《Lost Call》 0th Chapter From now on, this will be your home. A stranger told me that. He was an ordinary looking middle-aged man. Behind him, a little girl was trying to hide. Every now and then, she would peek at me like a small animal. This is Katie. She will be your little sister. Go on, say hello to your big brother. Seemingly oblivious to her father¡¯s words, the little girl continued to hide behind him. I¡¯m sorry about that. She¡¯s just a little shy. We were the same age. I was just a few months older than her. We will take you to your new mother, okay? Whatever she says, just say okay or nod your head. Do you understand? I nodded my head as if practicing what he had just said. Kristopher? Is it really you? I nodded my head as the woman reached out to me with unsteady hands. They said you died. I didn''t believe them. I knew I was right. I was right. Kris is still here. He''s still here. She laughed as she hugged me tenderly with her weak arms. After one week, she died. Since then, they called me Kristopher as if it was natural. Since then, I had already forgotten my name. 5:30 am ¡°WAKE UP! WAKE UP! WAKE UP RIGHT NOW!¡± ¡­ ¡°WAKE UP! WAKE UP! WAKE UP RIGHT NOW!¡± ¡­ ¡°WAKE UP! WA¡ª¡± Once again, the alarm tone for my phone changed. One moment of weakness in this house, and all hell breaks lose. Still a bit groggy, I operated my phone and changed the alarm tone back to default. ¡°HaaAAAh¡­¡± A majestic yawn. I got out of bed and did some stretching and light exercises. It¡¯s always best to keep one¡¯s body healthy and ready in the morning. Towel in hand I left my room and headed for the bath. Along the way, a wonderful scent wafted in the air. Fried egg and bacon. Someone¡¯s in a good mood. After putting on my uniform, I posed a bit in front of the mirror. Black hair, brown eyes. A fit figure. Yep, still handsome and charming. ¡°You seem to be in a good mood today, Kate.¡± I said as I sat down by the breakfast table. Fried eggs and bacon, as expected. ¡°Huhun! I received an e-mail from dad this morning. He already sent this month¡¯s allowance.¡± She just laughed through her nose. Dear sister, even if you¡¯re the cutest girl in the world, your nostrils will enlarge if you keep doing that. That won¡¯t be a good thing for both you and me. ¡°Make sure you pay what you owe me.¡± She was speechless. She definitely already forgot about it. Last month, she got absorbed into shopping and spent all her allowance on new clothes. ¡°You¡¯re heartless, Kris!¡± Her cheeks puffed as she pouted. Hmm?! That¡¯s quite the cute expression. I might just forget that she owed me anything if she kept on making that face. ¡°Not my fault.¡± I¡¯m heartless. It takes about half an hour to reach school on foot. It wasn''t that far, but the residential area we live in didn''t have a straight road that leads to it. We¡¯re now third year high school students. It¡¯s the middle of the first term of our last year. Hooray! Freedom is at hand! There was still an hour before class starts when we arrived. Katie have morning club practice. She¡¯s in the drama club, and with the founding festival so near, they were busy preparing for whatever contribution they have to do. As for me, I¡¯m in the delivery club. I deliver my little sister to school and back home. ¡°Early as always, Topher.¡± A familiar voice said as a group of five students enter the room. No matter who the person is, if you''ve been classmates since middle school, they¡¯re voice would become familiar to you whether you like it or not. It¡¯s a curse. ¡°It¡¯s a curse.¡± ¡°What are you talking about?¡± ¡°Are you sure you want to know?¡± Seeing my serious expression, Jeffrey laughed awkwardly as he took his seat and dismissed our previous conversation. His four other companions did the same. Good riddance. That was effective. I continued to read the pocketbook I brought along as I waited for class to start. Katie and I were in different classes, but during lunch break we always meet on the rooftop to eat. I brought the packs of bread and juice I bought and sat at our usual spot. Strange. Normally, she¡¯d be here by now. I tried sending her a message but there was no reply. She would always inform me if she won¡¯t make it like the times when she was sent on an errand by a teacher or when she needed to meet for her club. Lunch break ended. I returned to class with a strange mood. She skipped class the entire afternoon. I went to her club but she had not shown up aside from morning practice. Where did she go? I called her but the line was busy. No message. Nothing. I¡¯m starting to worry. I sent messages to everyone I knew if they saw my sister and waited at the school¡¯s front gate. Panic. Worry. Anxiety. Fear. Protect your sister. Those words echoed in my head. Those were the last words our mother told me before she died. Then, my phone rang. It¡¯s a message. I hurried back home. Someone saw her heading home this afternoon looking tired. She was not in uniform, too. Did she skip class to go somewhere? Why? With whom? Why didn''t she tell me? Questions filled my head. I¡¯ll find out the answer once I got home. I held on to that firm belief and rushed home. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.Locked. The door was locked. The lights were off. The curtains were closed. No one¡¯s in the house? I fumbled with my keys and it took a while before I managed to open the door. As I turned on the lights¡­ *POP* Colorful confetti sprayed before me. It was a party popper. There in the living room stood my little sister. There was a small cake on the table and a wrapped box by her feet. ¡°Happy birthday!¡± A bright smile was on her face. That¡¯s right¡­ today was my birthday. I forgot. No one remembered other than my sister. She went to all these trouble to prepare a surprise for me. But still¡­ ¡°WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU WERE DOING, IDIOT?!¡± I yelled at her. ¡°I¡ª¡± She was surprised and confused. ¡°DO YOU KNOW HOW WORRIED I WAS?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­ I just¡ª¡± ¡°I SENT YOU A MESSAGE AND CALLED YOU! WHY DID YOU TURN YOUR PHONE OFF?! WHY DID YOU NOT SENT A MESSAGE BACK?!¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°I SPENT THE WHOLE AFTERNOON WAITING FOR YOU AND LOOKING FOR YOU!¡± Her face scrunched up as tears rolled down her cheeks. Suddenly, she ran out of the living room and into her room. ¡°OI!¡± She slammed the door and locked it. ¡°OI! OPEN THE DOOR!¡± I banged on her door with my fist while yelling for her to open it. ¡­ How stupid of me¡­ ¡­ No matter how much I apologized, I could not get a response from beyond the door. I still can¡¯t contact her phone. In the end, I went back to the living room. Seeing the cake and the wrapped present made me think of the stupidness of what I just did. With a sigh, I sliced the cake and started to it. Damn, it¡¯s good. Just the right sweetness. I lay back on the sofa and started thinking of what I should do tomorrow to make up for what I did. As I relaxed, my eyes closed and I drifted off to sleep. Past midnight, I woke up with a sensation that something was out of place. A blanket had been placed on top of me. The cake was gone. The present was still there, unopened. Did she finally leave her room? That¡¯s good. Another wave of sleepiness hit me and I quickly fell asleep. Her room was still locked by morning. I knocked but there was no response. ¡°I¡¯m really sorry about last night, Kate. I really am.¡± No answer. ¡°I¡¯ll go ahead, okay? If you need anything, just message me or call me.¡± Still no response. ¡°I love you, okay? I¡¯m sorry.¡± Leaving those words behind, I left for school. Another ordinary day, with only one piece missing. I regret the actions I did last night. I should have kept my cool. It was because I had that dream of the past. Now, I¡¯m blaming dreams. I should just accept that it was all my fault. Yep, I should do that. On the way home, I met with Jeffrey and his gang in a nearby game center. ¡°How¡¯s you, Tophie?¡± ¡°One more word of that strange nickname and you¡¯ll be known as Jenny for the rest of your life.¡± ¡°That doesn''t seem so bad¡­ Just kidding! Just kidding! But man, you''ve been out of it since yesterday. Something happened?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you remember? I couldn''t find my sister yesterday afternoon. I even bothered a lot of people to tell me if they saw her.¡± ¡°Sister?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you already forgot her? Katie, two classrooms down?¡± ¡°Since when did you get yourself a sister?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± His confused expression. The confused expression of the other four behind him. The same feeling I got when I woke up early in the morning. ¡°Haha. Don¡¯t joke around with me Jeff. You even once told me you had a crush on Katie back in middle school.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure what you¡¯re talking about, dude. I¡¯m sure you¡¯re an only child. Your foster parents adopted you because their only child died and you look a little bit like him, right? I remember you telling me that.¡± Only child? I grabbed Jeffrey¡¯s collar and pushed him against a wall. ¡°Her name¡¯s Katie! She sat beside me in middle school. Don¡¯t you remember?¡± His gang pulled us apart. ¡°What the heck man? What¡¯s wrong with you. I know no Katie. You should go to the doctor and get your head checked.¡± What the hell is going on? I ran away from them and rushed home. ¡°Katie? Katie? Katie! You there? Open the door!¡± I knocked on her door. Something was wrong. Something was definitely wrong. I kicked her door open. ¡°Katie?¡± Empty. The room was empty except for a few storage boxes. There was no pink wallpaper. No pink bed. Not a trace of her. I called dad. It¡¯s an international call, but I didn''t care. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± ¡°Dad! Katie¡¯s missing!¡± ¡°Katie? Who¡¯s that?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t joke with me dad!¡± ¡°Oh! Oh! I remember. Is that a new pet you got?¡± What the¡­ Just what the hell is going on? I contacted everyone I knew that knew Katie. Her drama club. Her classmates. Teachers. Neighbors. None. No one knows her. I sat down on the sofa, confused. The cake was bought by me. The credit card number on the receipt was mine. The present was sent by dad. The room was a storage room. I looked at my phone and dialed her number. The number is currently not in service. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on anymore. 0th Chapter "Loss and Regret" End 1st Chapter I eat. I sleep. I go to school. I go home. Days turned to weeks. Weeks turned to months. I''ve already lost count how long it had been since I last heard her voice. The number you dialed is currently not in service. Please check the number and try again. Gone. She''s gone. No one remembered her. No one knew her. It was as if she never existed in the first place. Except for me. The number you dialed is currently not in service. Please check the number and try again. Still, I could feel the image of her in my mind slowly fading away. I was scared that one day, I, too, would forget her. That was why... Everyday I dialed her number at least once. The number you dialed is currently not in service. Please check the number and try again. I was hoping that this was all a bad dream, a nightmare of sorts. I was hoping that she would answer the call and ask me why I was disturbing her with that sweet voice. The number you dialed is currently not in service. Please check the number and try again. But reality is cruel. The world is harsh. Like a slap in the face, the system generated voice recording repeated again and again. The number you dialed is currently not in service. Please check the number and try again. The number you dialed is currently not in service. Please check the number and try again. The number you dialed is currently not in service. Please check the number and try again. The number you dialed is currently not in service. Please check the number and try again. The number you dialed is currently not in service. Please check the number and try again. The number you dialed is currently not in service. Please check the number and try again. The number you dialed is currently not in service. Please check the number and try again. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. Slowly, I was walking the steps to insanity. Dad came home and brought me to a psychologist. Nothing was wrong. After a week-long break, he left again for work. This had always been the case. But this time, when he leaves, I''ll be left all alone again. Alone. I had always been alone in the orphanage. Until he came with that little girl hiding behind his legs. She exists... I know she does. So once again I repeated the movements of my thumb, pressing on the buttons of my phone. This had already been engraved in my hand. Sometimes I would unconsciously press those buttons on the remote control while blankly staring at the TV. The number you dialed is currently not in service. Please check the number and try again. I woke up. Was it really just a nightmare? Class already ended. That''s right. We had a graduation ceremony a week ago. It was already summer. There on top of my desk was a framed picture of my graduation photo. A fake smile. Empty eyes. A nightmare hidden behind that mask. Once again I dialed. The number you dialed is currently not in service. Please check the number and try again. And dialed. The number you dialed is currently not in service. Please check the number and try again. Dialed. The number you dialed is currently not in service. Please check the number and try again. Dialed. The number you dialed is... Sheesh. Alright! You''re so persistent! Huh? What just happened? I stared at my phone blankly. Did my brain finally fry? An auditory hallucination? But that voice was male. The system generated voice was female... RING RING My phone rang. There was no number displayed on my phone. It was just ringing. I answered it. Suddenly, the world I know disappeared. In its place was a monochrome world. 1st Chapter "Contact" End 2nd Chapter A monochrome world. No, there were also shades of gray. It was colorless and dreary, as if it was a sketch made by a depressed teenager. Me. Broken down buildings on both sides. A straight road ahead stretching toward the horizon. There at the far distance stood a black tower reaching straight for the heavens beyond the dark gray clouds. Rain fell. The clear drops of water were stained with shades of gray. It was truly depressing, but it couldn¡¯t lower my mood anymore. I was already at the bottom. ¡°Big brother Kris.¡± A familiar voice. I took a deep breath and looked behind me. ¡°Katie!¡± ¡°Non non.¡± A smiling man stood in the middle of the road holding a white umbrella against the rain. His face was covered with a white mask. His entire body was black, as if devoured by shadows. He wore a gray tailcoat. ¡°That was just my impression. Was it good?¡± ¡°Impression?¡± He made an impression of Katie¡¯s voice. It sounded just like her. Then that meant that he knew her. My eyes shone with anticipation. A clue! A lead! I finally found it! ¡°You knew Katie?¡± ¡°Of course! She was an interesting fellow. I had my hopes high for her to reach the top of the tower!¡± He said as he pointed at the tower rising over the horizon. I looked back and saw a hole appear in the clouds. The top of the tower could be seen, blanketed by a misty haze. In the blurry figure, I could see bright colored lights out of place in this world of black, gray, and white. ¡°Sadly, she made a turn for the worse.¡± He shook his head. ¡°She challenged opponents she couldn¡¯t win against. She fought them like there as no tomorrow. It was strange. She had always done things mathematically, always winning with the proper strategy.¡± He walked toward me then folded his umbrella, letting the rain wet his clothes. He pointed the tip of the umbrella to me and said¡­ ¡°You are the reason she lost!¡± What? I couldn¡¯t keep track of the conversation. He had been sputtering nonsense for a while now. ¡°Ahh! Ahh! She was depressed! She was sad because her older brother did not understand how she felt! She just wanted to make him happy, but what did he do? He scolded her! He shouted at her! All she did was for him, but she only got hurt in return! ¡°Drowned in sorrow, she fled to this world to ease the pain. But it was a mistake.¡± He sighed and started walking away. ¡°I liked her. But because of you, she¡¯s gone now. Hmm¡­ Oh well. Nothing can change the past now. As retribution, I won¡¯t give you a hint. Good luck!¡± With those confusing words, he faded and disappeared. Before I could arrange my thoughts, a chilling sensation pierced my nape. Killing intent. It was so strong and clear it felt like a cold dagger was pressed on the back of my neck. Relying only on intuition, I jumped to the side. BOOM! A loud sound assaulted my senses and knocked me back. An explosion. I was thrown into a nearby ruined building. My body hit a broken down wall causing it to crumble into pieces. ¡°Gaah!¡± The pain was overwhelming. My entire body was covered with wounds and bruises. I felt blood seep up to to my throat. I may have suffered some internal injury. I wiped the blood that had rolled down my left eye as I stood up. There in the middle of the street was a huge black figure. As my gaze landed on it, it turned its head and stared right at me. Bright red eyes. They were like points of light on its dark skin. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. What is it? I don¡¯t know. A monster? Its bulging muscles were bigger than any beast I¡¯ve seen. It was over two meters tall, and it was still crouching. It somehow looked like a gorilla, but its face was strangely human. No fur covered its skin. Its red glaring eyes were enough to freeze me in place. The killing intent did not come from it. Instead, its presence was so dominating it made breathing hard. I choked as my throat tightened up. This pressure was enough to kill me. No. I don¡¯t want to die. Not yet. Not before I find out what happened to her. I finally got a lead. I won¡¯t let it end like this. I clenched my fists so hard that my nails dug into flesh. Blood rolled down my knuckles and dropped on the rubbles on the floor. That was enough to wake my petrified body. The black monster suddenly jumped. It was more than ten meters into the air! It was planning to crush me as I landed. Move! My body moved as I commanded it to, but my shaky legs gave up on me. With stumbling steps, I managed to avoid the monster¡¯s landing but it blew me away and crashed into another wall. Ignoring the pain, I picked myself up and ran away. No destination in mind. No plan. I just relied on my instincts and fear. It aimed for me. I dodged. It chased. I ran. A game of cat and mouse, where I was the pitiful little rodent. Every few seconds, I came so close to being crushed. Every time, I was moving inches closer to death. This can¡¯t go on forever. I knew that. But there was nothing I could do. Under the gray sky and the falling rain, two figures ran between ruined buildings and streets. One a pitiful young man, the other a black monster. This would make quite the painting, but as the former, there was nothing to appreciate about this scene. ¡°Ha¡­ haha¡­¡± Between my ragged breaths I began to laugh. ¡°Hahaha!¡± Laughter mixed with the noise of the dropping rain. ¡°Hahahahahaha! HAHAHAHAHA!¡± He called this retribution. In fact, it might be as he said. How dare I call myself as her brother? How dare I call her my sister? How shameless! How despicable! I am nothing of that sort. I¡¯m just a pitiful parasite living off the blessings that had come with her existence! I was an orphan. My future was uncertain. Then, a tragic accident provided me with fortune. I was given a family. I was given a life. In exchange for a life lost. I am not Kristopher. Katie was not my sister. Her family is not my family. I am nothing. I am no one. I closed my eyes and stood still. A small smile formed on my face. There was a weight in my pocket. I inserted my hand and pulled out my phone. My thumb moved unconsciously. I placed the phone beside my ear. Empty. There was no sound. Still¡­ ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­¡± No reply. ¡°And thank you.¡± I finally said the words I should have said that night. With my heart at peace, I felt the air shake behind me. It¡¯s coming¡­ The black figure that was punishment for my sins, in this gray world that represented my existence. 2nd Chapter "Gray Existence" End 3rd Chapter A loud roar. A massive impact. A shock wave. Then, silence. Aside from the rain, the gray world was filled with silence. With my eyes closed, I pondered if death was like this, quiet and tranquil. No, I wouldn¡¯t be able to have thoughts like this if I were dead. Or was it only the misconception of humans that thoughts would cease to exist after death? As if to answer my question, another roar resounded behind me. Another massive impact. Another shock wave. Silence once again. Slowly, I opened my eyes. As I turned around to see what happened, another set of the same sequence of sounds came. As the dust and rubbles blew away, my eyes widened at the spectacle before me. The black figure¡¯s massive rock-like fists were blocked by a huge white sword. Wielding the sword was a white figure. White skin. White hair. White armor. White helmet. White. White. White. Everything was white. Every time the black monster roared and threw a punch, the white sword would turn into a white haze then block it. The white knight seemingly still the entire time. ¡°Tch.¡± A voice came from behind the black monster. There, I saw a man with skin covered by black shadows. All except for his eyes, mouth, and clothes were black. ¡°Arbiter, this isn¡¯t what you said!¡± He yelled into the air as if talking to an invisible person. ¡°Oh my, I didn¡¯t expect this either.¡± An irritating voice. It was the same person who appeared earlier. To the side, the tailcoat and umbrella figure faded in out of nothing. His umbrella was open and blocking the rain. The plain white mask revealed no expression, but he gave the impression that he was smiling behind it. ¡°As you have heard earlier, I gave him no hints. He did this all on his own.¡± ¡°You said this was certain victory!¡± ¡°It¡¯s not my fault that you spent too much time playing around. You gave him too many chances. If this were another foe, you would have been dead long ago. And you were wondering why you couldn¡¯t win.¡± ¡°Grrr. I told you I can¡¯t lose this one. It¡¯s the end for me if I lose!¡± Despite his obvious anger at the masked man¡¯s words, his voice was getting desperate. ¡°Hmm¡­ nothing much I can do. I¡¯m just the arbiter after all. I can¡¯t help you cheat. I already did what I could to favor you.¡± Just like that, he disappeared while shaking his head. ¡°Damn it!¡± The man¡¯s deep blue eyes stared at me. Anger, hatred, and lust for blood swam in them. There was also a hint of fear and desperation. I still don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on, but it seems like this white knight was something I called based on the masked man¡¯s words. ¡°Pounder, ignore the knight and crush its king!¡± Hearing those words, the black monster¡¯s red eyes glinted with madness. It pushed the white knight and stepped back. Then it jumped over its head. It was aiming to crush me, just like the man¡¯s orders. With my body battered with wounds and bruises, I barely managed to dodge. ¡°Stay fucking still! Pounder, do it! Mad Charge!¡± Black points of light appeared around its body. It let out a roar at point blank range that caused my innards to rattle. I was blown back a few meters away and was left powerless to stand. I won¡¯t be able to dodge this time. As I await my death, my eyes met that of the white knight¡¯s. Through its opened visors, a pair of mesmerizing white eyes that shone like a gem stared right into me. It was waiting for something. Waiting for a command. Thoughts filled my head. I had already accepted my fate. I was willing to die. I had said the words I needed to say. Everything was done. I was ready to let go. But those eyes stared at me. Dependence. Loyalty. Eagerness. It was waiting for something. It was waiting for me. A command was all it needed for it to move. Like a fact, those words registered itself in my head. A command. An order. A word of power. What was it that I wanted? What was it that I wished for? The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. With the loss, regret, realization, and fulfillment I had gone through, what more do I need? ¡°He¡­¡± I mouthed the silent word that will trigger the events that would change my fate. BOOM! A sonic boom resounded as black light dashed straight toward me. The massive figure covered with a black glow would crush me in a moment. Once again, I felt unwilling. I don¡¯t want to die. I may have said the words I wanted to say, but she wasn¡¯t there to hear them. What was it that I wanted? What was it that I wished for? I wanted to say thank you. I wanted to apologize. I wanted to say that I loved her. I wanted to tell her to stay. I wanted her to hear those words. That was what I want. That was what I wish for. As if to help me fulfill those, a bright white glow covered the dashing darkness and the gray world beyond. CRASH! The nearby buildings collapsed. A massive crater appeared on the concrete road. Rubbles flew into the air. A massive shock wave spread all around except for my location. In front of me was the white knight. Her body was emitting a beautiful white glow. Points of colored light seem to gather around her. Her white sword was gleaming with many colors. Like the rainbow after the rain, her sword drew a perfect arc and struck the darkness in front of her. ¡°NO! NO! NO!¡± The man thrashed wildly as he looked at the headless corpse of the black monster in front of him. A figure appeared beside him. It was the masked man who called himself an arbiter. ¡°That was pretty impressive. Now, finish off the king.¡± He said to me. At first I was confused, then I realized that he meant killing the man. I shook my head. Although he tried to kill me, I was not the sort of person who would kill a defenseless person in retaliation. ¡°That isn¡¯t possible. Unless he surrenders, you have to finish off the king!¡± He said in a matter-of-fact way. ¡°It¡¯s just like chess. Go on. Don¡¯t worry. Death isn¡¯t the end in this world.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Like I said, it¡¯s just like chess. This is just a game. Killing off a person here doesn¡¯t mean they would die.¡± ¡°What about my si¡ªKatie?¡± I stopped myself before calling her sister. After everything that happened, I couldn¡¯t muster the courage to continue playing this pretentious act of being her brother. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you about it if you finish him off.¡± The man stared at me. His deep blue eyes were filled with fear. If killing him here wasn¡¯t real, then why does he make that face? I felt hesitant, but the arbiter¡¯s words were tempting. ¡°Will you really tell me?¡± I asked as a confirmation. ¡°Of course! I¡¯ll tell you everything you need to know.¡± That sickly sweet voice was irritating. I looked at the white knight who stood beside me as if perpetually waiting for my command. ¡°Finish him.¡± A white flash. A headless corpse. I cringe at the mercilessness of my action. How much more of this act will I commit in pursuit of the truth? 3rd Chapter "White Knight" End A/N: Chapters have been way shorter than the prologue -_- Why??? It''s the caffeine + exhaustion. I had been driving back and forth for the past two days (after posting the prologue) and tired myself out. While driving, I''ve been thinking of what to add to the story and had a few close encounters with road accidents. Never gonna do that again. Must focus when driving. Hear that, idiots who love to text and call while driving. Anyway, I wrote and slept for a few minutes. When I wake up, I get a new bright idea, so I wrote again... then slept. Rinse and repeat... I should''ve been patient and just combined all three in one chapter. lol. Anyway, thanks for the first rating, whoever gave that one. This will be the last chapter for today. Thanks for reading!