It was a Monday evening. The grey clouds encompassed the sky with its dreary hue, guarding against the sunset above. Glossy puddles littered the dirty streets as leaky oil and accumulated rainfall warred against one another. Cults of frogs croaked afar, singing their hymns to the storm that just passed.
A hospital building glinted as emerging streetlights shone upon its water soaked walls. Streams of people walked to and fro on the sidewalks nearby. Sirens wailed and cars honked in the humid smoggy air, adding to the prelude of the big city night that was to come.
At a particular set of the hospital’s glass doors emerged a man whose face was one of pure exhaustion. The humidity cast its wet spell on his glasses, hiding away the tired brown eyes that lay behind. His brown hair had shades of grey, each signifying his losing battle against the stress of reality. On his chest lay an identification card, spelling out his name.
Dr. Jonathan Smith.
As the warm humid air settled on his skin, the weary doctor took a peek at his watch, reading the time as 19:30, or 7:30 PM.
At least I’m out earlier today…
Jonathan shook his head and walked towards the parking garage. After a major car accident nearby, he was on full throttle all day, completing his duties as a specialized trauma surgeon. As an emergency room specialist, it was rare to have any semblance of a relaxing work day, and today was no exception. Only after he finished attending to the last patient was he able to let out his pent up stress.
Jonathan did not envision his life being like this, one of constant hustle and bustle in a hospital setting. He came from a middle class background, growing up with a typical American family in a humble suburban neighborhood. He went to one of the best public school systems in the state and graduated in the top five of his high school. His future seemed set for success as his academics were top notch.
Interestingly enough, while most would suspect this academic genius to immediately tackle sectors in either engineering, law or medicine, his aspirations lay far elsewhere. Instead, Jonathan yearned to be a professor of history and military warfare, consuming all the knowledge he could from textbooks and television programs while performing exceptionally well in its related classes. From weaponry to historical battles and accounts, his interest in the subject ranged broadly in these fields.
But life was not too kind to his desires.
When Jonathan’s parents heard of his plans to study history at the university level, they scoffed at him, punishing him heavily. They believed it to be a major waste of his talents, when he easily could excel in medical, engineering or even law. Despite their torment, he remained steadfast in his desire to get a doctorate in history, wanting to both learn as much as he can in the field and further it.
Even when his parents pulled all collegiate financial support, Jonathan did not give up. Instead, he served in the military after graduation to capitalize on Uncle Sam’s promise of funded tuition. After serving for many years in Afghanistan did he finally make it home and work towards making his dreams a reality.
However, he made one fatal mistake - falling in love.
Of course, for most people, love is the most beautiful part of human nature, and Jonathan too thought so at first. During his freshmen year of college, he met Jennifer, a beautiful junior woman whose eyes glistened like sapphire and her golden blonde hair flowed like rays of sunshine. Her smile melted the hearts of men, and her upbeat and energetic personality was infectious. She was a gorgeous lady inside and out whose personality is just the icing on the cake, or so it seemed.
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
After getting to know Jennifer, they fell in love and started to date a few months into freshmen year. However, as the months passed, Jonathan and his girlfriend would discuss their futures, with Jennifer particularly concerned about Jonathan’s future path. Knowing his potential, she slowly encouraged Jonathan to add a few science classes and at the least meet the pre-requisites for medical school, in the event he “changed his mind” as she put it.
Jonathan agreed without thinking too deeply. After all, he was in love, and he would do anything to please his first girlfriend. Since on the surface it did not impact his path towards becoming a professor of history, he felt adding those few extra classes would not be too big a deal. He was never going to change his mind after all, and felt he could push that discussion for a later date.
Soon, a couple of years passed by, and they ended up getting married. For the first few months, life felt like a dream; it was the summer before his senior year, and he was enjoying his honeymoon months with great joy. With his bachelors in history within reach, coinciding with being married, he felt on top of the world.
Only when senior year began did his life of hell begin.
Jennifer’s sweet and upbeat personality seemed to do a 180 overnight, as when he told her he still wanted to be a history professor, her rage roared through the roof. This started weeks of arguments to which Jonathan had no ability to win by the end of it, as she cruelly gave him an ultimatum - become a doctor, or get served with divorce papers within the next week.
Not wanting a divorce only a few months into marriage, he tearfully bent to his wife’s will, applying to medical school and eventually got accepted. While she calmed down somewhat after that, she still threatened divorce if he deviated from what she desired his future to be. In his wife’s hands, he was like a puppet - his every movement controlled to her will, neglecting any of his own aspirations.
Despite all that work to make his wife happy, such would not satisfy her enough. Even when he graduated medical school with top honors and later become board certified in trauma surgery, Jennifer was still displeased, forcing him to work extra long hours to gain wealth as fast as possible. With the fear of divorce lingering, he worked as hard as he could, racking up as much extra hours as possible and getting as much money as he possibly could in a short period of time.
Once they became wealthy, he thought he finally would get the full love and attention from Jennifer like in the days when they were dating. However, his wife was far more cruel and insidious than imagined, as when he finally amassed great wealth, she suddenly served him with divorce papers.
At first, Jonathan was shell-shocked. After slaving himself for her, he was flabbergasted as to why she still initiated a divorce. It was only after he took off the rose colored glasses did he finally realize Jennifer never loved him, but rather loved his potential for wealth. Divorce was the easiest way for her to get away from him and get herself a nice big piece of the money pie.
His years of committing to her every desire were for nothing, as she never truly loved him in the first place, nor would he ever have been able to gain her love.
Jonathan sighed as he found his car in the parking garage. Rather than his old luxurious Mercedes S-Class his ex-wife now holds, he now drives a beat up old Toyota Camry, whose appearance and engine left much to be desired. Despite making seven figures yearly, due to most of his salary going towards alimony, he was unable to live a lavish lifestyle in the cost of living hellhole of New York City. His ex-wife gained pretty much all of his material possessions as well, thanks in part to her seducing and sleeping with the judge presiding over the case.
Entering his car, he heard his phone buzz. His parents had sent him a text after many months, showing them on a tropical island with drinks in hand. Their faces were lit up with mocking smiles, as if they were gloating in his misfortune while enjoying the benefits of his divorce. After all, Jennifer got on their good graces and even got his parents to fully abandon him for her, ultimately relishing in the wealth that he attained and they did not work for.
Unable to follow his passions or dreams, especially now he that he was forced into alimony, coinciding with the betrayal of his wife and family, Jonathan’s life was the ultimate tragedy.
As he turned the ignition on his beat up car, suddenly, Jonathan felt an ache spike through his whole body with its central focus was towards his chest. Gasping for breath, he realized he was suffering through a sudden cardiac arrest, and potentially a bad one at that.
Turning off his car, he ran out as fast as he could in agonizing pain. He hoped to at least get as close to the hospital as possible before he gave out. Nevertheless, after only taking a few steps away from his car, the pain intensified, and he found himself falling towards the ground.
With a loud thud, he found himself face down on the ground, his body growing weaker by the second.
Damn, well this seems to be it.
Jonathan mused over himself as his vision started to fade. As if the universe was playing one last cruel joke, his life flashed before his eyes, reminding him of his failures and misfortune. As death’s grip came closer, his regrets in life still remained as darkness filled his body.