All my life I lived half-heartedly. I never found anything enjoyable. I had no reason to live.
Every.
Single.
Day.
My life would repeat as if in a cycle. Wake up, work, eat, sleep. An average life with underwhelming achievements. I was willing to die at any moment if the world decided to end me...
So why...
Why am I running towards her?
[1 Week Ago]
Arthur typed in silence on his computer, ignoring the noise from his co-workers who were celebrating making a great deal with a multi-million dollar company. A stack of documents sat by his desk showing how much work he had left to do.
'Fucking bastard increased it again'. Arthur silently thought as he glanced at a tall robust man who looked like the prince charming of the party.
Unfortunately, their eyes met, causing the man to smile slightly as he asked in a loud voice. "Come on Arthur, finish your quota and join us." The crowd finally noticed Arthur for the first time today, they sent words of encouragement and goodwill to him, but behind those words were faces of mockery.
Arthur's breathing gradually became ragged as the crowd looked at him, and his hand steered towards his inhaler when the 'prince charming' suddenly clinked his glass of wine, grabbing everyone's attention.
"Attention everyone, as part of the deal, XX company sent a few of their people over just like we sent some of ours to them, without further ado, let me introduce them to you.
" First is a Mr Don Lincoln, who has a Masters degree in astrophysics. he will be placed in the Physics departments, team C-5."
Arthur ignored them and tried to finish his work faster to be able to go home early when a name suddenly resounded in his ears.
"Next, we have Dr Nelle Edwinson also with a Master's in Electrical Engineering. She will be placed in the Engineering department team D-3.
" Last but not..."
Arthur's mind muffled the man's voice as he tried to understand why he reacted to that name excluding the fact about her being put in his team.
'... It doesn't matter, just follow the cycle'.
[Next Day]
Arthur was about to grab the keys to the door to the electrical engineering workstation when he noticed the door was already open.
'A thief?'
Arthur's emotionless eyes grabbed a pocket knife from his pocket that was actually a key holder and walked in slowly.
'Hm?'
It was the new employee, she seemed to be engrossed in her work and hadn't noticed his presence. Arthur sighed, putting his pocket knife back before walking to his station to work.
'At least now I won't be the only early one from now on'
.
.
"Um, sir? What do you think of my work?"
After an hour, the girl who had noticed him god knows when turned to show him her creation.
"It's a spider bot, I used to learn mechanics before I switched courses. Ah, don't worry I used my own components, and the contract allows me to use the workstation for personal purposes".
'She actually read through the T and C? That's rare'. Arthur was planning on distancing himself and remaining silent when he subconsciously uttered, "Steel or titanium alloy?"
[Two Days Later]
Arthur was walking home alone at night, thinking about his work tomorrow when a girl who walked out of a restaurant quickly caught up to him and tapped his shoulder. "I didn't know your house was this way, Arthur. Can I walk with you?"
Arthur, who was unfamiliar with the company, numbly nodded and continued walking.
'Why is she even here at this time, she left work with the others two hours ago'. He glanced at the place where she came from and wondered, 'Does she work two jobs?'
[Two days later]
Arthur walked through the streets holding a bag full of snacks and instant noodles when he suddenly crossed paths with the girl again.
" Oh for fucks sake, why am I meeting her so many times
At that moment, Arthur contradicted his cruel words with a slight smile.
"Oh, it's nice to see you, Arthur! Are you coming from the mall?" Arthur didn't know how to feel when he looked at the unhealthy amounts of instant noodles in his grocery bags and responded slowly, "I was stocking up on food, I'm just going back home."
"That's nice, I'm on my way home, too."
'Since when were we this close?'
Arthur thought whilst he looked at the girl walking ahead of him.
'It's not bad'.
For the first time in years, Arthur's face showed a genuine smile of peace, not knowing of the days to come.
[Present day, a few moments ago]
"Ah crap, it's going to rain! I didn't bring an umbrella. Could we move a bit faster Arthur?"
"Arthur's face, which had started to show expressions again, looked slightly befuddled as he questioned, " Didn't you watch the forecast? A storm will start soon".
"Ah, I kinda... Wing it on stuff like forecasts, its not like they're always right". The girl awkwardly said as she started walking briskly to speed up.
The clouds gathered quickly, and heavy rain started pouring down. Luckily, Arthur had reached his home. The girl's house was two blocks away, and Arthur had neither the care nor courtesy to let her stay at his place during the storm. Not even giving her his umbrella.
"See you tomorrow!" The girl yelled and continued her race to the house. Suddenly, Arthur felt a heavy feeling in his heart, one that warned him of danger nearby,
Boom!
Lightning struck the ground near a moving truck, startling the driver and making him skid off the wet road. Arthur turned around, stretching his hands forward as he saw the truck approaching the girl...
.
.
" NELLE!!!"
.
.
Arthur kneeled in the rain staring at the dying young woman as the sounds of an ambulance got closer.
"Look at the bright side... You finally said my name". Arthur raised his head to the sky, looking straight up at the clouds.
"Hey.... Arthur, do me a favor.... if you can, please take my little sister to 'Grand Blue'. You know that shop right? It's my uncle's. Haha- cough-... If you can't, sending her to an orphanage is fine too; anything is better than making her stay with our parents now that I can't be there".
"... Do you ever think for yourself?" Arthur said as he looked down at her with a drenched face lacking expression once.
"There's no fun-Cough- in that. Life's supposed to be a fun adventure right? It's just... too bad I lost at the start line."
Nelle's words echoed in Arthur's head as his mind finally cleared up, allowing him to see the world in colour. The ambulance was in sight and would arrive in a few seconds, but Nelle's breath became progressively weaker.
"I...I'm scared. "
.
"...It will be fine... "
..
..
At the age of 24, Nelle Edwinson passed away, leaving behind her sister and a changed man, a man who vowed to always have fun.