The day had been one of unending tedium, each minute stretching into the next like an infinite gray line. My desk, cluttered with fresh piles of work, the hum of human ego-death a constant backdrop.
My hands moved automatically, fixing, adjusting, troubleshooting—endlessly. Each day an echo of the last, a relentless cycle of monotony.
*DING!*
Then, amidst the monotony, my phone buzzed. A notification flashed on the screen. I glanced at it, and a rare smile spread across my face. It was an update for the novel I'd been following. My one refuge, my solitary source of joy, [Dynasty Of Elysia].
"Finally!" I wanted to shout.
I picked up my phone, my heart lifting in a way it seldom did. For a bit, the suffering could wait. I opened the app and began to read.
I clicked on [Chapter 898].
The words transported me to another world, one where my struggles and pain didn't exist. The story was a vivid escape, filled with characters and adventures that made my heart race and my mind soar.
That's what I loved about [Dynasty Of Elysia], it was a beautiful and warm fantasy world where life seemed to go well for the characters. There were dark themes and moments, but at the end of the day, the bright parts outweighed the dark and happiness wasn't as rare as it was on earth.
'James met [The Man] again?! And [The Devil's Daughter] is still alive!'
Each chapter was a thread of happiness I clung to. The characters felt like the friends, and family I didn't have, their journeys what I wanted out of my own life.
The latest chapter was better than I expected, wrapping up several plots and setting up the looming ending.
When I finished the chapter, I carefully placed my phone back on the desk and returned to my work, but the magic of those few moments stayed with me. It was a small light in the otherwise unending grayness of my days.
For the rest of the afternoon, the memory of the story buoyed me. Each time I thought back to the latest twist, I felt a flicker of that same happiness. It wasn't much, but it was enough.
It reminded me that there was more to life than struggle, that there was still beauty in the world, even if it was just in the pages of a book. In those moments, I was no longer just an orphaned engineer trapped in a cycle of poverty and frustration. I was someone else, someone living a different life. And that made all the difference. It was enough to keep me going, my happiest time.