"Don't eat so much, you'll get fat", my sister said.

"Hey, I workout, I am entitled to my fair share of carbs", I protested as I bit into another strip of bacon.

Today was a fine day, my final year exams had just gotten over and I could relax at last. There was no way I was going to let her ruin my mood, just because she was stressed about her school finals.

"So, do you have any plans for today?" my mom asked me.

"Yeah, I'll be going to Tony's house he has a telescope, we'll be watching the eclipse", I said, " Total Solar Eclipses like this are so very rare."

"The eclipse will only add to all the crazy conspiracy theories, that, claim the world is going to end in 2012", my sister said, as she took a sip of her coffee.

"Well maybe it will", I said, " It's not like we can predict the future."

My sister glared at me, "You can't be serious, you believe those silly doomsday theories?"

"Of course I don't. But you never know what might happen", I said. "Anyways, even if it turns out to be true, we still have over a month to enjoy ourselves, before we die in a fiery explosion of some sort", I joked.

In reply, she only shook her head condescendingly at me, like seriously, I am older than her, can't she respect me just a little, I sighed.

"Very well then, why don't the two of you leave together? Your brother can walk you to school too", my mother said.

" She doesn't need me to walk her to school it's barely fifteen minutes away and she's in high school", I protested.

"Yeah, as much as I loathe to agree with my brother, I would prefer to go on my own", my sister said.

But mom wasn't going to have any of that and ultimately we had no choice but to crumble before her stern stare.

———————————

The November air was chilly and although, this far South it didn't snow, it still did get really cold. I intended to go to Tony's house after dropping off my sister at her school. Though, I noticed, as it was still early in the morning, a lot of the shops were closed and streets deserted.

"So, have you decided on your major, yet?" I asked my sister.

"No, but I have shortlisted three subjects, I'll choose one of them for my major", she said.

"You wish to go to Law School right? Then a History major will be best, I guess", I said.

"Yes, it is either that, or Political Science or maybe Psychology. I haven't decided yet", she said.

As we were talking, we suddenly saw a bald, middle aged man running towards us in a hurry. Chasing him, we saw was a pale, lanky man. Just as I turned to look, the pale man pulled out a pistol from his trenchcoat and fired at the bald man. The bullet missed him, ricocheting off the pavement instead. I was frozen, rendered immobile, upon hearing the gunshots.

I heard my sister's voice screaming at me trying to pull me away. But before she could do so, the bald man, in his panic to escape, crashed right into me sending all three of us sprawling onto the sidewalk. I tasted asphalt, the coppery taste of blood from my now split lip filled my mouth. I tried to crawl up into a sitting position, but before I could get up, I saw the pale man in the black trenchcoat point his gun towards us and fire.

I suddenly felt the air knocked out of me, as I was again sent sprawling onto the sidewalk. Everything seemed hazy and distant, as I heard my sister's screams. She rushed to me, crawling and pulled me into her embrace, shielding me from the bullets, even as I heard two more gunshots fired.

As I lay there on the sidewalk, in my sister's embrace with the taste of blood and dirt in my mouth, an eerie silence in the air, punctuated only by my sister's muffled sobs, I noticed the sky had started to darken. The eclipse must have started, I thought.

I tried to get up, but my sister wouldn't let me. I heard her mumble something in between her sobs, "Please don't move, you'll make it worse."

I wondered what she meant. It is understandable that she would be shaken from the encounter. But the pale man had fled and we had to get the police and the medics for the bald man, he might still make it. I pushed her away, as I tried to sit up but before I could fully get up, I felt a stinging pain in my chest, that forced me to lie back down.

As I coughed up blood, I realized that I had been shot, as I saw the bright red blood pooling around my torso. My sister clung to me sobbing harder, as I lay there in the pool of my own blood.

"Don't worry", she said, "I have called for the ambulance. Help is on the way, nothing will happen to you", my sister tried to reassure me in between her sobs.

But I knew I was a dead man. My breathing was growing shallower by the minute. I had lost too much blood and I could see darkness ringing the edges of my vision. I wouldn't last till help arrived.

I had been so happy, I had so many dreams, so many things I wished to do. But instead I would die here at twenty one, caught in the crossfire of a shooting gone wrong. Fate can be such a bitch sometimes.

I somehow managed to tap my sister's arm, as she held onto me. She turned to look at me and as I saw her tearstained face, I felt something break in me.

With hot tears starting to blur my vision, I raised my hand to wipe away her tears. "I love you sis." I said, "Tell Ma, I love her too. And I am sorry, but I think this is where I leave you", I whispered in a broken voice, my words muffled by the blood.

She let out a choked sob, as I patted her back with my now shivering hand. "Goodbye sister. Live well for me", I smiled, as the sounds around me started to fade away.

I felt really cold and as I started to drift away, I heard the distant sound of sirens; sirens of help, too late to save me, I mused.

And as my vision started to dim, I looked skyward and what greeted me was, a Black Sun, in a pitch black world, and a Ring of Fire.