Back to the present day. I shove my thoughts behind me and think of what's happening now. I realize I'm stuck in my car, late for work. The accident caused a traffic jam, causing me to be late for work. I called my boss to tell him I'd be late.
*RING RING*
My boss picked up the phone almost immediately.
"Is there anything you need, Axel?"
"Boss, I will be late today because of a car accident nearby."
"Axel, you've been late three times in the past two weeks. I'm disappointed in you."
"Boss, please understand me just this time."
"Axel, you can't delay the presentation today. We might have to reschedule it to tomorrow, or someone else can do it."
'Fuck.'
"Boss, let me just do the presentation; I'll be there just a few minutes late. Is that fine?"
"Just this one time. Hurry up. We can't keep people waiting for you."
"Thank you, Boss."
*BEEP*
My boss hangs up the phone. I turn my car around somehow, maneuver my way out onto a different street, and go past the blockade.
'I need to reach work fast or I'll get fired.'
I start to speed up and head towards the office at an alarming speed. But I got there just a minute late. I burst through the door and headed towards the meeting room. I breathe deeply and open the door. Inside the room, there are important clients and my boss. I go to the front of the room and start my presentation.
'I need to do well, and maybe I'll even get a promotion.'
Sweat starts to build up on my forehead halfway through my presentation, although they don't notice. I start to get nervous, but I keep my composure and finish my presentation. The clients ask questions, and I answer them to the best of my ability, and we exit the room. My boss calls me to his office. I start to get antsy and feel like I did something wrong.
'What did I do wrong? Did they notice I was nervous? Am I getting fired? No way, right?'
Thoughts enter my head, but they vanish once we enter the boss' office.
"Nicely done, Axel; you did well." My boss compliments my presentation.
"Although I am still disappointed that you were late, you did great. But don't be late again. You hear me?"
"Of course, Boss. Thank you for your generosity."
"Anytime. Now go resume your work."
I exit the room, and my lips curl up. I did well on the presentation, and now I feel that I have enough energy to last the whole week. I start to sit at my computer, replying to emails and answering questions, but mostly helping co-workers with their work. One of my co-workers, Idan, always asks for help, no matter what time of the day it is. But, over the few months we've worked together, we've become friends. I'm not sure how it happened; it sort of just clicked, and we just became friends.
"Hey Axel, you want to grab a drink today?"
I have zero reason to say no. I can also celebrate that I did well on that presentation today.
"Sure, why not? It's been a while since I've drunk."
"Alright, after work, okay?"
"Alright. It's a deal."
The workday flies by, and before I realize it, I'm grabbing drinks with Idan. We got to the local bar and started drinking beers.
"Ah, that's nice." Idan seems to like drinking.
I take a sip of my beer. I've never liked drinking, but just for today, I'll bear with it.
Whenever I do drink, I can barely drink anything before getting heavily drunk. I remember one time, I went drinking with Idan, and I threw up all over his expensive shirt, and he had to get it replaced. That night, I was so drunk that I almost got myself run over by wandering on the streets. Idan was the one to get me off the streets. I don't remember much that night, but he said I blacked out, and he took me to his house. I had a crazy hangover the next morning and felt like mush the rest of the day.
"So, Axel, how's your week been?"
I tell him about my week. about my sister, the car accident, and the presentation.
"Other than that, it's been pretty normal."
"How about you, Idan? How's your week been?"
"It's been alright; I celebrated my mom's birthday yesterday. It was pretty nice."
'Oh.'
My eyes cast downward, and I get silent. The silence is quite awkward.
"Is there something wrong?"
Idan breaks the silence.
"Oh. No, there's nothing wrong." There's a bit of sorrow in my voice.
"Okay, then, well, other than that, I stayed home with my wife.".
Over the two hours I'm with Idan, we chat about numerous topics, like family and school life, but I never bring up my parents. After quite a lot of drinks, I'm not as drunk as I thought I would be. But I'm still drunk. Idan gives me a water bottle and suggests we go on a walk. I take him up on that offer, and we start walking around the sidewalk. I can already feel that I'm becoming more sober. We walk in silence for 20 minutes and decide to go home. We approach our cars and say our goodbyes.
"It's been fun chatting with you, but I got to head home to my wife. See you later, Axel." He waves his hand.
"See you tomorrow, Idan. Drive safe." I wave back towards Idan.
I head into my car and drive off. There are quite a lot of cars at this hour.
*RING RING*
Suddenly, my phone starts to ring. It's my sister once again.
"Hey Peony. Do you need anything?"
"Where are you, Axel? I've been standing here for like 5 minutes."
"I was out drinking with my friend; I'll be there so-"
*SCREECH*
I look to the right and see a car going above the speed limit about to hit my car.
*BOOM*
The car crashes into the right of the car, and my car flops over. The airbag deploys quickly. The shattering of the windows echoes in my ears. The glass shards scattered all over and cut me. I'm bleeding profusely out of my head. My arms seem to be broken, and I am starting to lose my vision. There's a certain warmth beside me. There's a fire in the car.
"Axel? Are you okay?" Peony says it with somewhat of an urgent voice.
I don't have the strength to talk. I can't say anything.
'There's no way, right? There's no way I'm dying like this. This can't happen to me. What will happen to Peony?
"Axel, answer me. ANSWER."
I can hear Peony scream through her phone, but the words are incoherent. I've started to lose my hearing.
I can feel the fire inside my car creeping onto me.
'No, I can't die now. Peony needs me."
The fire rages inside my car and envelops my whole car.
'Fuck. It's getting worse.'
With my blurry vision, I can see that I've lost a leg. My other leg is bleeding badly, and my arms feel broken. The pain is unbearable, but I can't feel my voice. I start to give up. If the fire won't kill me, I'll bleed out and die.
"AXEL, ARE YOU THERE?" Peony tries to get to me, but I can't understand a word she says.
I muster up enough strength to climb out of a window and into the street. I flop onto my back and stare at the beautiful night sky. The stars illuminate the darkness of the night sky and are the last sight I will ever see in this life.
"AXEL, I CALLED THE POLICE."
I can hear my name, but everything else is filtered.
'I need to say my last words to Peon before I die.'
I move my arm, not caring about the pain that it induces in me, and grab the phone.
With all my strength, I say my final words.
"I love you, Peony."
'I at least got to say my last words to Peony.'
I can feel my life force fading away. Like the Grim Reaper, he is patiently waiting for me to close my eyes and die. In my last moments of life, I reflect on my life. I ended up suffering the same fate my parents did. But I don't feel like I'm in agony. I feel like I'm at peace.
'Is this how my parents felt when they died? Is this why they smiled?'
'I didn't get to finish my webnovel. Bummer.'
'My viewers will never be able to read the ending.'
As I replay everything in life in a flash, I remember everything I've done in life from start to finish. I could have done more in life. But I feel like I accomplished everything I wanted to do in life. I'll miss Peony, but she can push through. I know she can.
'You know dying doesn't feel that bad.'
My eyes close, leaving me in an endless slumber.