it's been so many years now,' I continued.
'Bastard! What do you want now?' he asked.
'Give me my money back or else I will reveal your true face to the world,' I texted.
'What true face? What money? Go and say anything to anybody. You don't have any proof. I have done no wrong. Nobody is going to believe you,' he texted back.
'Is me being alive not a proof good enough for you? And I heard you cracked a prestigious government exam. Do you still think you would escape unscathed if I were to reveal the truth to your superiors?' I texted.
'Tell me, bastard. What do you want? How much money you want bastard?' he asked. He was finally crumbling under pressure.
I quoted him some random amount that might not be too high for him and he agreed. We decided on a place of meeting and the conversation ended. I immediately switched off this number.
And within minutes, I got a call from Ethan on my original number.
'Hey Brother. What are you doing now?' he asked.
'Nothing Ethan. Just helping Alex with his homework. What happened?'
'Nothing much bro. I had a bad day.'
'Oh! Are you alright Ethan? How can I help? You are my best friend. Tell me what's the problem?'
'Nothing brother. Just a bad day but nothing major. You continue helping Alex. I'll call you later.'
He then hung up.
I felt he was still doubtful of me and I was not confident that I had cleared his doubts.
But on one thing I was very confident now. Ethan was like me.
He also signed the contract and he remembered everything. Else he would have never agreed to meet a blackmailer. Now the only thing remaining was to get to his mind. I started preparing for the meeting with him.
45
I called Ethan to meet me at the same old bridge where he had killed the broker. And he came as expected.
I wore a mask to hide my face. I had also bought a voice-changing device that was embedded in my mask. Sometimes being rich does have its own benefits.
He was carrying a bag which I assumed had the supposed amount. Or it could have been Ethan's bluff as he did to the professor in the last life. I proceeded carefully.
'So finally we meet again Mr. Ethan,' I said.
'I still don't believe that you exist. Who are you? Just tell me who are you bastard?' shouted Ethan.
'I am the broker. The same broker whom you coldly killed here a while ago.'
'Nonsense. That is not possible.'
'The paper that you took from me, only had 50% correct solutions right?' I said. Ethan's face turned pale. His eyes widened in shock.
'Do you now believe me?' I asked him.
He fell on his knees and started begging.
'Please take this money and spare me. I am no longer the murderer I was. Please forgive me. Please don't take away this new life from me. I'll do as you say,' cried Ethan.
I could see that he had changed completely. The old Ethan wouldn't cry. He would straightaway attack me in a blink of an eye. But this Ethan was different.
'Did you sign the contract?' I asked. Ethan looked at me with shocked eyes.
'Yes I did. That was how I got this new life. Have you also signed it Mr. Broker?' he asked.
'Yes I did,' I said as I removed my mask.
'Adam! What the hell are you doing here?' asked Ethan.
'What do you think Ethan?'
Ethan was visibly confused.
'Are you really Adam? What are you after? This pathetic money. You are already so rich. This amount is like peanuts to you. What is happening, Adam? Why are you doing this?' he asked.
'Ethan! I don't want any money. The only thing that I am seeking is the truth.'
'What truth?' he asked.
'The truth of our realities. The truth about why we came back in time.'
'Did you also sign the contract?' asked Ethan.
'Yes I did.'
Ethan then sat down in disbelief. I sat along with him.
'You are not going to sell me out, right? Can I trust you Adam?' he asked as he still didn't believe me.
'Brother. Your sins are gone. You have lived a good life. I want you to continue living the same.'
He looked at me. His face now turned back to normal.
'Adam, tell me. How the hell do you know about my past life? How the hell do you even know that I killed a broker?' he asked.
I was shocked. Did he really say this or I heard him wrong?
'What are you saying Ethan? Weren't you the one who told me everything about your life? About your sins?' I asked Ethan.
'No. Never. I took those secrets to my grave. I have never told a soul about them,' he answered.
'I am not talking about when you were alive. I am talking about the time when you told me everything in that white room after you died.'
'Look Adam. I don't know how you got this information on me but the only time I remember going to the white room was when I was dead. They asked me to sign the contract and so I did.'
'But you tell me how did you end signing the contract? What went wrong with you who had such a rich background?' he asked.
I told him about my past life and skipped my dad's and Irena's dad's magical involvement.
Ethan understood everything.
'Bro! You had a tough past life.'
'I get what happened but why live in the past? Let's just move on. We are in a good position now. There is no reason for us to struggle any longer. I am no longer poor and you got back Irena. What more do you want?'
'But what about Charlie and Seth? They were our best friends. How can we forget about them?' I asked him.
'Adam! Only you are my friend. The other two were just my classmates. I know it's sad that both of them have vanished but there is nothing that we can do. It was maybe God's will that they were destined to leave and so it happened. We shouldn't interfere with God's plan,' he said.
'This little bastard cursed God each and every day in his past life and now that his condition has improved, he pretends to be a devotee. What a hypocrite. But I am sure that he won't help me,' I thought to myself.
'You are correct Ethan. I'll let this go and enjoy my life. Let's live our lives to the fullest,' I said as I pretended in front of him.
'That's how it should be brother. Stop worrying about the past and enjoy this beautiful life,' he said.
He then left.
'I already knew but I guess he never cared about those two. Ethan, you can live your life the way you want but I have more to do. There is still a reason for me to struggle.'
'I will not become someone's puppet. I will get to the truth. I will find out what happened to both of them. I will definitely find the truth about our past lives.'
46
I came back home.
The conversation with Ethan brought light to many of my doubts.
Like me, Ethan had also signed the contract.
The first time reversal that happened was all because of Ethan. These were within my expectations. But what happened next really surprised me.
Ethan didn't have any record of his conversation with me. He didn't remember at all that he was the one who told me everything. This was something that really confused me.
But the only way forward was to question the 2nd suspect I had in mind. It was none other than my dad.
I suspected that he also had signed the contract. For the 2nd time reversal, I had two suspects in mind: My dad and Ivan (Irena's dad). Like Ethan, these two also committed horrendous crimes on an unprecedented scale. And both of them were now innocent for the history was lost.
Ivan was still unapproachable for me as we had never met before. So the easy way was to test dad.
I followed the same approach. I texted him with the unknown number and took the alias of his dead best friend Erwin (now Ivan).
I texted him things that only he and Erwin might remember like how they together sacrificed thousands of young children back in Zest etc. He quickly took the bait and agreed to meet.
I met Dad in the same abandoned factory where he had met Irena in the past life and had committed suicide.
He was surprised to see me and then everything followed in a similar fashion as the meeting with Ethan.
As expected he had also signed the contract.
Dad also didn't remember meeting me in the white room and he recalled that the only time he visited the white room was when he had died.
Their stories were identical.
Both of them had signed contracts. Both of them were granted the boon to live a fulfilled life. And both of them didn't remember a thing about meeting me in the white room.
This confirmed my previous discoveries.
But Dad didn't like the direction I was heading in. He sat with me and we talked.
'Son I don't know how but you are aware of all these things. I also feel heartbroken that you had to live such a horrific life that you had to finally sign the contract. I truly feel your pain son,' he said.
'But tell me this. Why are you trying so hard? What are you going to achieve from this my son? We have everything in this life. Why are you wasting your energy on something so trivial as the past? Live your present to the fullest son.'
Ethan also said the same thing.
'Dad I just want to know the truth. It's that simple,' I said.
'You do know that this new life was bestowed upon you by the gods right? What if they don't want you to know the truth? What if your foolish actions make them angry? Son, you already know my past. I was so powerful but even I lost all my powers in an instant because it was the will of the Gods. Why do you want to make the same mistake as mine? Do you want to lose Irena again?' he asked.
I felt I was naïve. What he said really made sense. Under no circumstance, I could afford to lose Irena again. I was worried about Seth and Charlie. But that cannot come at Irena's expense. My heart wanted to seek the truth but my mind agreed with dad.
My resolve was wavering and I had no option but to give up. Irena was the most important person in my life. I had finally got hold of her and I was not letting her go this time.
'I understand dad. I'll do as you say.'
'My dear son, never think of me as your enemy. I always have thought of your best interests. I am glad you took a wise decision,' he said.
Both of us then came back home.
For now, I decided to leave everything as it is. I was ashamed to admit but my fear of losing Irena and my current life got better of my affection towards Charlie and Seth.
47
It's been a month since that confrontation with dad.
I am living peacefully now. I chose to be ignorant even though I was still not able to dismiss the idea of seeking the truth.
But then an incident occurred that served as an eye-opener.
The day started as usual. I got up, had breakfast, went to our office for a few hours etc.
It was nighttime. Around 11 pm. I just finished talking to Irena and went to sleep.
I got up in the morning as usual around 7 a.m. It was a bright sunny day.
I got fresh, took a bath and then came down for breakfast. Mom and Dad were sitting at the dining table while the cook was serving them breakfast.
I sat down at my usual seat and started to have the meal.
'Mom, is Alex still sleeping? It's already 8 a.m. His classes start in an hour,' I asked her.
She just looked at me. She looked confused.
'What are you trying to say Adam? Who is Alex?' she asked.
My eyes popped out. The slice of bread fell from my hand.
'Mom! Are you joking? Its Alex. My younger brother. Your son. Are you alright mom?' I asked her back in a startled voice.
'Son! It seems you had a dream. You don't have any brother or sister. You are my only child. Isn't this true dear?' she asked dad.
'Yes. That's how it's been forever. Son, did you drink last night?'
What the hell was happening? What are these two saying?
I left the table at once and rushed to Alex's room. I opened the door and I received a big shock.
The room had turned back to our old guest room from my past when Alex was not a part of my life. The posters of his favorite football stars, his guitar, his books, his clothes, everything was gone. My little brother ceased to exist.
I rushed and checked all my childhood albums. Not a single one of them had his photos. He had completely disappeared. But I still had memories of him. Just last night I solved a question for him and said good night to him.
What the hell was happening? Why was this happening? Wasn't I being ignorant as dad asked? What the hell are those shitty gods doing?
My mind started to crumble. I couldn't grasp the reality. Tears started flowing from my eyes. My little brother just vanished from the face of the earth. I couldn't do a single thing for him.
I was done being ignorant. I chose to be ignorant towards Seth and Charlie but now the gods snatched even my younger brother. I couldn't let this happen. I was not going to sit around and do nothing.
The first thing that came to my mind was to check how much the reality matched yesterday. Was it just Alex that disappeared or did something else also happen?
I quickly checked my phone. My message history was the same except for Alex. His chats had disappeared while the rest was the same as yesterday. I checked my other phone and the chats were the same on that as well. This meant that Ethan and dad were also the same as before. They had still signed the contract.
Dad already knew about the contract. With his experience with the supernatural, I hoped that he would believe me if I told him about Alex. I straight away went to him and told him everything. His face became serious and he went and shut the door.
'Son listen to me carefully.'
'I do remember Alex and I know that he has disappeared. But there is nothing we can do for him. It was God's will that he is gone. Mortals like us can't do anything.'
I couldn't believe my ears. This guy is my father. This monster in the hide of a human is our father.
'Are you crazy? You don't care what happened to Alex? He is my brother and your son. What nonsense are you talking dad?' I shouted.
'Son! Don't shout. Your mom will hear us. Forget about Alex. Just live your own life. Mere mortals like us can't do a thing against God's will. And haven't you already got Irena by your side? What will you do if your foolish actions make the gods angry? What will you do if Irena turns out to be the next person that disappears from your life?' he asked.
This old man was crazy. He was saying the same thing all over again. I was a fool that I took his words to heart and stopped searching for Seth and Charlie.
'How can I think of Irena now? I have lost my brother. My younger brother whom I had to protect. He was just in class 12th. He had not even been to college. He didn't even date a girl. All his dreams just vanished into thin air. I can't abandon him. I don't care what happens to Irena or to me or to anybody else. I have to bring Alex back at all costs,' I said.
'Then why did you not search for Seth and Charlie with this aggression? Were they, not your loved ones? Or were they just your friends and not your blood relatives that you didn't care much about?' he asked.
I was lost for words. My anger vanished instantly and I was filled with guilt.
'Like me, you also abandoned your friends. You are no different than me Adam. We are the same,' he said.
Tears started flowing from my eyes. I made a big mistake. It's been more than a year and a half since both of them disappeared. I was just sitting complacent and enjoying my pathetic life when who knows what happened to them. I was ashamed. But now I decided to change myself.
'Dad! I will not become a coward now. I will change myself. I will find Seth, Charlie and Alex anyhow,' I said.
I was confident that he was going to stop me but his words completely shocked me.
'That's how it should be Adam. You are finally on the right track,' he said.