Doomsday Pillars

December 18, Bali Airport.

Hendrik got a call from his brother to come and pick him up at the airport.

"This guy has been doing strange things these last couple of weeks. He forces us to move to Bali, then he left us here. Now when I was actually having fun with those two Australian chicks, this brother of mine had to bother me with picking him up. Can't he just take a taxi or a Grabcar?"

"I wonder where is he now? He is so lateeeee..."

"Wow there is a beautiful blonde there, she's really my type. Wow, the woman next to her is even better. They both look like supermodels, that guy in the middle, what a very lucky guy.."

"Wait… That guy looks familiar..."

"..."

"That's my brother!"

"Alex! Yo! Brother over here!"

Alex walks closer to him.

"There you are. Ok, let's go."

"What do you mean let's go? You haven't introduced me to these two lovely ladies yet."

"Halo, my name is Hendrik, Alex's unmarried brother."

Alex introduced both women to him. Although Cindy looks like a book-smart person with glasses and short hair, she's actually very energetic and friendly. While Aria is the polar opposite.

The reason why Alex called his brother was that he knows exactly how his brother would react. If his brother had the ability, he would move heaven and earth for these beautiful babes. Therefore, he asks his brother to bring Cindy and Aria for a tour around Bali. Although Alex has many things he needs to do in preparation for the upcoming Doomsday, today is family time. Aria and Cindy understood, Alex told them to meet again tomorrow at the Bay city villa. Meanwhile, Hendrik will be their guide today.

After all, what would his wife think if she saw these two women with him...

Alex went directly to the hotel, his family had been touring around different hotels in the last 2 weeks. Alex is sort of confused as to which one they are staying right now.

Alex found them in Ritz Carlton hotel, one of the best five-star hotels in Bali. The hotel has its own private beach, the sand is white... His family is there. His wife Devita, his eldest daughter Tiffany and his little one Tiarra.

Tiffany is a very energetic mischievous kid, she smiles a lot and likes to play pranks on people. While on the other hand, Tiarra is very strict and serious like her mother. She is very disciplined but also stubborn. At the moment, both of the girls are playing with the sand on the white beach, as for their mom, she is enjoying a fruit juice in the cabana.

The girls saw their dad...

"DADDDYYYYY!!!"

"Heii girls."

They both hugged him from both sides. This is one of the great things about having a family.

"Daddy, you went away so longgggg."

"I am very sorry girls."

"Daddy, help us built sand castles."

Alex has an architectural degree, he and the girls ended up spending a few hours on the castle and built an almost real sized one. His wife puts up a warm smile while watching them. Alex then pulled over his wife and the four of them started to create statues made of sands that resembled themselves. His wife had a classic Polaroid camera, they took pictures of the four of them with the sand statues, the castle with the sunset as the background. They all hugged each other that afternoon on the white sand beach. Feeling the warm blowing breeze, the soft crashing of the waves on the shore, while looking at the horizon watching the beautiful sunset go down...

Alex was lost in thought. Today is one of the most blissful moments of his life, he wants and will keep this memory forever. He closes his eyes, he thought of that grey figure guy. Even if this world is only a dream, he is thankful for this wonderful moment, he's thankful for the second chance.

The storm will come in 12 days, it's about time to prepare his family, they should not be in the dark any longer. The family then went to a fancy Balinese restaurant for dinner. After finishing their meal, they returned back to the hotel. Alex took the little girls to their beds, read them some kids fantasy novel and tugged their blankets to sleep. He gave them hugs and kisses before turning in for the night.

"Good night girls."

Alex walked to the other room where his wife is, she apparently had just finished taking shower, wet hair was randomly hanging over her shoulders.

"Thank you for taking the girls to bed tonight."

"Your welcome, I hope I can do it more often."

They have been married for 13 years, although Alex is all smiles and laughs today, she knows that there is something that has been bothering him for the last few weeks. The sudden move to Bali, the crazy work schedule, and disappearing for a week.

"Do you want to tell me what's going on now?"

Alex looks at his wife, she has always been smart, but he cannot tell her yet. At least, not now...

Alex moves closer to his wife and hugs her deeply, she was startled. Alex's move took her by surprise. He hugs her for almost one full minute, and she slowly moves her arms and hugs back. He really needed this, the 11 years of pain seemed to gradually disappear. Alex can taste the wonderful smell of shampoo from his wife's hair, he gently kissed her on her ear and down to her neck, she involuntarily moaned a little.

Alex sways back a little, he looks at her eyes then slowly moves forward until feeling a pair of soft lips, they become entangled in a kiss. It was a passionate night.

Another day has passed. In the morning while Devita is still asleep, Alex was in deep thought. Revealing about the Doomsday to his wife will be harder than anyone else. Although they just had a memorable night, he knows that in actuality, their relationship is a bit more complicated than before.

It's a very classic marriage story, two-person was in love, but when children were moving into the picture, they were unaware that their relationship started to move closer towards their children, and further away between each other.

On Alex's previous life, the death of Tiffany broke them apart. That was the main reason that Alex was unable to protect them both. So he really needs to handle this news about the end of days delicately.

A few minutes later, Devita woke up and saw Alex staring at her and then spoke,

"It is time for you to know what I have been doing these last few weeks."

Alex spoke with a heavy tone, this had startled his wife.

Alex told her that he got news about a plague that would soon spread at the end of the year. He told her that he and a few other people including the military have prepared a survival shelter here in Bali. The last few weeks he was able to get additional support and more proof about this plague that will happen. Even an extraterrestrial existence might get involved.

Devita was stunned, she did not know how to answer. Her husband likes to joke around. But this time, she thought that it was a bit too far...

"I planned to take you on a trip today to see the shelter and the preparation. I will introduce you to some people and I want you to monitor the situation. I will answer any of your questions later on today."

Alex left his two daughters to their grandparents and went together to the Bay city with his wife.