Chapter 2: Joy Over Sorrow
After disappearing in broad daylight due to an unknown force, the man ended up in a completely pitch-black area where all he could do… was think.
'Huh… what's going on? Why does it feel as if I'm sinking in water? Wasn't I just reading that stupid book a second ago? So then… why can't I feel anything… wh-why can't I see anything?' Thought the man frantically.
In an endless sea of darkness, the man slowly sank down towards a bottom that could not be seen. Fearing the worst, he started to think that his short life… had finally come to an end.
'This must be what death feels like. I knew I wasn't going to live till I was 80… but still, 22 is not what I had in mind.' The man thought bitterly.
Alas, that was not the case. As his vision slowly returned, he looked forward with blurry vision and saw the words 'Create your own meaning' glowing in the never-ending darkness.
'Haven't I heard those words before? Right, it was from that book I was reading before ending up here. Hehe, hopefully, that means this is all just a hallucination… I mean, I haven't eaten in a while… so maybe that could have caused me to pass out.' Thought the man with growing hope.
"Weird." Said a woman's voice with disgust.
"Just ignore him." Said a man's voice with disdain.
'What? They see a man pass out in a library and that's all they have to say?!? Ignore me, hell no!! Wake me up or something, I have a job to get to in a couple of hours. I can't just sit around and read books all day like you bums.' The man thought while seething with rage.
When his vision fully returned, he found himself lying sprawled out on a sidewalk looking directly into the sun.
'I'm… outside? I guess I walked a bit before passing out. I wonder how far I made it. No, the better question is, why is it so hot outside? Aren't we in the middle of December?' Thought the man with confusion.
Before the man sat up, he looked to his left and right just to notice that no one who walked past him, even cared that he had passed out on the ground. All they did was walk straight past him while giving him weird looks.
'Shitty pedestrians, I find myself knocked out on the side of the road and all you do is pass by while giving me dirty looks?!? Well if I'm being honest… that's not a huge surprise given the fact I live in Chicago. This is probably just a normal Thursday morning for these guys. *sigh* Guess I'll stop looking like a weirdo then.' Thought the man as he sat up.
"Excuse me, sir." Said a nervous voice behind him.
Looking over his shoulder, the shaggy-looking man saw an equally looking shaggy man dressed in a chef's attire.
The chef was young, he looked to be only about 18 years of age and still had somewhat of a baby face. Coupling this with an innocent smile and a welcoming aura, gave the man on the side of the road a sense of comfort. That didn't last long though, since he then came to the conclusion that the kid was just super naive.
'This kid kinda looks like me when I was his age… albeit a little more formal and easy to approach, but still… he looks like me.' Thought the man on the ground.
"Go ahead, I'm not gonna bite." He said while picking himself up and dusting his clothes off.
'When did I find time to change cl-.' Thought the man before getting cut off.
"Ah sorry, I just noticed that you look a little famished and was wondering if you would like something to eat?" The chef said respectfully.
"Sorry pal… I hate to break it to you, but I don't really have any money to spare at the moment." The man said while still looking at his clothes.
"That's fine, I'll pay. After all, I couldn't allow myself to see you walk off when I can clearly see that you're on the brink of starvation." The chef said with an awkward smile.
"Hehe, I'll take you up on that offer, after all… free food always tastes better." The man said while rubbing his hands together and forgetting all about the clothes dilemma.
"Wonderful, just come into our restaurant and I'll begin coo-." The chef tried to say before getting cut off by a news announcement.
"Attention residents of the Lista Colony, an armed man has just killed 10 people near Eco Street. If you are near there, we implore you to stay indoors. Hold on, it seems we have a picture of the suspect. As you can see, he is wearing a camouflage outfit along with a black mask. Remember, this man is very dangerous and to make matters more dire he also bears the symbol of the villain group called 'The Banished'. If anyone sees this man, report it to the authorities immediately." A woman with black hair and a pretty face spoke to the public from a massive screen on a building.
After the news lady was done telling the public to beware of a killer, the chef looked at me and ushered me inside.
'Lista Colony? Eco street? I've never heard of anything like that in Chicago, or if there was something like that I never lived close to it. Better yet… when did Chicago have screens on buildings like they do in New York? Either I'm still knocked out or I just never noticed them adding it in.'
As he looked around he noticed a lot of new things. Cars were traveling so fast that they were barely visible while not making a single noise. The buildings were so tall that all of them could be considered skyscrapers. Those two paled in comparison to the final change the man saw. When he looked up after hearing a noise, the man saw a train running on floating tracks directly above his head. With little to say… all he did… was point and stare.
'Good to know… so I'm still knocked out.' Instantly thought the man.
Although the man was convinced that he was still dreaming he continued to follow the chef towards the restaurant. After all, he still felt incredibly hungry even if this was just a dream.
'Kakodokoro? What kind of name is that? Couldn't I have just thought of a McRandels or something? *Sigh* Whatever, I don't have the strength to think about this any further, it feels as if my stomach is about to rip open from the hunger pains.' The man said while holding his stomach.
After touching his stomach he grew concerned and lifted his shirt up. Where once a hearty gut laid, now had a stomach that was caving in and ribs popping out.
'What the? Does my mind not even remember how I looked on the outside? The last time I weighed myself I was around 200 pounds… this looks as if I'm 90.' The man said while grimacing.
While panicking, he ran past the chef into the restaurant and asked the front desk where the bathroom was. They looked at him with disgust, but in the end, they still pointed him in the right direction.
After running into the bathroom he took his shirt off and looked into the mirror.
"Who is this? What happened to my body? I mean I still have the same shaggy hair, but where's the rest of… me? Black hair, a scar near my eyebrow, young looking, stupid skinny, and worst of all… wait… *cough* that's actually better." The man spoke out loud while pulling up his pants and clearing his throat.
'Hold on, so you're telling me I'm in a dream where my own mind can't remember how I look? I mean I played a lot of games and read crazy novels, but for it to actually happen in real life… there's no way. There's just no way this is real life… I'm confident this is a dream.' The young man's thoughts started to waiver.
Deep down, the man knew… this was in fact… not a dream.
Thus he continued to look at himself in the mirror and a smile started to appear on his face. This is because, in the real world, his life was miserable. Always having to change apartments due to money and even having to go homeless for extended periods of time. Whether it be sleeping outside in the freezing cold or going hungry for 3 days in a row, he tried everything to get back on his feet… but it never happened. He thought about ending his life countless times, but the memories of his family kept him moving. Those memories are what kept him out of the corruption of life… even if it would have been easier just to enter it.
The boy who is now crying in front of the mirror… lived a respectful life. Although the reason he's crying now is due to the fact that he felt joy over sorrow.
"I'm sorry Mom, I'm sorry Dad *sniffle* even though I tried my hardest… I couldn't accomplish anything. And even now… even after dying and being split apart from you… I feel nothing but joy. I truly am worthless aren't I." The young man said with tears streaming down his face.
"I promise I'll do better though… this time I'll achieve something. This time I'll-" The young man was interrupted suddenly by a bright light.
When the light faded, a book was floating perfectly in front of the young man's face. He wiped away his tears and grabbed the book gently.
"This is the same book from before… isn't it?" The man said calmly while holding the book in front of his face.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
FWK
FWK Hello Readers, I would just like to say that my posting schedule will be pretty random at times due to work, but I promise to try and get one chapter out every week. Thank you for reading.
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