Estadio Azteca. The stadium of champions. Boasting a capacity of almost ninety-thousand seats, every boxer whose ambition knew no bounds aimed to have an audience of even half of that.
And William Baker was no exception.
Boxing was his passion. His calling. Every win that he clutched with his two fists validated his purpose. And the victories that slipped through his fingers sent bitter cold through his bones.
But, after all his seemingly endless trials and tribulations, he achieved it: the pinnacle. The title of World Champion. The strongest in the world at a young age of twenty-eight.
The cheers of tens of thousands of people engraved themselves in his flesh. The blood and sweat that he poured out for the fight of his life, were immortalized in the flashes of cameras.
However, like all stories of old, all of his achievements and all of his fame, paled in comparison to what he found. Love.
Amy Eisenhower, the love of his life.
She was intelligent, far above his league. A leading professor in military technology and the quirkiest, funniest woman he has ever met.
"Will, do you believe in parallel universes?"
What a question for a first date, he thought. The question was way above William's paygrade, but in order to impress her, he pretended.
Of course, she saw right through it and laughed at his feeble attempt to sound smart.
That was a happy memory for them. And William thought that only happy memories await them when he finally put a ring on her finger.
He was wrong.
"Again? Will, this is the third time you canceled on me!" Amy yelled through the phone.
"I know, ok?" William replied, trying his best to hold the frustration at bay. "I'll see you when I get home."
She just didn't understand, he thought. He came from nothing and climbed his way to the top. He'd rather die than let it all fade away. He clung to the title as long as he could, but time was a far greater enemy than what the featherweight world champion could ever hope to defeat.
The natural move was to retire and spend his money on building a family, but he felt like that was giving up. He was a legend among legends. So much so that many in the boxing community were disappointed at his retirement. In his mind, it would have been a waste to stop now. He had to build a legacy.
Thus, at the age of forty, Champion William Baker announced his next project.
"I'm going to start a gym."
With those words and a smiling face, the old champion invigorated the boxing scene. Young ones who looked up to him flocked to his gym. The weak immediately quit from the Champion's harsh training. Like a man panning for gold, William ran his hands through the mud. And after much searching, he found gold.
The ones who stayed shone bright like stars under his wing. He raised up champion after champion. And throughout his years of being a coach, he even received a nickname that befitted his success: Chiron, the Centaur who taught legends.
However, while many sports fanatics, and even critics, praised William's success in the coaching industry, he began to despair.
With age came wisdom. And with his wisdom, William saw his students' folly. Drunk in their success and money, they respected no one and were ungrateful beyond belief. Some were involved in unbelievable scandals. Some used their trained bodies to commit violence. And most unforgivable of all, some even disrespected the sport that he loved by forsaking training altogether.
He gave up everything, and his profit was misery.
And then, one Christmas night, his misery multiplied a hundredfold.
"Breaking news, a woman was hit by a truck on Clover street. Police are combing through the streets in search of the suspect with no luck."
William ran. People, cars, stoplights, he didn't care. He just ran. His mind raced as fast as he ran, hoping, praying to any god he knew that she'd survive.
"WHERE IS SHE?" he shouted as soon as he arrived at the hospital.
"Sir, calm down," one of the security guards stepped forward.
Ignoring the guard, he just shouted even louder. "WHERE'S AMY BAKER?"
"Sir, sir," one of the doctors approached. "Please calm down and tell me who you're looking for."
"My wife," he replied. "She uh… she got hit by a truck earlier. Please, tell me where she is."
The doctor's face said it all. Hesitation, regret, sadness.
"No…" William mumbled.
"Sir, I need you to sit down," the doctor attempted to pacify him.
"Get out of my way!"
William, wild with fear, pushed the doctor and sprinted deeper into the hospital.
The doctor was lying, he thought. It was just one elaborate prank right? He'll find her, and she'll berate him for being late again. For prioritizing his business over her. And then, he'll say he's sorry and actually mean it this time. She'll be mad for a while, but eventually she'll soften up when she sees that he'd changed.
He had hope. False hope, but it was there. Deep down, he knew that it was over though. And, as if to deliver the final blow, he saw her. A sheet of white cloth was draped over her, but he knew who it was underneath. It was that sight that drilled reality into his flesh and literally brought him down to his knees.
The days afterwards were a blur. There was a funeral, but it was all in black and white in his mind. Was it raining that day? He didn't remember, nor did he care.
People offered him condolences. He announced an indefinite leave from his duties as a coach. The news talked about it for a good two weeks.
Then, the world moved on.
His students went on to continue their downward spirals. His gym, without his guidance, deteriorated to the point of no return.
But he was still there. Still stuck in that day, in their luxury apartment, in the bedroom where he saw her last.
He ate and drank what the maids offered him, although he could never figure out why he bothered. They would also clean the entire apartment while he watched the shadows change from the window.
He would spend months bein in this state.
Then one day, all of that changed.
"Mr. Baker," a woman's voice emanated from the door with a slight knock. "Your lawyer's here."
"Tell him--"
"I swear if you tell me to fuck off, I'll break down this goddamn door," the voice was male this time, frustrated.
William stayed silent. Taking this as a sign of permission, a man in a thousand-dollar suit gingerly entered the room.
"Mr. Baker, I respected your decision to stay private, but I have duties I have to perform," he started. "I believe I've already given you enough time to grieve?"
The room paused. William stared out the window, unmoving. The wall clock ticked in its regular rhythm in the silence. And then, without as much as taking a glimpse of his visitor, William opened his mouth.
"Just get on with it and let me brood in peace."
Finally! Out of all his clients, the lawyer hated the emotional ones the most. The sigh that he let escape his mouth was evidence that he was happy that he could finally rid himself of William.
"First off, I'm here to read Mrs. Baker's suicide note," he said as he took out a piece of paper from his pocket.
William furrowed his brow and finally turned towards him.
"A suicide note?"
The lawyer flinched, slightly taken aback from William's sudden show of confused interest. However, he wanted to get out of this place as fast as possible so he continued with his duties nonetheless.
"Yes," he replied. "A strange one actually. Just her email and password with the words, 'find me' written in it."
Suddenly, William rushed towards him. His speed was extraordinary, something that shouldn't have been possible for an older gentleman. With his sudden show of aggression, the lawyer took a step back unconsciously and gulped.
"Why the fuck am I hearing about it now?" he growled.
"Th-that was because the police thought it could be evidence of foul play," he stammered. "But since they couldn't find anything, they concluded that it was a suicide note that was only for you since you're the only one who knew her well."
Seeing that the lawyer was just a messenger in this whole ordeal, William took a deep breath and snatched the small paper in the lawyer's hand.
"Oh! And also," the lawyer then signals to the maid who entered with a small kennel. "This dog was found with Mrs. Baker when she died. Since you refused to answer anyone, the maids were taking care of it."
William stooped to meet the eyes of the creature inside the kennel. A chihuahua. Pure white and well-behaved. It immediately knew that he was its new owner and wagged its tail excitedly.
"Well, now that's everything is taken care of, I'll take my leave," the lawyer said without wasting a breath. "Do take care of yourself, Mr. Baker."
Then as quickly as he came, the lawyer was gone.
A "suicide note". Unlikely, William thought. They may have had their problems, but his wife was the epitome of logic. Giving him her email and password was enough evidence for him that something else was going on.
So, he booted up the computer he hadn't used in ages and started his work.
"Whimper"
The dog made sad noises in the kennel and rattled its tiny cage, requesting its master to release it.
Taking pity on the small creature and for the sake of focus, William unhinged the lock and plopped it on his lap.
"There must be a reason why she had you with her…" he whispered, and, feeling the tag on its neck, William laid his eyes upon its name. "Marise."
The dive on Amy's emails didn't take long before William found something already suspicious.
"What the fuck…" he mumbled as his fingers clicked on a very suspicious link in Amy's archived folder.
[Otherworld Transportation Service]
"Tired of living in your current world? Want to have an adventure of a lifetime? For the cheap price of your most precious talent, you can have a fresh start in another world!"
An absolute scam of an email! At least, that was what William thought at first. However, Amy's further correspondence with the email made one thing clear: she believed it. Amy Baker, the most scientific mind he has ever met, would fall for a scam? No fucking way.
[Thanks for your purchase!]
"In exchange for your talent, [Military Science (L)], you'll be transported to the world of Elaidan. Your transportation option was a truck. Due to high demand for this method of transport, your order will be delayed for a few days. Thank you for your patience."
SHE BOUGHT SOMETHING! William screamed inside while his mouth was agape. And Military Science? Did she give up top secret military technology to total strangers on the internet? That's treason!
But setting that aside, something else caught his eyes.
Truck.
The thing that killed her. Just from this conversation alone, it was obvious that Amy Baker was scammed, gave up military secrets, and then killed to erase the evidence.
But the police said they didn't find anything! Were they that incompetent? Did the government know already but chose to keep him in the dark? William's thoughts were filled with questions.
Then, his thoughts were brought to a standstill by a sudden notification that appeared on the computer.
[Special offer: Bereavement Package]
It came from the same email. The email that scammed his wife, as if it knew that he was there. William, without even thinking, clicked on the link.
"Were you left behind by a loved one and do not know why or how? Don't take it to heart, this service is absolutely done in secrecy. Even the best CIA or FBI agents can't find out about us.
But you're a special case. Since your loved one's talent was Legendary, she was given a special privilege. And, she used it to let you know about us!"
Weird, William thought. It started off as a regular advert scam, but as he read through, it became more and more personal.
"Unprecedented! Usually, people ask for some cheat skill but she asked to inform you instead!
So here's our offer: we will waive the talent cost to transport you and you can even bring that pet she left you. Use this offer to follow your loved one to the other world!"
"Find me"
Those words flashed in William's mind. With the uncanny amount of personalization in this advert, the last words his wife gave him made a lot of sense. She wanted to leave this world for another and she wanted me to follow.
"Will, do you believe in parallel universes?"
William smirked then mumbled, "You sure did love your sci-fi huh?"
William scrolled further down and found the [Accept] button.
Screw it, he thought. If it was a scam, then all he'll get is a virus. If it's not, then that meant that he could find her again!
[Bereavement Package Order Received]
"Thank you for accepting our offer. Now, please choose the mode for transport."
The email then listed a number of vehicles for William to choose from. Van, bus, truck.
He smiled.
"Hey, Marise," he said to the dog on his lap. "Why don't we go out with a bang eh?"
Then, after scrolling through the big list, he found what he was looking for.
"Airplane."
[Congratulations! Your transport will arrive shortly]
Shortly?
A minute hasn't even passed and William's ears burst at the high-pitched sound of an engine. He whipped his neck towards the window and the last thing he saw was the snout of a large plane that headed for him and the empty cockpit.