A man woke up from his dream. He slowly went near the mirror and gave a big yawn, then headed to the kitchen. His mother was cooking breakfast.
"When did you wake up?" his mother asked.
"Just now. What's for breakfast?"
"Oh... You only eat when you know what it is. Brush your teeth first," Mother said with a laugh.
He hesitantly went to the bathroom and brushed his teeth. After that, he ate breakfast and went outside.
"So... I'm Jack. Just a nineteen-year-old unemployed, stupid coward with no self-respect, no confidence, and anger issues. Yeah... I hate myself." He started talking to himself.
"Even though I'm this much of a failure, I've never failed to be kind to others," he added, picking up an apple that had fallen from an old merchant's basket.
"Thank you, Jack," the merchant said.
"As you can see, everyone knows me. Everyone loves me. That's what I thought. Until..." His face frowned as a firm memory came back.
---
"You smoked weed? How dare you come into this house again after doing that?" Jack's father shouted at him.
"Do you know how old you are? If you start smoking at this age, what will your future be like?" His father slapped him across the face.
"Dad, I didn't do it," Jack wept. He was only fifteen at the time.
"What did you say? If you didn't smoke, then how did Johnson see you yesterday, huh? Even Sara said she saw you. Are you telling me they're lying?" His father's words hit harder than the slap.
Jack looked down. He felt betrayed-for something he hadn't even done.
"That's enough. He already told you he didn't do it," his mom defended him.
"Oh, that's nice. You're spoiling him. Tomorrow he'll bring drugs into this house-what will you do then?" his dad snapped back at her.
Jack stood there with teary eyes before running to his bedroom.
His father looked at him, then went outside and lit a cigarette.
"Why are you being so mean to him?" his mother asked.
"I don't know... I can't control my anger. Is he alright? I just... I don't want him to end up like me," he said with a cough.
Jack was still crying on his bed when a calm knock came at his door. He ignored it and pressed a pillow over his head. His dad came in anyway.
"Son, are you sleeping? Look... I'm really sorry. Ahh... I was under too much tension, and you know-I heard them talking about you like that, and I just got angry. Did it hurt? I'm sorry. You know I didn't mean it," his dad said, tapping his shoulder.
"I know you're pretending to be asleep. Wake up," his dad added. Jack flinched and turned over.
"You know about my smoking, right? You know how bad it is. I can't stop, even though I'm coughing badly these days. It's an addiction. I don't want you to be like me. Hey... are you listening? Get up or I'll sell all your games."
Hearing that, Jack jumped out of bed.
"Now tell me-did you smoke weed yesterday?" his dad asked.
"No, Dad."
"Can I trust that?"
"Yes. I was playing with my friends at that time. My shirt got dirty, so I came straight back home," Jack said while weeping.
"Then why did they say that? If they lied, they're going to regret it," his dad said and hugged him.
"I'm sorry. I did that out of anger. Get back to sleep. I'll buy you something nice tomorrow," he said before leaving the room.
The next day, the first thing Jack saw was Mr. Johnson and Sara apologizing to him for mistaking him for someone else. He smiled faintly, noticing the dark bruise under Mr. Johnson's eye.
"And that's how I realized I can't trust any of these smiles. To be honest, this is the shittiest city on this planet," he muttered as he walked to the big market.
"After my dad retired because of his health, our family struggled to gather funds. That's when we realized relatives are just ductile. My mom used to visit every relative's house, attend functions, and help them financially and emotionally. But when we struggled to eat, not a single one of them visited us. They were afraid we'd become a burden.
But my dad didn't care about anyone. His catchphrase was, 'Let the motherfuckers hide all their treasure inside their ass.' To be honest, he's the only reason we're still not starving. He found jobs even though he wasn't healthy.
I'm their only son, so I'm their hope. But I..." He stopped at a flower shop and looked at a rose.
"A coward should not have the luxury of love. But... I have. One-sided, though. It started in middle school. She appeared in my life like a flash. I was too scared to ask her out, as usual. But somehow, she knew about it and threw a rejection right in my face. After that, I couldn't find any other love. She stayed stuffed somewhere in my mind.
Years later, when she had become more of a nostalgic memory, it happened. Without me realizing, she appeared in my life again. She called me somewhere and asked me out. I was like-what? What? She hadn't been on my mind for years. In that heat of the moment, I said no. She laughed, said she was joking, and left.
That night was the most painful. My mind started spinning its own story, flashing back to the days I loved her like a romantic movie. And without realizing, I fell again.
After that, I was so happy. My mind kept saying, She's yours. She asked you out first. She's waiting. And stupid me believed it. After a month of acting like the main character, I asked her out again. Somehow, I had the courage. But she rejected me again! My life as a main character ended that day.
It's not fair, though-coming into someone's life, giving hope, and then taking it away. Everything reset to square one. I couldn't forget her. And here I am, shamelessly going to see her again.
I could have used this time to grow my skills and find a job. But no... my mind won't let me. It's like I have something else to do. Something important."
Just then, a wooden stick landed on his head.
"Ah... that hurts!" Jack turned back.
"What are you doing-talking to yourself and walking like you're unconscious?" a girl asked.
"Ow... how many times have I told you not to hit me?" he said.
"My bad... sorry." She smiled.
He stared at that smile.
"So, what's the plan today, Rose?" he asked, trying to catch her attention.
"I'm just helping my father. Take these," she said, handing him two big bags.
"What's in these?" Jack asked.
"I don't know. Some minerals, glass, rocks," she said, walking ahead.
"What's your dad experimenting on?" Jack asked, keeping up with her.
"I don't know. He never talks to me about his experiments. That's why I made my own lab," she laughed, entering a big building.
"I wish I could see this smile forever. Oh... I guess I'm just a side character now. All I can do is wait for the main character," Jack muttered, following her inside.
"Dad," Rose called.
"Yeah, put that near the table," her father replied.
She carefully placed the bags down and went to her lab.
"Hey, Doctor Grim," Jack greeted.
"Hey, Jack. How are you?" the doctor asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Jack replied.
"Can you tell her to finish the preparations? The team will arrive in one week," the doctor said.
"Yes, I will," Jack said and walked to Rose. She was peering through a microscope. Jack leaned in to peek too.
"What?" she asked.
"Uh... Doctor said to finish the preparations," Jack told her.
"Already done," she said, unfazed.
"Who are they?" Jack asked.
"Who? Oh... the ones coming? Some researcher guys here to meet my dad. They'll leave in a week or so," she said.
"Researchers? I guess it's something big," Jack said.
"Yeah, I think so too. They mentioned some transcripts or something," she replied.
"Mmm... I guess we should wait and find out. I'm really curious what they'll be like," Jack said.
"I don't care. To me, they're just people coming to destroy my peace. I bet I won't even like a single one of them," Rose said, adjusting the lens.
Jack looked at her for a while.
"I don't know why I'm doing this. My chances with her are probably zero. But still..." he smiled softly.
"I love her."
-To Be Continued...