A dark, quiet night in a forest filled to the brim with wildlife. Surrounded by the forest and its inhabitants is a small cabin. And in it lives a man by himself, isolated from the animals that rule the forest. As the night grew darker and the temperature of the air began to drop, the man swallowed a pill. The pill him the feeling of comfort. His head starts to feel lighter as imaginary clouds support his neck. His eyes emit light as his vision peers into the darkness, lifting it away from the forest.

The man dislikes the nighttime. The sudden howls by the wolves often froze him in surprise. the lights from the fireflies shining uncontrollably into his cabin, Illuminating his room like a violent night light. He takes these pills to get rid of everything he hates about the night, to shape the night to his liking. Even tho, he knows that those pills he is taking are poison.

            The man is a very hard worker. Cleaning and taking care of his cabin always becomes a priority in the morning. Supplies like firewood, clean water, and cured meat would always be present and ready for him to use anytime. After the cleaning and the supply check, he would grab his rifle and start hunting. After the hunt, he would split the meat. half the meat is for curing, and the other half is to feed himself and the bear cub. The bear cub he usually shares his food with is injured and abandoned. The man isn't very fond of wild animals. He can only describe them as violent creatures, beasts with no motivation other than to eat. But he feels empathy for the bear cub, all alone with no one to depend on, similar to him.

He also plays with the cub, ensuring that the cub is as happy as he is full. He then goes home to rest for a couple of hours. And When the sky becomes dark, and the wind feels cold. He takes the pill then goes to sleep. Every day he would repeat this routine. Until one morning, the man had no energy when he woke up. His hands and feet feel like they're made out of concrete, heavy and stiff. His lower back was sore. As if he had lifted a boulder. Of course, this was the effect of the pills he regularly takes. The man knows it as well, yet he insisted it was because he worked too hard yesterday.

He chose to take the day off. But with nothing to do, he was bored. He goes around his cabin, searching for some cure for his boredom. The man then enters his bedroom. He sees the pills on his bedside table, as he can't resist the urge to take them. As he swallowed it, a feeling of euphoria began to flood in. He was standing on imaginary clouds. All the thoughts that he had disappeared and he was relaxed. This feeling, he never felt it before. It was such an enjoyable and mesmerizing sensation. He couldn't get enough of it. The next day, the same thing happens, and the next, and so on. Every time he took the pills, he felt more and more distant from his surroundings. He worried less and less about his wellbeing. 

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           Until one day, the man noticed that the overwhelming supply he once had, is all gone. Clean water, firewood, and dried meat are no longer present. The man became overwhelmed with the stress of starving. He sat in the empty room, once filled with dried meat. As the silence of the room cleared his mind. His heart skipped a beat and his eyes shocked wide open. The man remembered a memory that he lost in his indulgence in the pills. "The bear," he said. The word came unexpectedly from his mouth, cutting the silence. As if the world was trying to announce his mistake. 

           The man ran, as he carried his heavy and limp body. He remembered where the bear lived. He rushes to get there, hoping he isn't too late. After some time, he finally arrived at the bear's living place. He searched the area, looking for the bear while hiding the strain on his body. A couple of minutes went by, and the man finally found the bear. But all that is left is the rotting remains of the healthy cub he once remembered.

Months of negligence, self-indulgence in the pills have finally taken their toll. The man walked home, still in disbelief of what he had seen. The sky grew dark as he arrived at his home. He realized that he had lost everything he once had. All the hard work he did has amounted to nothing. 

           Despair began to envelop the man as the glimmer he once had in his eyes has disappeared. With nothing to depend on, he leaned to something that had always been there for him. The pills; He emptied the remaining pills into his hand. Even though he knows the repercussion of this many pills taken at once. As he slows down his breathing to enjoy his presumed final breaths, a light enters his room at blinding speeds. The light went still, and the man approached the light. The light spoke, spooking him dead in his tracks. 

"Don't do this!" the light commanded. 

"you can live without the pills," the light said calmly.

"Today wasn't so bad, and the night is beautiful. See," the light said as it escorted him to his window. 

His eyes light up. He feels his eyes have finally opened, and the night's beauty has been revealed right before him. The howls of the wolves, like soft melodies soothing his ears. The flashes of light from the fireflies, like Christmas lights in the dark forest. The night's beauty cleared the man's mind, As he threw away the remaining pills. The man had made many mistakes, but he wasn't going to run away. "The night isn't so bad." He whispered. as his last words faded into silence along with his dream, A dream of what could have been another ending. The man smiled, as his soul leaves his body, leaving behind a corpse and an empty bottle of pills.