"Breathe"

"I wish i could breathe away my problems", The words chanted by Josh before beginning each morning to work.As much as he's blessed with his current simple life, the envisaging of luxurious life always lingered on his mind every now & then. Josh often hears well spoken stories about his family & the accumulated heritage wealth even after the disastrous fire that cost all their lives. He was merely seven years old when everything was taken away from him. He takes the final sip of his coffee before sighing to himself recalling his flashback. Just like any other ordinary man,Josh goes off to his office with plain emotions riding his bike at a steady pace.It's been three years since he started off his career as an editor in an well established & leading newspaper company because he pretty much enjoyed supplying high-quality manuscripts.Just when the traffic light turned red,his phone ringed & a text popped out from his foster mother saying " I'll crack the mystery today so don't worry. have a good day darling, do visit us later.i'm sure papa would miss you. ''A soft smile crept through his face upon reading this because his foster parents accepted him as their child & always took his side no matter what he's up to. He slid back his phone into the pocket & went pass the green light with his mother's words still on mind with a slight spark of excitement knowing the mystery would be solved. Josh stopped his bike at the shed & stepped inside the company feeling curious of what awaits him today. The receptionist informs Josh upon the arrival of the boss & heads to his office. Josh adjusts his tie & ruffles his hair anxiously before threwing himself into his work.He goes through his emails,examining each articles & polishing the words to the finest as he go on with it.As cool as it seems, Josh actually spent hours covering couple of murder issues to strange incidents such as man running naked in the streets,cheating wife was punished to eat dog food & so on.

     Abruptly,Josh felt a rush of uneasiness & lost focus on his article,he sunk his face into his palms & took a deep breathe.He felt somewhat odd is gonna take place & he hate whatever he felt at that moment of time. Josh stood up and got out of his office just to greet face to face with his boss's secretary . She apologised with an unreadable expression & informed Josh about his Boss wanting to meet him. They exchanged nods ,he walked up to the boss's office with a gentle knock on the door. "Come in" , a content voice heard & he stepped in at once greeting the boss,Mr Boston. Josh noticed the uncertain gaze of the boss having fixed on him upon his appearance, to clear the awkward air,he spoke up first. "Sir?''. He again noticed how his expression changed from scared to serious in a split second . Mr Boston was secretly hoping for him to not be questioned for his weird actions nor decisions.Mr Boston offered Josh to seat & begun to speak. "So Josh, you're one of the few dedicated employees I have in this company.... I must say i'm honoured to be your employer.I have something to tell you." Josh felt the same rush of uneasinesss again yet kept it cool & nodded his head calmly. Mr Boston continued with "There's this new article that should be covered by you but i don't feel it's right.I'll be handing it to the other editor,I felt the need to tell you this." Josh felt strange about it as normally he'd be called either for a pay raise or his non attendance for meeting. He held his urge back to question the Boss but he ended up with ''Sure Sir. I'm good with whatever decision made. " Mr Boston gave a proud smile at his reply,glad he was able to accept things. "Sir ,shall I get going then?" ,The Boss nodded, was amused with Josh's maturity that he was still in control after what has happened until Josh turned around "Sorry Sir,I can't contain myself.May i know what is the context of the article?". Josh took in sight on how Mr Boston's face dropped pale stuttering nervously . "Josh...i-i thought you've heard it already... Your mom passed away & your dad was admitted in the hospital." , said Mr Boston slowly while standing up shakily knowing he wouldn't be able to bear it. That's all it took to crush Josh into pieces, he couldn't believe whatever he just heard, he recalled his mom's text in the morning & he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up from the floor now to Mr Boston who was trying to persuade him, "Losing beloved ones & happenings of unexpected things are a part of life, my boy.Don't dissolve yourself too much in it,strong man.Take a few days off if you want." Josh stuttered a thanks & left to his office with cloudy head & heavy heart.The rage in him grew bigger to the extend he wanted to scream,break everything & even punch the wall like he did during his teenage times.Josh became vulnerable ,his legs got too weak where Josh dropped on his knees crying his heart out.Something in him admonished to move forward & sort things out.Poker faced Josh then washed his face in the washroom,shrugged himself to the desk chair & reached for his phone. He had a shock of his life when he saw seven missed calls from his mom,immediately Josh sat straight while thinking probably she wanted to tell him something. He regretted for not once bothered to check his phone,then it hit his brain to retrieve the voicemails although there was only two. " Son, I found it...there's a mind-blowing mystery behind your parents' death....You'll be coming home later right? so we shall discuss it at home. Papa and I are in your biological parents house, remember...?the one that got burnt down? we found few clues but it's like a puzzle that we can't solve...'' . Josh sat there in silence trying to process those informations into his mind. He then played the second recording that sounded terrifying ''JOSHHHHH...I'm s-sorryy ... please don't kill me!!!pleasee!!!!" At this point,his blood boiled with anger at the thought of someone actually killing his mom. Gathering all of his strength together,he continued the audio "Don't ever come to this house again josh!! It's ...not...safe... arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhh ..please...." He dropped his phone,hands trembling in agony as he couldn't understand anything at this point of life.

       A momnet or two,he jerked up looking at the door,his co-worker who's also a very reliable friend.Edwin came closer to Josh and placed the article about the incident,Josh picked it up in a dash as curiuosity took over him which is to identify what was the cause behind the death. Josh turned into a mad beast when he read "Mrs Parker was found dead.according to the Forensics,she had high blood pressure that led to massive cardiac arrest.Meanwhile Mr Parker was found half conscious under the burnt staircase,he is currently receiving treatment in the Lexus hospital.The police are now investigating the motive of their presence in the abandoned house". Josh grabbed his phone & dashed out of the office all the way to his bike "papa you're my last hope.." ,with that he sped off to the hospital.After confronting the doctor,he decided to do the needful for his mom & did the awake plus burial.It's been an hour yet his father remains unconscious with the nurses checking on him every now & then.Mr Parker's fingers twitched ,the old man barely opening his eyelids then shut closed with doctor rushing in , too late as he slipped off reality also known as coma.Josh sat for hours by the graveyard & mourn for his lost.He now stood alone like a lost puppy,he wandered around in the streets on his bike until he spotted bar.Without hesitation,he pulled over & went inside, took few shots of Bacardi.Even after getting all wasted, he refused to leave & was shoved outside by the muscular bartender .Due to intoxication,he fell asleep on the bench by the bar.Josh stood there in the now burning house.He saw his younger self panicking trying to help his parents.Unfortunately,He couldn't afford to do anything ,fear overtook his innocence.He ran out of the house,Josh followed behind & noticed Mrs Parker jumping out his house's window.Josh began to get curious & watched him banging on the neighbour's door.Mr parker opened the door after few minutes & calmed the kid saying "I've called the emergency line,Son. Don't worry''. This made the litle boy to calm down but Josh stood there with goosebumps rising on his skin.He couldn't believe his eyes ,Josh then began thinking to himself "why did my step-mom climb out of my house?'' ''my step-dad didn't even see what was going on but he beforehand called for help?''. Josh turned around & to his horror,the house wasn't on fire anymore. Adrenaline shoot up his body as he stepped closer to his house,he entered the house & saw his parents sitting there greeting him "Welcome Home Josh Audrey!we missed you!".Tears swell up his eyes , The people whom he missed dearly was there right in front of his eyes. He sat on the floor ,right infront of them who were calmly settled on the sofa . His mom spoke as he took in how beautiful his mom looked & how soft spoken her words were with those eyes admiring him as she spoke." Son,it's time for you to know this.we have an ancestrial treasure that needs to be taken care with sincerity. In the master bedroom,under the rug there's a latch.open that ,it's a magical portal.Follow the path as you go the paths will divide into four.in each path there'll be an angel guiding you for what you wish.Be careful.You shouldn't be too greedy for what you ask for. If you do so,the angels would punish you by adding on sufferings to you & vanish one by one.'' Josh was amazed with the thought of him who's going to take over the treasure. "Mom , was that how the wealth was built?''. She gave him a warm smile & said ''Yes dear,the angels blessed us as we did good deed both for the poverty & family". ''Look at how our son has grown ,he's now a man!' , joked his dad. josh chuckled softly. " I'm sorry josh. We're not here for you anymore. Don't drown yourself into darkness.You'll find your match soon and about Mr Parker ....I'm sorry son. He would've passed away by now." Josh's eyes flashed with shock. "D-dad ... h-how " His mom held his cheeks gently "Darling, They're not as good as they seemed.He & his wife were our neighbour so we shared everything including the magical portal. Unlike us,Mrs parker carried venom in her heart & disliked our reputation. She caused the fire & Mr Parker covered up the whole issue.After years,She started to have trauma.The angels started taunting her for the damage she has done.That's when they felt guilty for having greed & decided to move out in order to give you a good life." Josh sobbed hard & buried his face in his mom's chest. His shoulder was shaken slightly & he opened his eyes slowly.Josh jerked up to see himself still at the bar,night has turned day,realising he was dreaming.His sleeves were slightly wet as he cried in his sleep earlier, He felt his head getting heavy from the alcohol he consumed yet he managed to ride home safely.The water was running down his body as he relaxed,his dream kept playing through his mind unsure whether to just take it easy or it meant something serious.He then wore some comfortable clothes & heated up the leftover pizza. Josh concluded to just forget it as a dream,due to frustration,he raked his fingers in his smooth hair & noticed his watch was missing. As he was still all sobered up, he thought must be somewhere around there & decided to search later. the weather was quite good,he thought it'd be mind-relaxing if he went a ride on his bike.In a speed of flash, he dressed up & revved his bike around the town & the thought of papa being admitted striked his mind.He then went ahead to the hospital,passsed through the hectic crowd & got into the elevator followed by a doctor discussing with his nurse. "Make sure you inform the guardian right away,anything might happen." Then the nurse looked away from the doctor, tucking her hair behind the ears & made an eye contact with Josh ''Sir? You're the guardian on behalf of Mr Parker right?'' Just when Josh nodded " He's in a critical stage right now,please stay calm as the doctor would try his best" . All three of them rushed in a hurry but Josh was left behind as he shouldn't enter.As soon he saw his dad's face, he somewhat felt hatred instead of sadness.Josh felt confused & guessed papa won't make it alive. After what seemed like hours,the doctor came out & uttered apology.

       Josh felt his dream might be true & straight away left to his old house.On his 30 minutes journey,he cried at the thought nobody is left for him. There'll be nobody to greet him each day nor to share laughter with.The more further he got towards the house,The more anxious he felt deep down yet he went on boldly as he felt done backing away with fear.Josh stopped infront of the abandoned house & glanced over at his foster parents' previous house,where he got adopted. Though he was a grown man now,he still stood there oblivious.Baby steps were taken by him to enter his house,he knew he wasn't ready to face the situation.All it took was a slight push & the door opened , just dusty & ashed living room. His mind somehow pictured how it originally looked like,creating a tainted smile on his lips. Each time his feet came in contact with the wooden floor,it produced a cranky sound.his heart ached to explore such an unprepossessing house that was once majestic looking. Josh continued to stare at the living room,floods of memories flowing through. The ones where he would run around trying to catch his dad with mom giggling resting on the sofa looking at us both in awe, Josh's jaw twitched & eyebrows scrunched when he noticed his missing watch was there near the sofa. Now Josh got an answer to everything,his doubts turned into a dust. He was aware of what's going on.His confidence boosted up & followed the vivid picture in his mind to his parents' room.Just like what his mom has told him,there was a slightly burnt rug,he lifted it up gently & he was lost for words upon what he saw.there was indeed a latch but he refused to open it, feared of what awaited him. Josh gathered courage & knocked on the wood where an echo could be heard as if there's space beneath it. Eyes shut closed as his fingers got a hold of the latch ,carefully lifting it up despite of heaviness. After few seconds of silence,he opened his eyes & grabbed what seemed like a rope,he climbed downwards & the path got bright with old lamp lights on the wall, marble tiles around giving of fancy vibes.he couldn't believe why was there such landscape when the whole house was made of wood,he continued walking on the straight path which began parting into four. He stood in the middle puzzled on what wish to make ,little did he know he always dreamt of owning the family's wealth.He continued his journey in third path,it was decorated in blue tiles. Pictures of him being fired from his current work,his art works gaining attention & receiving huge amount of cash,renovating the house with him settling down with a family began showing up against the walls.Josh kept walking totally mesmerised by it & saw a similar rope like he used before & groped it,climbed up just to find himself end up in the room again. His mind went blur trying to take in everything that has happened,suddenly his phone rang .He answered & heard a lady's voice at the other end. "Hello,is this Mr Josh? i saw your paintings on sale i'd like to purchase it for 10 million dollars.Can we discuss about this in detailed?" .He tremendously shivered at how luck just hit him hard & responded swiftly agreeing to her.He let out a hearty laugh on how his life is changing filled with rollercoaster of emotions .Josh recalled the dream he had while inhaling a deep breathe & let it out slowly, "I'm thankful for every breathe i've had & grateful for the upcoming ones."