He looked at the sky as he thought about his previous encounter with someone he could never have dreamt about. He was still in shock because he could not believe that such an event would only take place in his dreams. He layed down on the green grass and watched the flock of birds fly by in the sky. It was too real to be dream. Even if it was a dream, it was a dream he would never want to be wake up from.

He was happy and was smiling as he saw the clouds passing by but deep inside he was thinking that if he would be able to make a difference here. This world was new for him and he had no idea where to start.

But before this, there were a lot of things he had to go through and now all he has to do is live the life he wanted. Well, it was almost what he always wanted though.

(Some months ago)

"How?? it’s just impossible!"

"How am i going to do this?"

"I can’t keep up with the expenses with this much of payment!"

Kazese put his head between his hands and stared at his expenses book with despair. He had started working at the bakery near not too long ago and the job was pretty easy. He had done a lot of job before working there but he never stood more than a week at the job because he had a lot of part time to take care of. This way of living was certainly hard for him to go on. He didn’t go to school either. He sacrificed all of it so he could survive everyday. But this was not enough for him to survive. The numbers in his expenses book looked more difficult every time he looked at them.

He used to have a normal life like every other high school students and one day things changed for him. He was responsible for himself. His parents died in a car accident about six months ago just when he had started to go to high school. When this happened, he had no relatives to look up to and he was left with nothing he could use for a living and also for the school. So he quit his school and began to work on his own and was able to take care of the place he lived at and what he ate. Though he wasn’t happy with it, he had no other choice.

For now, he had just taken his bath after having dinner and was going through his plans for the month.

"Oh! I still have some hope!" (Looking at his watch)

"I hope he isn’t asleep yet"

He reached to the right pocket of his jeans and took out his phone. He went through the contacts until the name ‘Hirogi’ appeared and he pressed the call button. Hirogi was Kazese’s best friend and were studying together when he joined high school.

"Yes, Hirogi here" (a voice on the phone)

"Yo Hirogi! What’s up?" (Kazese)

"Not much.... so what do you need?"

"Oh.. I just called to ask you about that thing i told you last week"

"Yeah, don’t worry. Dad said he is going to send you the address tonight"

"Thanks a lot man! I’ll be sure to treat you"

"No it’s okay, you take care of yourself.... bye"

"You too!"

Kazese ended his conversation on the phone and puts it back in his pocket and lays on his bed. He looked at the ceiling of his room and then outside of the window. The night sky was beautiful and the stars seemed to be happy too.

"I wonder what kind of job did uncle find for me?"

"I need to apologize him for the trouble and thank him for it" (Thinking to himself)

He stared outside the window and dozed off after a while. He was too exhausted to even switch off the lights.

‘Beep!!....Beep!!!’

Kazese wakes up unconsciously and snoozes the alarm. He sits on his bed and looks out at the bright blue sky and takes a big yawn. It was morning already.

He stood up slowly scratching his head and walked towards the bathroom. In the bathroom, he brushes quickly and washes his face and stares at himself on the mirror. He stares with his dark deep blue eyes at the water dropping from his black wavy hair to his chin for a while. He slowly walks towards the door and looks back at his reflection once and walks out.

He enters his bedroom and takes his phone out of his pocket and looks at the date.

"It’s Sunday,huh?"

His calm eyes suddenly get watery and he closes them.

"It must be really fun..... going out with friends and..... also with someone you love"

A year ago, he asked himself the same question. The only difference now was that he had given up on those feelings. He treasured his friends but never went out with them and when it comes to the person he loved, she did not exist. It wasn’t like there wasn’t anyone, there was actually someone he loved.

He still remembered that day, it was the end of their junior high school and he had waited a long time for this day so he could tell her about his feelings. But that day, he was rejected. He believed that it would work out, they would work out. But he was deeply mistaken, he misunderstood their friendship as something too special. From that day, he has always been like this and every time he looked at himself at the mirror he questioned himself often.

(Suddenly music starts playing) Ching!! ching!! .... ching!! ching!!

It was a call on his cell phone.

He revives himself from that sad flash back and receives the call.

"Oh.. manager?"

"ye..yes, I’ll be there"

Without saying a thing next, he rushes out of his room and shuts the door in a hurry. He starts running as soon as he gets out of the building.

Finally he reaches his destination, it was the bakery he worked at. There were people who were carrying things like big boxes and loading them on the truck. It was a migrating truck.

He entered the bakery.

"Oh! Kazese you came soon enough" (A male voice said)

"Hai!.... But i don’t understand... why all of a sudden?" (Kazese)

"Yeah, I’m really sorry.... but please understand"

It was the bakery’s manager.

"Here... this isn’t much but it could help you for this month"

After saying this, the manager hands out a light blue envelope towards Kazese and he accepts it while bowing to the manager.

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

The manager was closing the bakery because he had to return back to his village. After receiving the envelope, Kazese looked at the smiling face of the manager and he smiled back.

"Kazese, take care" (The manager said smiling)

"Thank you for everything, please take care" (replied Kazese)

And looking back one last time at his manager, Kazese exits from the bakery.

He just stands in front of the bakery’s door and looks at the envelope for a while. He already knew what was inside though.

"What will i do now? I have no idea"

And suddenly he puts his hand into his pocket as if he had remembered something. He takes out his phone and looks at it.

"I still have one little hope here" (smiling at his phone)

Then he starts walking towards the opposite direction of where he came from. He was probably following the address that Hirogi’s dad had sent.

After around fifteen minutes of walk he finally arrives at the given address. His calm face suddenly changes its expression to rather surprised. He was thrilled to see a huge mansion like building in front of his eyes. He slowly observed the building from the top to the bottom and his eyes caught the board hanging just above the door. The board read ‘Hotel Ito ’.

"It’s a hotel...... and a big one at that!"

He stares at it like he’s never seen such a place before but what excited him was that a job was waiting inside for him. He slowly starts walking towards the door and the door opens itself. He gets amazed by the automated door and starts breathing heavily trying to calm himself down.

He looked to left and then to the right and finally walked straight towards the hotel reception,

"Um.... Excuse me?"

The lady receptionist looks at him and smiles.

"Woah.... She’s pretty!!" (Talking to himself)

"Yes, how may i help you?" (She replied)

"I was given this address to me by..."

"Oh, you have a reservation here right? What is the name that your room is reserved under?"

"No... you’ve got it wrong! I was here for the job"

When he said that he was for the job, the smiling face of the receptionist became serious and looked at him and then at her wrist watch.

"Please wait for a moment, I’ll inform the manager. Please wait at the hotel waiting room to the left."

After saying this, the lady receptionist picked the phone and Kazese without saying a word went towards the waiting room as she had told him.

As he entered the waiting room he was surprised again because the waiting room was large. Well, it wasn’t that large but it was bigger than his room in the building that he lived. He waited for a bit and after a while a tall man with broad shoulders entered the room smiling at him. Kazese smiled back at him with a bit of hesitation because the man was smiling for sure but it wasn’t that friendly at all.

After a while both of them exited from the room. Kazese seems happy and bows his head to the man who actually was the manager. It was for sure that he got the job but also not at the same time. There were conditions for him to join the job. He was told that he had to work for a week to show his ability at work and was also told that he had to work from the morning to the night but with rest and enough sleep assured.

Kazese looked happy and also troubled at the same time, he exited the building and as his usual habit he was standing in front of the door. (Kazese had a habit of standing still whenever he had to think to himself when he was worried)

"A week huh?..... I’ll have to work hard"

"It’s just a matter of one week and if i work hard like he said, this job is mine!"

(He clenches his fist to his chest and looks back at the hotel building before walking away)

From the very next day, Kazese started leaving early as soon as he had his breakfast, worked all day and came back home late, ate his dinner, took his bath and went to sleep. The routine wasn’t that different from before, the only difference was that he had to work five hours longer than at the bakery. A few days passed and he was still doing his job. The manager would show up in front of him sometimes and sometimes he would watch him from afar. He caught Kazese being clumsy sometimes but also hard working at times. He had a fifty-fifty performance so it was hard for the manager to just make up his mind. There were other worker too who had joined to work there and was under the watch of the manager.

Kazese could sometimes sense a chill of a human presence stalking at him but he never really cared and he had no idea that it was the manager though. Finally six days had passed and he started working even harder because he was afraid that he would loose the job.

It was the last day of his job and he was doing fine. He was still worried about the results which was gonna be announced by the manager the next day.

"Kazese-san, could you please take these towels to room number 304 for me?" (One of the co-workers)

"Sure! I was heading to that floor any way" (Taking the pile of towel in his hand)

"Room 304, right?" (Asked Kazese to make sure he heard it right)

"Hai! thank you so much"

Kazese takes the pile of towels with him to the third floor of the hotel building.

"302...303...304.... ah! here!"

He knocked several times at the door and twisted the knob to check if it was open. It was open so he entered the room.

"Excuse me.... Room service!" (Kazese entered saying it aloud)

"Oh! over here! Bring it to the bathroom!" (A female voice from the bathroom)

"(Bathroom? Is she crazy?) Are you sure?" (while walking towards the bathroom)

"What are you talking about? Hurry up!" (Said the lady a bit louder)

Kazese entered the bathroom and was relieved to see that the curtains of the bath tub was up and there was a lot of steam from the water too. Then he notices a hand that was directed towards him. He was afraid for a while and was frozen a bit.

"Harold? What’s taking you so long? Are you drunk?" (Said the lady waving her hand)

"Uh.. I’m sorry but you are wrong..... I'm not..." (Replied Kazese in a low voice handing the towel towards her)

"I’m just joking, Harold" (She said giggling)

"Joking?? More importantly she hasn’t noticed that I’m not the person that she thinks she’s speaking to..... better get out of here before she..." (Thinking to himself)

Kazese quietly turns around and starts tiptoeing towards the door.

"You! Who are you?!!" (Said the voice in an angry tone)

"Um.. I...um.... (Kazese turns head slowly while stammering)

As he turns his head back he sees a pretty girl with red long hair wrapped in a towel up to her chest. As soon as he sees her he kneels down on the ground and bows to her till his head touch the floor.

"I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to...... I’m not a pervert! Please don’t hit me!!" (Kazese said in a loud voice while bowing down)

"Please get out and wait for me!" (Shouted the girl while covering her chest)

Kazese runs out of the bath like he had seen a ghost, he waits patiently outside in the main room waiting for her to change her clothes.

After a minute or two, the girl enters the room wearing a school uniform. Kazese looks at her and drops his head in shame.

"Um.. I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to enter but... you told me to and i thought you were dressed so..." (Kazese said explaining himself)

"It’s okay..... i mean it’s my fault for thinking you were someone else" (She said while her face was red and blushing)

Seeing her blushing, she was beautiful and it really matched the type of girl Kazese liked and he could not stop himself from blushing too.

"I’m Kazese Kajou and I’m worker here. I'm sorry for what happened earlier". (Said Kazese smiling at her)

"Oh... I'm Megumi Ito...and like i said it's fine it wasn't your fault".

"Ito?? Is she the owner of the hotel? Probably not.... she is a guest here with just a coincidence with the name." (Kazese thinking to himself)

"Um... I'm sorry but i need to get back to work... I’ll be leaving".

"oh..sure! of course you are busy. Take care! Work hard!"

Kazese leaves the room after giving his respect to the guest. With this encounter, Kazese's last day of test ended. He returned back to his home after he was informed that the results would be announced around evening the next day.

He reached home and had his usual bath after dinner, turned off the light and laid on the bed.

"She was pretty.... that girl.... i wonder if i can meet her ever again"

(He started to talk to himself facing at the dark ceiling)

"If she is a regular then...... if i get the job.. i might be able to.."

"Maybe she will forget about me anyway...."

"Will i be able to get the job?"

He stared at the ceiling the whole night and finally fell asleep.

Ching!! ching!! .... ching!! ching!!

The orange sunlight of the sunset passed through the transparent window of his room until it hit the floor and reflected the dying light in the room. Kazese was holding his phone to his ears and looked nervous as he spoke.

"Hello... yes?"

"Oh... it’s fine... i can understand"

Kazese turned his phone off without another word. He looked pale and sad. He looked outside the window and tears rolled down his cheek as his eyes got watery.

"Why is it so hard?

Why did it have to happen to me?

I worked so hard and now it’s gone!"

He bit his lips in grieve. He hold his head in his hands and started to cry even more. The look on his face was sad and painful at the same time.

"It’s so unfair to have a life such as mine...

A life where you suffer too much...

A life where you do not hold an option..."

"Why was it me when there are more than billions of people out there?"

The sunset quietly transformed into the endless night where he had to decide what he needed to do to end this. He was on his bed, holding his knees with his arms, lying and looking completely hopeless. He had been crying for hours and his eye sacks were a bit black.

"I still can't believe that i failed... I failed to pass the test... I thought i worked hard enough...."

More tears started to fall from his eyes. He was exhausted and tired from crying too much. Suddenly his eyes felt heavy and so did his body. He was unable to keep up and slowly closed his eyes.

"What’s happening to me? I can’t control my eyes... I can’t stop them from shutting down"

"Maybe it’s because I’ve been crying that they feel heavy but... it feels like it’s being... for..ced.."

Slowly as he tried to struggle a few more times to stop his eyes from being shut, everything went dark. His mind went blank with the darkness and he started feeling warm as he completely closed his eyes.