Ring…. Ring…. Ring is all I hear by my bedside. I hit the snooze button knowing I can sleep for another 10 minutes. Ring…Ring as I hear my alarm again 10 minutes later as I slowly open my drowsy eyes, “Well it’s 7:00am, time get up” as I was yawning and stretching.
I get up as usual and look at my calendar as the date was June 12th, 2017. “Oh man, I really don’t wanna work today” as I was still drowsy. I scratched my brown short hair and went off to wash up and get ready for work. I went to put on my work clothes and went to brush my teeth and told myself, “I hope it’ll be a good day today.” As I noticed the clock, it was already 7:30am where I had to hurry up and leave for my part-time job. I quickly put on my shoes, grabbed a snack and headed out the door.
As I was walking, I quickly gobbled up the snack and plugged in my headphones to my cell phone to listen to music as I walk. My usual playlist is a bunch of my favorite anime openings like to Order of the Fate, Re:Gate, or even the new popular anime that just came out, Attack on Zero. It’ll be so embarrassing if anyone unplugs my headphones listening to this stuff since everyone is so judgmental these days.
As I was walking, I go across this bridge that looks like it can be used as a setting for an anime fight or an even in a video game. As I walk, I check out the TimeBook to see the news feed and notice how interesting people are with the status they post. I then get to work to be greeted by my manager Tyler, “Good Morning old man Ri’n Makato.” I just don’t get why he keeps telling me that, I’m only 25 years old working at this restaurant full of younger people that are 19 or 18. But I forget that the night shift is made up of kids still in high school. With an angry look, “I’m not that old, just a quarter old. Jeeez.” I told him. As usual I say my hello to everyone and start my shift.
* * *
After my exhausting shift was over, I always overhear my co-workers being chummy in the back talking about how they all had fun last weekend doing fun stuff together. “It’s always like this every day.” I whispered to myself. I then gave them a cold shoulder and walked out the door to head home. As I was walking, I start to think to myself, “How come they never invite me to do anything fun with them? Am I just too old now? Am I not nice enough or cool?” Usually these types of things run through my mind all the time as my past was the same way.
Ever since I can remember, it was the same way in grade school, middle school, and even high school. I never really got noticed even when I was being myself or even trying to be someone I wasn’t. Due to who I was, I was always alone. I guess you can say I was viewed as an outcast because how weird my personality is. Most of the time, I was shy and reserve due to always changing schools every so I really never had a consistent friend(s). I then start having flashbacks of my past self as I was walking across the bridge toward my apartment.
I finally get home to see my brother Yue cooking dinner, “Hey Ri’n, how was work? I’m making hamburger today.” I replied, “It was good, the same.” Walking toward my room I see my niece Rin, “Hey uncle Ri’n.” I greeted her with a calm look and went into my room. I decided to just collapse on my bed, tired from exhaustion, and just looked at the ceiling, “Another day has passed for me.” I took out my phone to look at my TimebBook and heard my name get called that dinner was ready.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
After dinner, I went into my room to work on my summer homework for college and I just remembered something earlier today, “Was it me or did it feel like was being followed or watched on that bridge today? Maybe it was my imagination.” I finished my homework and decided to get some sleep as it was 11:45pm. I turned in and set my alarm clock, “Another day tomorrow.”
* * *
Ring..Ring..Ring…I hear my alarm clock go off. I get up to wash up and get greeted by Rin as she was about to leave for school. I then sit down to eat breakfast and think to myself, “How lucky is she being her age with no care in the world. She has the whole world ahead of her. I hope her childhood turns out better than mine.” As I was finishing my breakfast, I see Rin leave as she waved a passing goodbye to me, “Bye uncle Ri’n, have a good day.” I waved back to her and decided to go gather up my stuff and head out to my college classes today. I gathered my things and headed out before I’m late for the train.
On my way to the train, I start thinking to myself, “Seems like nothing changes around here, it’s always the same routine almost every day for me.” I get to the station and hop on as this will take me half way to my college and I walk the rest of the way. I get off and start walking my usual route to class. Out of nowhere, I start to get that strange feeling again like yesterday on the bridge. As I was getting that feeling, I turned my head around suddenly and sure enough…no one was there. “Maybe just my imagination or I just been drinking too much on the weekends.”
Throughout the rest of my day, I still got that creepy feeling of someone watching me but I just decided to just ignore it. I go throughout my day minding my own business while other students do the same. Usually I notice the students at my college don’t really interact but more to themselves. I guess that’s what growing up into an adult is, there’s no need to make any new friends after you found them all in high school.
After classes were over, I traveled back home using the train ignore the summer heat wave, “I just want to get home and lay in my bed.” While on the train, I start thinking to myself if this really was my life now. It just feels I wasted my entire life with no highlights I can remember of my past like I had no purpose to begin with. How did this happen to me? I then got off at my stop and walked on the route back to my apartment.
After I get home, I just collapsed on my bed looking up the ceiling. I then decide to write in my journal about how the day went for me. As I was writing, I notice my past entries I wrote down 10 years ago when I was in my senior year of high school. Just reading them is a little painful since there’re things I wrote about my past. In today’s entry, I wrote about what I done today, what I learned, what went through my head, and about the strange feeling I keep getting lately like I’m being followed. After I was done, I decided to pass the time by watching anime and playing video games till Yue comes home so he can start dinner.
* * *
It was 11:30pm as the night was coming to a close, I closed my calculus textbook and decided to wash up after a long day. Knowing I have my shift tomorrow morning at my part-time job, I set up my clothes and hung them on my chair so they will be ready for me tomorrow. I turned off the light and collapsed on my bed, “Work tomorrow…... yay.” Before I went to sleep, I talked a little to myself, “Ri’n, was this how your life was meant to turn out? If only back then I would’ve made different choices in situations that happened, I think my life would’ve changed for better. I just don’t feel happy at all but more depressed. How can a person like me go through so much and in return end up with nothing to show for it? People around my age are already working in their careers while I’m still stuck in college trying to find what I want to do with my life still. I just feel the tunnel for me is closing so rapidly that I don’t know where my own life is headed.” Before I finally close my eyes, “Please…give…me a purpose.”
Not knowing after this very night, my life was about to dramatically change.