In a world that couldn’t exist, Sparrow laughed with his friends.

They were outdoors on school grounds, sitting on a bench which was being shaded by an overhead tree. Sunshine filtered through the leaves which were rustling with the breeze, spots of light dancing all over them.

The guys were getting rowdy and the girls watched on, amused.

Sparrow took in the sight with melancholy. How long had it been since he was in the company of friends?

He looked at a girl with golden hair giggling along with the others.

The girl caught him staring from the corner of her eye and she turned to look at Sparrow. She greeted him with a shy smile.

The small curve of her mouth warmed Sparrow’s heart. Never in a million years did he expect to see that smile again. Cassi’s smile.

She turned back to the other girls and began laughing as one of the guys was put into a headlock.

Sparrow sighed deeply. It had been a while since he had hung out with other people, let alone being outside.

For the past three years he had shut himself away from the world. The four walls and ceiling that had imprisoned him were no longer there, and he was now basking in the sun.

It was tough apologizing to his friends, but now they were getting along like nothing happened.

Most importantly, he couldn’t believe that Cassi was here. Now that she is back everyone can be happy. Without her everything was suffocatingly bleak.

His life fell apart the day she died.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Beep Beep Beep

Sparrow was abruptly woken up by the irritating sound of his phone’s alarm. He reached out and felt for his phone. He eventually turned it off and laid back onto his bed. The room was pitch black despite it being 8:00 a.m.

Sparrow noticed that tears had welled up at the corners of his eyes and his chest felt tight.

Seeing Cassi, even if it was a dream, made him desperately long to return to that world. However, like all his previous rude awakenings, he had to move on and face reality.

Those dreams were all bullshit anyways. He hated his previous friends. Aside from Cassi, each and every member in his old friend group were the recipients of his ire.

It pissed him off how his dreams would sometimes force them to reconcile. Admittedly it felt good in the dream, but he knew that they would never forgive him.

His old friends had every right to hate Sparrow. However, it didn’t stop him from hating them equally or even more.

Sparrow saw the unfairness of hating someone for justifiably hating him.

Most of the time his dreams were often of the painful past, or nightmarish scenarios where he had to confront his former friend group.

The dream he just had was one of the few times where he had dreamt of his friends getting along like nothing had happened between them.

Sparrow sat in the darkness for a few more minutes before swinging his legs off the bed, yawning as he stretched. He lethargically got up and walked over to his curtains.

He saw slim lines of light cutting through the darkness. He gathered himself and drew them back. The light nearly blinded him.

The dust mites danced in the rays of light. Before him was a view of a neighboring building.

Sparrow opened his window and let in some fresh air for the first time in over a year.

While he did live in the city and the air was very polluted, it was better than the stagnant air of his stuffy room. The air was undoubtedly fresh in that regard.

After taking in the light and air, he took a deep breath.

‘Today is the day’.

Sparrow turned around and looked at his room. There were bundles of clothes, takeout boxes, wrappers, and used tissues.

With a sigh he walked over to get his phone and headphones. While listening to music, he walked out his room to grab a few trash bags.

He proceeded to shovel mountains of clothes into the bags. With the light pouring in, he was able to get a scale of how unsanitary his living conditions were.

He only changed clothes every 3-4 days, so finding this many dirty clothes littering his floor was unsettling to say the least.

Before, his mother would clean his room every week or so, but he eventually forbade her from even doing that.

Sparrow had to separate trash from the clothes. They were almost intertwined with each other to create a disgusting amalgamation of cloth and rubbage.

The only thing that was missing from this sad sight were cockroaches scattering when a pile was disturbed.

After all the clothes were gathered he moved onto the trash. Take out containers, chip bags, bottles, the works.

Sparrow cautiously grabbed the used tissues off the ground and hoped that he used some of them to only blow his nose. He knew it was a false hope.

He shuddered when he had to scrape some off the floor.

It took him two hours to fully clean his room. His bed was made, the floor was scrubbed spotless, his desks were organized, and he had dusted and wiped every surface.

Sparrow walked to the door and took a look at his hard work.

His room went through an unbelievable glow up. For the first time since becoming a shut in, he felt accomplished. Wanting to keep up the momentum he went on to do more chores.

He did laundry, ate breakfast, and tidied up the apartment. All within a couple of hours.

His mother always kept the house clean so there wasn’t much to do in that regard.

After moving around the house and cleaning, Sparrow worked up quite the sweat and decided to take a shower.

He reeked of body odor, felt dirty, and his hair was greasy. It had been just under a week since his last shower.

He took an extra long shower and made sure to be thorough.

The hot water removing all the impurities on his skin made him feel like he was being reborn.

Sparrow stepped out of the shower and dried himself off. He wiped the steam from his mirror and looked at his face.

Bloodshot eyes stared back. He had dark rings around them and they were carrying baggage.

Thanks to his good genetics, he hadn’t put on too much weight. While he wasn’t fat, he was a little chubby and riddled with acne.

He smiled a toothy smile and was disgusted to see how yellow and plaque covered his teeth were.

Sparrow King was far past his prime. He used to have the face of a model that had girls and guys doing double takes.

Now look at him, a pathetic shell of his former self.

Instead of continuing to wallow in self pity he picked up his toothbrush. He brushed his teeth several times and used mouthwash between each cleaning. His gums bled from his lack of dental hygiene. He could feel his dentist reeling in pain, if she were to see.

He then busted out a shaving razor and got rid of the pathetic facial hair he had grown out through the years.

While he couldn’t do anything about the acne, he looked way better and more importantly, he felt better. He was revitalized.

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He stepped out of the bathroom and on his bed awaited clean clothes fresh out the dryer.

After dressing, Sparrow walked into the living room and looked through the huge living room window, peering out at the city. The sky was clear save for a few stray clouds.

‘Beautiful day today.’

Sparrow’s stomach rumbled.

‘Well since I was a very productive leech today, I think I deserve a little treat.’

Sparrow looked down at his phone and messaged his family group chat.

Me: Can someone pick up a pizza? I cleaned my room and tidied around the house.

A few minutes later he received two thumbs ups under his text and a reply. His mom and dad.

Mom: Wow, good job! I’ll pick up a pizza on my way from work.

Sparrow smiled, anticipating the pizza. Despite him eating at least two pies a month, he couldn’t help but crave it. It was his favorite food. What else would he want for a final meal?

He walked back towards his room and booted up his computer. He sat back in his chair and looked up at his empty shelves.

He looked at them with melancholy. The trinkets that used to decorate them only held bad memories, so he either destroyed them or boxed them up in his closet.

Sparrow logged into his computer and opened up a document he typed out the night before. He reread it and after being satisfied he hit print.

He walked out his room and towards the printer. After the printer spat out the document, he reread it again, and grabbed an envelope. Sparrow slid the paper into it and left the letter on his desk.

He looked over at a headset sitting on his desk. It was more of a helmet. The DualMind virtual reality headset. It had been three years since he had last put it on. He sighed deeply and looked at the time. 12:32 p.m.

Around six more hours till pizza came. Plenty of time to make preparations.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Upon completing all his tasks, he spent the rest of his time wandering around his house and reminiscing, deep in thought.

He checked the time and it was almost 7 p.m.

Where are they?

Just then Sparrow heard the door knob rustle with the sound of keys jingling from the other side.

Just in time.

Sparrow walked over to the door and opened it for the person behind it.

As the door opened, a woman in office clothes was regaining her posture after fidgeting with the door knob. She was in the middle of unlocking the door while struggling to carry two large pizza boxes.

“Oh, hi Sparrow.”

“Let me get that.”

Sparrow took the pizza boxes from her and she locked the door as they went inside.

“Thank you.”

“No, thank you.”

He placed the pizzas down on the table and hurriedly grabbed some plates.

His mother took off her shoes and pulled out a chair. She sighed a breath of relief as she sat down.

“How was work?”

He opened the box and found a pepperoni pizza. The smell of the fresh pie brought his mood up. He reached inside and pulled away a slice.

“Busy as usual.”

She reached over to grab a slice of pizza.

“You seem to be in a good mood.”

“I do?"

He guessed it was easy to see. He was clean, out of his room, and not in a hurry to avoid his mom.

“Well I was a bit productive today, I cleaned my room.”

“I saw the text. Good job!”

She took a bite of her pizza and made a noise of realization.

“Did you open your windows? You were practically suffocating yourself.”

“Yes I did. I also let in some sunlight. It was a nice out.”

“Didn’t it improve your mood?” His mother asked with glee.

“Honestly it did. My skin was yearning for the sunlight. I gotta admit, it felt really good.”

“Sunlight improves your mood and energy. Scientists say that humans need at least 20 minutes of direct sunlight each day.”

“Don’t think I’ve let sunlight into my room in the past 2 years.”

“Well you should make it a habit. You look like a ghoul.”

Sparrow recalled his ghastly look in the mirror.

The doorknob began to rustle again. The sound of keys jingling was heard from the other side of the door and soon a tall man with glasses walked inside.

“Hi pops,” greeted Sparrow.

Sparrow’s father wore a temporary look of surprise then a smile split his face.

“Hey buddy!” greeted his father.

He took off his shoes then walked over to his wife. The two greeted each other and he bent down to kiss her on the head.

Falcon and Raven King's marriage had always been healthy. They met in high school and were immediately drawn towards each other due to having bird names.

All his mother's life, people always commented on how cool her full name was. "Raven King". Upon getting married, Falcon took his wife's last name.

Before having their first child, Raven decided to name it after another bird thinking it would be a cute theme. After Sparrow, they had Robin.

Sparrow was proud to have the name "Sparrow King". Until he went and tarnished it.

“So, what brings the bear out of his cave? Oh of course, pizza.”

Falcon pulled out a chair next to his wife and sat down.

"Normally you eat in your room."

Sparrow took another slice.

“Well I just cleaned my room, and I don’t wanna get it dirty again with crumbs.”

His father smirked.

“Make sense. That is what the dining room is for anyways. Paid good money for this setup.”

Sparrow’s father knocked on the table.

“Anyways you seem better, did anything good happen to you?”

“Just cleaned my room and tidied the house up, so I’m kind of on a productivity high.”

That didn’t sound plausible to Sparrow. He needed another reason for his sudden mood change.

“I also decided to open the windows and throw back the shades. Fresh air and sunlight improves people’s moods, I hear.”

His father nodded in agreement as he reached for a slice of pizza.

“Hey, where is Robin? Shouldn’t he be home from school by now?”

“He’s going to be staying over at a friend’s house for the night,” his mother said while chewing her food. Very unlady-like.

“Oh, good for him.”

Sparrow was relieved, although he was a bit sad that he didn’t get to see Robin one last time.

“So does that mean we don’t have to save him any pizza?”

Falcon chuckled while Raven sighed in disappointment.

“You know, you should really start to eat more healthy foods. Take out is so bad for you.”

“Ugh, yeah I know. It's not my fault it tastes so good.”

“I’m with you there son,” said Falcon as he greedily reached over for another helping.

“If you add a healthy diet to sunlight and fresh air, you’ll feel spectacular,” noted Raven.

“I guess.”

Sparrow’s favorite half assed response.

“Remember when you used to stay in shape, Sparrow. I’m sure you felt more alive than you do now. You should bust out the old pull up bar at least.” Sparrow’s dad added. “You don’t wanna deal with back problems like me, especially since you spend so much time at your desk.”

“I know, I know.”

Then an awkward silence hung over them, aside from the chewing, the conversation died out. Thanks to the pizza, there was at least an excuse for the pause.

“Oh! Me and your father started “Garden of Blades.”

Sparrow’s mother blurted out.

“It’s a really good show.”

“Surprised you didn’t watch it sooner. It’s one of the best animated shows to come out in the past few years.”

Garden of Blades was a 2D animated show about a demon swordsman who trains the daughter of the demon lord to overthrow her father. Demon samurai. Very bloody and violent.

“Well my co-workers couldn’t stop talking about it. Now that all the episodes are out, we can binge it.”

The three began discussing the show. Sparrow was surprised to hear how much his mother, Raven, enjoyed it. Normally she didn’t like an abundance of violence in the media she consumed. She probably made an exception because the story was well written.

Sparrow’s father, Falcon, loved the show. He is the opposite when it comes to his wife in terms of media. Falcon couldn’t care less about the plot, as long as the story beats made him feel how he was supposed to feel and the action was good, he could get behind it.

They discussed the events of the episodes so far and Sparrow tried his best not to spoil anything, even though his parents kept asking questions about things they would find out later in the show.

A thought then occurred to Sparrow.

Why were they talking to him like normal again? This has been the most he had spoken to them in years.

He missed this. He liked talking with his parents. Every time his parents tried to talk with him in the past he made it obvious that he found it annoying.

After all the pizza was gone he sat back and let out a satisfied moan. He had his fill.

“Thanks for the meal.”

Sparrow got out of his chair and walked his plate to the sink. He washed it and began heading towards his room.

“Hey Sparrow, if you keep the house clean. I can pick you up a pizza on my way from work.”

Falcon had caught him before he could slink away.

“Really?”

Sparrow paused and he began to feel his chest tighten.

“Well I suppose I can tidy up here and there.”

“Hey, only every now and again.”

Raven chimed in.

“You really should cut back on all the junk food.”

“I’m trying to encourage this productivity hon, you can’t exactly encourage him with a salad.”

“There are definitely healthier alternatives.”

She sighed.

“But if it gives you motivation, a treat here and there is fine.”

Raven smiled warmly.

Sparrow felt the sorrow swell, and a part of him wanted to cry into their arms.

Despite this, he smiled back. He was truly glad that his last interaction with his parents had been a pleasant one.

“I’ll be sure to not make a mess of my room.”

He didn’t want his last words to them to be a lie.

His parents wished him goodnight as he turned and walked into his room.

He slowly closed the door and listened to his parent’s voices.

His heart ached, but he steeled himself.

‘It’s better this way.’

He locked the door.