Ch. 2 – Elixir of Existence: A Glistening Tear of Life P.1

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The story begins with a young man with a despicable life living his unworthy life from a mistake that happened in his own faith that gives him a better destiny in the future.

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(Earth)

On 29 July 2021, in the middle city of Tokyo – an adult with miserable appearance was standing among the crowd of pedestrians as he was in shock. His eyes locked onto one person that he recognized.

My name is Makoto Hiro, and I'm 30 years old. In this normal world, I'm just a normal human in adulthood living in an average family that lives with many debts and paid low wages while we work half dead. I was born without a 6 sense and trouble with it. Despite lacking in many ways, my parents devoted me as their only child. They bought me a hearing aid for me on my 12th birthday. My vision is also impaired because I am colour blind as I have monochromatism. Surprisingly, I still survive in this world with many obstacles and hardships to get through with all the suffering and pain that I went through in my life.

Today, it was a nightmare for me when I was strolling around the city and saw my girlfriend with another man. I didn't want to make any conclusion at first, but after seeing them together like a lovely bird I approached her. I rushed to her when I saw her kissing that guy. 

It's pretty hurt to see your woman with another guy.

I took a moment before I approached her, needing to be certain it was really her. My instinct was correct.

"Layla?" I called out, grabbing her hand just in case I was mistaken. But I knew it was her.

She turned to me, her face displaying not shock but annoyance, clearly displeased with my presence.

"Who is he?" asked Yuta, her current boyfriend. He wasn't particularly better-looking than me, but he exuded the aura of a corporate slave, his expensive clothes and custom watch suggesting he was well-off.

"Geez. No one. I don't know him. Let's go, honey. He's just a weirdo," Layla replied dismissively.

As they tried to walk away, I tightened my grip on her arm. I couldn't let her go without demanding an explanation. Our quarrel began right there on the busy street, surrounded by bustling pedestrians.

"Weirdo? I'm your boyfriend," I asserted.

"Ex-boyfriend. Just to be clear, we do not have anything more between us. I already told you! We broke up," she retorted sharply.

"But you said I was the only man in your life. Please, don't leave me," I pleaded.

"Let go of me! You sick bastard," she snapped, trying to shake me off.

She insisted on leaving me.

"But I thought I was still your boyfriend. You told me last week," I said, desperation creeping into my voice.

"Are you dumb? I was just using you to suck your money. You were just another broker I found, not like this guy," she spat, her words stabbing my heart with the force of a thousand needles.

This feeling… hurt me so much.

Is this what people call betrayal? I don't know why, but my heart is stinging and I'm feeling uneasy.

"You jerk! Let go of her now!" He raged on me. He hit me on the face till I stumbled on the ground. But, I didn't give up and tried pulling Layla's handbag.

"You jerk! Let go of her now!" Yuta yelled, punching me in the face. I stumbled to the ground but refused to give up, grabbing onto Layla's handbag.

"Layla, apologize to me," I demanded, my voice trembling with emotion.

"What the... Hey! Don't pull this. This is a brand-new handbag. I just bought it," she protested, her concern for the bag over me only adding to my agony.

I stand there, grappling with the harsh reality of her betrayal, feeling the world crash down around me.

Her boyfriend shoved me hard, trying to pry my hand off her, but I held on firmly.

When the traffic light turned green, Layla seized the opportunity. She pushed me onto the road and let go of her handbag, her actions deliberate and calculated.

I stumbled and fell, tripping over my own feet.

Suddenly, everybody was shocked and shouting something to me.

As their voices merged, I heard a loud horn from the side. I was shocked when a big lorry came toward me. I tried to move my body but it was already too late. It was stuck onto the ground just like how I expected my death to come.

The truck moving fast with 100 km/hr is too late to stop from this distance. Everything seemed to slow down as I faced the inevitability of the collision, my mind grappling with the surreal realization that this might be the end.

In a blink of an eye, my body flew and rolled 10 meters away on the road.

I felt a cold liquid flew out from my body. As I am trembling because of the cold, people started gathering at me. They all are looking at me with a pitiful eye. Those eyes remind me how people look at me.

Just like how it was when I'm still a kid, other parents would stare at me with pitiful eyes while I was playing alone without a friend. I always left out in a circle. But my poor state always got everyone's attention. Their pity makes me feel like I am begging for their kindness and it makes me feel disgusted. I am very grateful that I can live in this world. 

"Am I… really grateful?"

At the very moment, it feels so short. I have never felt happiness in my life. I'm not fulfilling my promise yet. 

It's weird how even at the death door, I can't feel the pain, or I might not know if what I felt now is pain. A drop of water is flowing down my cheeks. That mature adult did not know he was in tears. That would be the second time he shed a tear in his life. The first one happened when his dear cat died. His heart is too soft and pure to understand the pain living in this world.

I don't understand why I suddenly shed a tear, but my heart feels something stabbing it a hundred times. If I could feel the pain, is it going to be worse than death?

Suddenly, I struck with a realization, a cold, hard clarity that cut through my confusion. My emotions surged in a chaotic storm, and terror gripped me. "I don't want to die! I don't want to die!" The words erupted from me in a frantic chant, each repetition more desperate than the last. "No, this can't be happening!" I cried out, my voice breaking, barely recognizable as my own.

My heart raced, pounding against my chest as if it wanted to break free from the prison of my ribs. The walls of the room seemed to close in on me, spinning wildly. I felt like a trapped animal, cornered and desperate, my thoughts spiraling into a frenzy. The raw, primal fear of oblivion gnawed at my sanity, tearing it apart piece by piece.

But the abyss loomed closer, indifferent to my pleas. The end was inevitable, and as the darkness closed in, I felt the last remnants of my strength slip away.

"At least, please… let me make my own parents happy. I haven't done nothing for them yet"

I can imagine their faces right now and still not smiling as always. For once, let me see them smile again in joy and happiness.

My tears dropped on the ground.

*Sighed*

At least they don't have to take care of someone like me that was a burden to them.

I feel relieved.

Me: (I wish... It would be fair. But I'm happy... this is all going to end... here).

My eyes slowly closed as I passed out. The soulless body stops breathing. I feel my body fly out from the vessel.

My soul was outside my body and floating. 

I was in a confused state as I could see my body lying on the ground filled with my blood. I tried to search for Layla, but she had already left. She ran immediately after that with her boyfriend. She looks troubled as being guilty for my death. Maybe that's what she really wants.

I look above and see a soothing light shining toward me. My name got called several times by an unknown entity. It is a pure white bright light like the sun, but it's warm and soft.

Master: Come here and leave that world without regret.

My spirit suddenly feels like it got pulled and I realized I was somewhere else.