Adrian didn't mind that his life wasn't a grand adventure. He wasn't a movie hero, nor did he have any illusions about being one. He was, if anything, a regular guy. The kind of person who would tell you how badly he wanted to change the world but somehow still couldn't be bothered to get out of bed before noon. His big aspirations were as fleeting as the mornings he couldn't stand. He played video games, lived off takeout, and worked a job that sucked the life out of him in the most mundane way possible.
But it wasn't always like this.
Adrian had once been the kind of guy who dreamed big talked about world-changing ideas over beers with friends who pretended to listen. He could see the way the world worked: everyone was too busy fighting for survival to realize how much they needed change. And Adrian? Well, he was supposed to be the one who would bring that change. Or at least, that's what he told himself.
Instead, he was stuck. At thirty-two, living in his tiny apartment in the city, a little too comfortable with his mediocre existence. He had that permanent feeling of almost like he was always on the verge of doing something great, but the timing was always off. He'd settle for a job that paid the bills and told himself that one day, he'd get back to his big ideas. Just... not today.
But today... well, today was different.
He was crossing the street, late for work as usual, completely immersed in a half-hearted text conversation with his best friend, Ben, who'd just gotten engaged. Adrian had congratulated him with the kind of enthusiasm that came from a guy who was still figuring out why his own life felt like a series of bad decisions. He didn't see the car until it was too late.
A flash of red. The screech of tires.
It was too late.
Adrian's head snapped up just in time to see the front of the car heading straight for him. His first thought? This is gonna suck.
In the split second before impact, his brain raced through every regret, every missed opportunity, every empty night where he'd wondered where the hell he'd gone wrong. But he wasn't ready. No one was ever ready for this.
The car hit him with the force of a freight train. His body twisted unnaturally. His legs collapsed inwards, and he felt a sickening crack as his spine took the brunt of the blow. The world around him blurred into a smear of colors and sounds, and he couldn't even scream.
Pain exploded through his body as he slammed into the asphalt, his vision narrowing to a pinpoint. He could feel something wet trickling from his mouth. Blood. His blood.
He could hear people shouting. The screech of brakes, the sound of a door opening, followed by panicked voices. Someone was kneeling beside him, but he couldn't move. Couldn't speak.
"Holy shit, he's alive," someone gasped.
But Adrian didn't feel alive. His body didn't belong to him anymore. It was like someone had disconnected the wires to his brain. The pain dulled into a constant hum that resonated through his every nerve, a reminder that this was it. This was the end.
He blinked, his eyelids heavy. "This... this is how it ends?" he croaked, his voice barely audible over the chaos. The thought of his life flashing before his eyes never quite materialized. Instead, all he could see was that damned red car and the faces of strangers staring down at him, their expressions a mix of horror and helplessness.
But what really got to him? It wasn't the pain. It was the fact that no one seemed surprised.
This is just how life is. Just... ending like this.
The world grew quieter. The pain melted into an empty, floating sensation. He felt like he was falling, but there was nothing to hold onto. The last thing he thought before his vision went completely dark was:
Well, at least I won't have to go to work tomorrow.