It was a cold autumn night, I was making my way towards home. On that night; nothing could have prepared me for what was about to come. I took responsibility for something that I should not have been involved in.
"aahhh.. something is definitely wrong with me, but atleast I got to help someone..."
Perhaps we were two peas in a pod. A pair of kindred souls whom has lost the torch of determination. In a selfish attempt to protect my own soul, I took a drastic approach to a predicament I have come upon.
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I'm Nakajima Akihito, I work as a part-timer at a local cafe downtown and as a tutor. Dreams? I have none, I simply wish to live a humble life in a city. Perhaps it was this inability of mine to find a dream that I am who I am now. Somewhere deep within me, I wish I could've tried harder.
"but that's all in the past, I can't use a time-machine to dictate my old self can I?"
"........"
"Hahaha"
These figments of my illusionary reality are few of my precious memories. One where I was a hero saving a princess in another world, another when I got a girlfriend and is top of the class. Fragments of my childish, naive aspirations resurfaces from time to time.
"If life was an RPG game I could keep retrying the dice until I got the high-stats character that I've wanted. What would I do to get max intelligence and charisma...."
Unfortunately, reality isn't so forgiving. You only had one chance at being blessed with high stats or being cursed with low stats. I knew this from my childhood experience and from people all around me.
"All this thinking about video games has given me the urge to play a good RPG game. I better hurry home"
There's this beautiful bridge on the way home that I usually loiter around when I need to check messages on my phone. At exactly 9 pm, half of the lights go off to conserve power consumption; checking the time on my phone, it is currently 9:07 pm.
Walking through the dimly lit sidewalks I suddenly am overwhelmed by a vague sensation of dread. Something was wrong with the atmosphere, I could vaguely sense it. Like when there was a calm before the storm, when birds fly off in flocks for no good reason. That was when I saw a very tall figure near the bridge's guardrails. The person doesn't appear to be wearing a coat. In such a cold autumn night with the ocean breeze enveloping the figure, I thought to myself: they must be freezing cold right now. Thinking back to the figure's height they were about as tall as a basketball hoop.
"That can't be right, no human can be that tall"
That was when I realized; they were not tall as the shadows suggested. The seemingly fragile figure were standing on the guardrails, arms open out as if welcoming the cold ocean breeze. Dense mind or not; my body acted on impulse; my mind telling me to just apologize if I've read the situation wrong. I quickly hugged the lower-half of the ephemeral figure in a desperate attempt.
"Please! Reconsider yourself! I'm sure there's someone out there who'd be sad if you're gone!!
I hugged the unrecognized figure tigther, methodically pulling the person in question away from the face of the pitch-black ocean depths.
"Ah" the figure muttered in surprise.
As if taken out of a clichè comedy movie; they fell on the bridge's hard, concrete floor. Akihito lying down the ground while the person in question sitting atop his stomach.
"guaahhgh" groaned Akihito in pain
"sorry" said the person on him
Upon hearing words of the person he's saved(?) Akihito looked up, glancing at the one sitting atop him. There sat was a very pretty girl whose eyes were red from crying, cheeks flushed in a shade akin to tomatoes.
Akihito thought this scene was endearing but in his mind was a much more pressing matter. Laying on the ground but somehow still holding the girl's arms tight he speaks his mind.
"hah.. uugh... haahh....why would you attempt to take your life?! Do you not have friends or a higher sense of purpose?! Why would you dare do such a thing!?"
Better yet: why am I asking such questions when I'm no better? I don't deserve to preach about a higher sense of purpose when I myself don't have one. Akihito suddenly felt pathetic and guilty for what he said to the girl in tears.
"Let me go. You have nothing to do with me! We don't know each other! No one cares about me and neither should you!"
It was at this bridge that I could have possibly said something irreversible at the spur of the moment. Perhaps my contemplation and sense of guilt when I preached about a higher sense of purpose got to me. As my guilt creeps in from within, an odd sense of responsibility emerged. Was it born out of selflessness or selfishness? Even I myself don't have the answer to such a question. Without a hint of hesitation Akihito speaks without thinking through his mind.
"If I have nothing to do with you now and no one cares about you, let me care for you! Please, allow me to change your perspective and make me your boyfriend! I will do my utmost best to change how you see things around you!"
"...w-what?"
The girl in question whose name has yet to be disclosed seems to be taken aback; understandably, by the very sudden confession(?) of Akihito.
On that cold autumn night, a determined Akihito pledged an oath to a girl on a whim whom he's just met less than 5 minutes ago.
What will be the mysterious girl's answer? Will Akihito regret his decisions?! How can he change her perspective?!
Find out in the next chapter!!
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AN(Author's Notes)
[5:45 AM JST] (June 17, 2021)
Hello! It's me author-san, you may refer to me as Enjel.
>Climax in first chapter lol. Bet you didn't see that coming did you?
>Took me almost 3 hours writing this from scratch. Oh and imma let you in on a secret, this is my second written story for wattpad (or any actual written story online that isn't a pathetic school essay) The first one is quite special to me and is yet to be posted, look forward to that ;).
>I made the artwork for the story's cover myself! Yes, praise me! ~o^o~
>I'm writing stories just for fun. Nothing too serious, for now atleast.
>I've written this in the spur of moment while reading up on the "Karoshi" phenomenon (no, it's not "Kareshi" girls, I know some of you want one ;)). Its a phenomenon in Japan that is rooted from overworking which causes both mental and physical exhaustion to the employee ultimately resulting in an untimely departure from their mortal vessels.
♡Btw, I'm an 18 year old guy who likes cute Pink-haired Anime Girls. Does anyone care? Most likely no XD.
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A lost soul's pledge
Romance"This world is built upon inequality" A phrase Nakajima Akihito made when he was young. Growing up from a series of unfortunate events, he strives to overcome his past and look onwards to the future. Yet what is a guy without a goal but to live? An...
