Chapter 1: Carpe Diem
"Carpe Diem"
A Latin phrase that translates to "seize the day" in English. It is often used to encourage people to make the most of the present moment. I was told this phrase by my grandfather when I was young, but I never truly understood its meaning until now.
As I lay on the ground, blood dripping from my mouth, I couldn't help but let out a painful laugh. My attempts to stand up failed, and I could feel my breathing becoming heavier with each passing moment. As my eyes began to close, I couldn't help but wonder,
"How did this all go wrong?"
To fully understand what had led me to this moment, we need to take a walk down memory lane.
My parents died when I was only fourteen years old, the result of a drunk driver crashing into their car. I was left alone in the world, without any close family members to turn to. But my parents had saved enough money to support me through school, so I threw myself into my studies, hoping to one day attend a prestigious university and find a stable job.
However, the reality of my financial situation quickly became apparent. Without any family or assets to use as collateral, obtaining a bank loan was out of the question. The only way for me to attend university was through a scholarship. So I devoted myself to my studies, sacrificing my social life and friendships in the process.
All my hard work eventually paid off when I scored in the top 1% of the national exams. I was ecstatic, thinking that I would finally receive the scholarship I had been working so hard for. But fate had other plans. The scholarship went to someone in a lower percentile, who had connections to the university and had pulled some strings to secure the scholarship.
I was devastated. All my hard work had been for nothing. I couldn't afford to attend university without the scholarship, and all the other colleges were too far away and too expensive for me to consider. So I abandoned my dreams and began a desperate search for employment.
For a while, I pushed through the long hours and grueling work, all while holding onto the memory of my parents. But eventually, the reality of my situation caught up with me. I fell into a deep depression, spending my days working and coming home to an empty apartment, feeling as if I had nothing left to live for.
I searched for anything to escape reality - food, TV, anime, books, manga, you name it. With each passing day, I put on weight and wanted to try exercising, but my weak will made it impossible to follow through. As my job got harder, standing for just 10 minutes made me gasp for air. I slowly became desperate for money as food and housing weren't going to pay for themselves. That's when I turned to the only idea I could think of to make money: illegal activities.
It started small - selling a few bags of weed, breaking into cars, and robbing old people. I convinced myself that once I made enough money, I would start a proper business and earn clean money. But reality is often disappointing, and my greed got the better of me. I began doing more dangerous things like dealing crack, breaking ATMs, and jumping people. I thought it was necessary for survival. Eventually, a gang I occasionally sold crack to invited me to join their group, luring me with promises of money and good food.
My foolish self only thought about my future and agreed hastily, not realizing what I was getting into. I slowly realized that these people were out of my league; they robbed jewelry stores and supermarkets every week and threatened multiple people in the process. At first, my greed blinded me to their actions, and the money they gave me was amazing. It gave me a sense of confidence I hadn't felt since my youth, and it was addicting. I even got into good shape, and my overall health was improving. But the robberies got worse.
We started robbing rich people's houses, knocking out the owners if they caught us in the act. I began to see the terrible things I was doing when I watched the scared faces of the people we robbed. But the breaking point was when I saw a small child staring at us during a robbery gone wrong.
It was like any other day. We broke in, took stuff, and tried to get out as fast as we could. Everything was going amazingly until a small 5-year-old boy caught us in the act. His eyes widened in surprise as he watched a bunch of strangers take all of his and his family's belongings. My gang wanted to hurt the boy and threaten him to ensure that he wouldn't say a word.
That was my breaking point.
I rushed in front of the poor child, trying to convince my gang not to hurt him. They weren't happy and started yelling at me to move, but I was adamant about not harming the kid. Seeing my decision, they suddenly attacked me without hesitation. I shielded the boy and told him to run to his parents and wake them up to call the police. I held off my former gang members, taking multiple hits from their fists and bats.
With quick thinking, I avoided some of the gang members' attacks and grabbed multiple bags filled with stolen goods. I ran out of the house as fast as I could, but they caught up to me. They beat me within an inch of my life, and I was barely standing by the time they were done. They took the bags of stolen goods and left me to die.
And that's how we got to the present.
"I wonder if that kid is okay," I thought.
I gave one last attempt to get back up, which failed as expected. I didn't try to fight it this time, and my eyes closed.
"I'm glad I'm able to pass on doing something good..."
"..."
"But still...."
"I wish I savored my younger days and lived my life a little bit more, you know?"
With the last bit of strength, I opened my eyes just a bit, looking up at the sky. The moon gently shined down on me.
"I wish...I wish I could get a chance to live a little more..."
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[Do you wish for a chance?]
{Yes/no}
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
MachinaOnTheMoon
MachinaOnTheMoon Well uh giving a shot at fanfics, hope this goes well.
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