Jamie woke up empty again, as usual. He lay in bed for his routine twenty-minute "stare at the ceiling" session. At exactly 5:45, he crawled out of bed and walked into the bathroom. He got in the shower, standing motionlessly under the hot water for exactly 15 minutes. Afterward, he washed up, got dressed, and spent precisely 2 minutes and 15 seconds brushing his teeth. He left the bathroom promptly at 6:15 and was in his car by 6:20. Driving for twenty minutes, he parked at his dead-end retail job at exactly 6:45, clocking in at 6:50. Today, he was assigned to the register, his least favorite shift. But he'd manage, as he always did.

It became depressing quickly, but such was his life. The customers drained him, though it wasn't their fault. His store was unique; the customers were not particularly rude or entitled, just ordinary people going about their shopping. However, they couldn't know the turmoil they inflicted upon Jamie by merely existing. They were oblivious to the fact that Jamie could sense their every negative emotion and experience. The old man buying milk and eggs didn’t realize that Jamie could feel his sorrow at having just put down his faithful dog of seventeen years. Jamie had never met "Miggy" the greyhound, yet he felt every ounce of the man’s love for him. He could draw upon every memory that caused the old man pain, but of course, he didn’t. Jamie had learned to suppress that ability early in life; otherwise, he wouldn't have lasted this long.

At 19 years old, Jamie appeared as if he'd witnessed unimaginable terror. However, he simply shrugged it off. "It really isn’t that bad," he thought, "once you get used to the pain." There were even benefits. When he actively tried, he could absorb the emotional pain of others, making them happier in general when around him, like a sponge. He didn’t do it for strangers, of course; it wasn’t worth it. But it was an ability that allowed him to maintain 'friends', so that was a positive, at least. He wasn’t very close with them, but they talked when they saw each other, usually at work. Naturally, they couldn't know why they were happier around him; they just attributed it to him being a good listener.

He finished the first half of his shift at 11:00 and was in his car by 11:05. Pulling up to Subway at 11:15, he ordered his usual Italian footlong and white chocolate macadamia nut cookie, eating them at 11:25. He finished at 11:30 and returned to work by 11:45 to resume his shift. Jamie continued to absorb all the negative emotions of the shoppers until his shift ended at 15:45. He went home, made dinner (the only variation in his life), and slept. The next day, he repeated it all. And the next. And the one after that too. Mostly, he didn't even bother thinking beyond what he needed to do at that very moment.

Then, one perfectly ordinary Tuesday, Jamie decided to deviate from his schedule.

He woke up at 5:45, but instead of staring at the ceiling, he got straight up and showered quickly, brushed his teeth, and left at 5:55. Rather than going straight to work, he stopped at a nearby park.

‘I should walk more. This is nice. How long has it been since I’ve enjoyed nature? How long has it been… since I’ve enjoyed anything? Woah, what have I been doing…?’

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Jamie walked and thought. He wasn’t really keeping track of time, but that was okay, right? He was always so good about his schedule; he deserved a little time to himself. Maybe he shouldn't even go to work. He decided he'd call in then, and tell them he was using a sick day. He did just that, having a short conversation with his boss, who was surprised but not upset to hear Jamie calling off, as he had never missed a day before.

“Of course you can take the day off, you deserve it, being our hardest worker by far. I hope you enjoy your day!”

Jamie almost laughed, but he managed to hold it in, thank his boss, and end the call. "Really, me, have a good day?" he muttered to himself, finding the idea amusing. After ending the call, he laughed. He laughed until he cried, and then he kept crying. He sobbed uncontrollably, each tear a testament to the weight of the emotions he had suppressed for so long. It wasn't just sadness that consumed him; it was a profound sense of emptiness, loneliness, and despair. The monotony of his existence, the suffocating routine he had trapped himself in, all came crashing down around him.

It took him a while to notice how quiet things were. Sure, it was early, but this was still a public park; why was nobody nearby? Where were the animals? Birds, at least? Maybe a squirrel or even a coyote? He knew for a fact there were coyotes around; he'd seen them before. He wiped his tears and put his guard up, just in time.

A noise. He turned towards the trees to witness the reason there were no animals nearby: a bear. A grizzly bear. 8 feet tall. On all fours. Jamie froze. He looked at the bear, and it looked at him. Remembering how he was supposed to deal with bears, Jamie imagined himself dropping to the ground and playing dead. But he didn’t drop to the ground. He turned, and he ran. He was terrified. Jamie didn’t usually feel much, but he knew what he felt at this moment. He felt pure, unadulterated terror. It engulfed him, consuming every part of his being. The floodgates of emotion that he had kept tightly shut for so long burst open, unleashing a torrent of anguish, fear, and loneliness.

Thankfully, he wasn't so scared that he couldn't think. A benefit of being used to all the negative feelings he had burned into his soul. He shot off at full speed to the most climbable yet sturdy tree he could find and shot up it like his life depended on it. Because it did.

The bear roared, and it was unearthly. Jamie knew then, this was not a normal bear. Something was wrong. He didn’t know what, but he trusted his instincts and ran harder. He made it to the tree and started climbing without even turning. Just as he passed the ten-foot mark, he felt a huge gust of wind pass just under him. Not being an idiot, he climbed harder. Fifteen feet, twenty, twenty-five. Only then did he allow himself to look back, and he was glad he went as far as he did. The bear had doubled its height by standing up, now reaching a humble sixteen feet tall. It would have been able to reach him had he remained at his earlier heights of ten or fifteen feet. Hell, the bear might have even reached him at twenty feet, so he climbed another ten, up to thirty-five, for good measure. Only then did he realize.

‘This park has maple trees, and the ones here don't usually get past fifteen feet..’

Jamie managed to take his eyes off the bear just long enough to take a look around him and realized that he was not in the same park. Hell, he might not have been in the same state. He’d say he might be in a different world, but that’d be crazy. He looked down at the 16-foot-tall bear. It was glowing blue. Maybe the different world idea wasn’t too crazy. The bear was glowing blue. Why was it glowing blue? Jamie started panicking.