Dream...
7:00 PM
A man was sitting on the sofa watching the news, with his younger brother playing beside him.
[Breaking news: A meteor has hit the middle of the South Atlantic Ocean--]
"What a dramatic event," the man said as he watched the news.
"Brother Kale, it's time to eat. Bring Ethan with you," said another one of his brothers.
Kale quickly stood up and headed over.
In this family, he has five brothers and four sisters. He's now 20 years old and is in the middle—not the eldest nor the youngest.
They live in a rural area, and their family is prominent in the community.
Later, they were all eating at a large table.
His father and mother own a large piece of land where they grow rice and fruits. That's where their wealth comes from.
Now while the whole family eating they were talking about various topics, with their parents discussing about business and the older siblings were talking about the meteor that had fallen earlier.
"It's a good thing it was only a small meteor, and it fell into the sea."
"Yeah."
While they talked, Kale quietly ate, often glancing at the girl in front of him.
That girl is his little sister, Alya. She is 19 years old, just a year younger than him.
She's usually quiet, and he rarely sees her, as she studies at a university and lives in a dorm, so she doesn't come home often. Kale, on the other hand, stopped studying and manages one of their family's lands.
"Is there something on my face, brother?" Alya asked, puzzled.
"It's nothing. I just wanted to ask for your help, Alya, if you don't mind."
"Recipe papers?"
"Yup. You're not going back to the university yet, right?"
Alya shook her head and replied, "I'll come by your office tomorrow."
Kale nodded and continued eating.
Each sibling was talking about different topics.
Since Alya is almost the same age as him, Kale often asks for her help.
Alya finished eating and stood up first. Kale looked at her again, smiled, and shook his head.
"She's really so beautiful."
You may wonder why Kale said that.
Its because Alya is indeed very beautiful, and she is quite different from everyone else.
Kale has a secret crush on her.
Is Kale a bastard for having a crush on his little sister?
Well, you could say that.
But the truth is, they're not really siblings.
And this family isn't his real family, either.
They're not even real.
Because... It's just a...
Ring... Ring... Ring...
"So annoying, that alarm clock..."
Kale took a deep breath and quickly got out of bed.
He is Kale Magnus, 20 years old, living alone in a rented apartment. He's also a student at a public school and has a part-time job at a local fast-food branch.
His family tragically died in an accident when he was a child, so now he's alone.
"Alright, back to this crappy reality..." Kale smiled bitterly and started getting ready.
His school is only a few meters from his apartment, so he usually just walks there.
At school, Kale is always a top student. He needs to excel to get a scholarship to a prestigious university after graduation.
His goal is simple: graduate middle school as a top grader, earn a scholarship to a high-class university, and then do well there to become a top student again in college.
Then, with his academic success, he can easily get a good job, save money, and travel the world.
4:00 PM
After school, while walking Kale watched the basketball team heading to the gym.
He used to play basketball too but decided to focus on academics. He had a better chance of getting a scholarship academically than through sports.
He chose to be practical.
This school's basketball team doesn't even make it to the top 10.
While watching, he saw a girl standing beside one of the players.
He has a history with that girl.
Her name is Zoey.
Since he was 12, they've been friends until in middle school.
He confessed his feelings for her, and... yeah, she rejected him.
Of course, he respected her decision. Zoey still wanted to be friends with him.
But Kale refused. He knew things wouldn't be right anymore after that. He knew his feelings, and to let it go, he had to stay away from Zoey.
Two years have passed since then, and now they're strangers.
That evening, Kale went to work. He got home at exactly 11:26 PM.
He was tired and eager to sleep.
Dream...
Kale quickly headed to his office.
It was now 11:30 AM.
His parents were already at work, his older siblings were at their jobs, and the younger ones were in school.
Only Alya was home since her university was on a one-week break.
When Kale opened his office door, he saw Alya standing up.
"I've finished the recipes and papers, brother. You can send them to the main center now."
"I'll be going now," Alya said softly.
"Oh... Thanks," Kale replied.
"Wait, Alya, are you going somewhere today?"
"I'm going to the city to visit the mall," Alya answered.
"Then let's go together. I'll just finish this things later."
"Alright," Alya replied with a smile.
A few minutes later, they were in the car heading to the city.
This was the first time they went out together. They usually just interacted at home.
During the drive, Kale looked up and saw so many birds flying in the sky.
Then, his phone vibrated.
Alya also checked her phone and saw a message.
"Emergency: An unknown number of small meteors are falling. Everyone must evacuate or find shelter. This is a catastrophe, and nothing can stop it. We pray for your safety."
The next moment, they both looked up at the sky, where thousands of fireballs were falling to Earth.