A man was walking towards his home with heavy steps in the darkness. He had worked late that day. The summer holiday was coming to an end; the man was a university student who had finally moved on to his first year after a difficult preparatory year. Despite his outwardly relaxed attitude, there was someone deep inside who understood the vastness of the universe. Behind that relaxation, he burned like a flame with a belief in a universe where everything was possible, and nothing could surprise him.
"Finally, the day is over," the man muttered wearily.
He worked at a market. The hours were not great, but he had to endure it to earn money, support himself, and pay off his debts.
Although he had returned to his hometown for the summer, he was not at ease there. He was staying with his family, but they didn't seem to care much about him. At least they provided him with a place to stay, but to them, he was just a stranger occupying space in their house.
He believed the reason for this was societal prejudice. During his high school years, his family had discovered his orientation despite his efforts to keep it hidden.
That was when his whole life turned upside down. He had grown up close to his family, grandparents, uncles, and cousins, so their sudden change had left him vulnerable. Being treated with such coldness by those he trusted most had shattered him.
So, he immersed himself in novels, fanfiction, and all sorts of fantasies; it was the only way he could escape. The incident had made him less interested in real life, but it also led him to develop an increasing curiosity about the unknown, shaping him into the person he was today.
"Ah... will I really have to live like this in such a vast universe?" he thought, feeling a deep sense of disappointment.
"Maybe it would be more interesting to die in a car accident and go to the afterlife. Or maybe something similar to the fanfiction I read would happen. Hahaha... but what nonsense. What am I waiting for? Would this universe care about me? At the end of the day, I'm just an ordinary person. No different from an orphan—although, they deserve more sympathy than me, since at least my childhood was filled with love. Oh, where was I? Right, have I contributed anything to this universe? I don't think so."
Overwhelmed by his emotional turmoil, he couldn't stop his mind from racing.
When he arrived home, no one even looked at him. He hadn't eaten, so he headed for the kitchen. When he opened the fridge, there was no food left; it had all been eaten. He saw empty, dirty plates on the table—it had only been fifteen minutes since they had finished their meal.
He was exhausted, yet the dishes sat there as if waiting specifically for him to wash them.
"Tomorrow, I must wake up early for work, so I need to sleep as soon as possible," he told himself.
After washing the dishes, he took a shower to clear his mind. Everyone else in the house had already gone to bed by the time he finished. He knew he had to sleep, but he was starving. Still, he forced himself to drift off while his stomach growled.
"Ah... I'm exhausted," he thought, and finally fell asleep.