Aurora

Chapter One: Kilonova

"Every leaf speaks bliss to me, fluttering from the autumn tree."

- Emily Brontë, Fall, Leaves, Fall.

The loyal sunrise enlightened the world in its entirety, marking the beginning of a new day, everyday. It is a familiar face that none would get tired of seeing. Not too long ago, the entire globe celebrated the already-coming new year. The end of December and the rebirth of January. And now, people bustled through the city like ants, each heading to work trying to earn the sugar-salary. Life resumes as normal. But what does it mean to actualise the concept of 'living your life to the fullest', besides simply getting a steady job?

7.5 billion people, sharing the same planet. Even with such populous number the world can be a quiet place, silent to each of us, and so we've fully learnt and understood what it means to belong, what it means to have a circle of friends, to be in a society of like-minds, where your varying interests are freely welcomed and your natural flaws are loosely forgiven. A mutual recognition of our share of place on this lonely planet.

But what about love? The intricacies of it, the complexities of it. As it contains every positive value that was imbued the aforementioned things. What is it but something purely magical that none of us could fully comprehend the magnitude of falling into one. Or is it?

Maybe it is a mystery that none of us - experts or not, could not fully unravel. But however we chose to define it: it all eventually comes down to how each of us see it. A beautiful mystery.

To others, today is just another plain day - new year or not. But not to a lonely city-dreamer that is about to discover, there are more blissful things than just sugar-coated dreams. And today, comes his turn to understand love.

"Excuse me - ...", a young man, looking in his 20's, taller than the average guy, pure-black hair, darted through masses of chirping crowds and past obstacles. Clad in a decently ironed suit, no creaves, with a cherry tie that still smells of packaging and Black Eau de Toilette - as if he's another man of career, or freshly seeking for one.

"Ah!", as he abruptly collided with a woman. "Hey, watch where you're going!"

"Sorry ma'am!", before turning his attention back to the screeching train that just arrived.

"Look at that, young people nowadays have no resp...", the angry voice fades the further he gets.

"Shit - I can't be late this time...", he whispered, before running to the departing train, fortunate enough to slip past one of the closing doors. "Thank God..."

Struggling to control his breathing, he grabbed ahold one of the metal bars while standing still. Next station: Foucalt Center, the automated p.a. announced, followed by an advertisement, which constitutes part of the inner ambience of the creaky public transport alongside loud phone callers and random conversations among strangers.

The train swooshed and shook, cutting through the middle of the city - with each station ends in a skyscraper. Hanging several hundred meters from the ground, way higher than the precursor KL Monorail, the hanging train glides gracefully underneath the sturdy tracks situated high above a sprawling metropolis: which spells magnificent views for the commuters.

Billboards plastered to the exteriors of buildings would lit up the environment at night amidst the dim, light from the windows. During the day, their role was only to capture the attention of potential, gullible spenders that just got their paychecks or those who are looking for much-needed ways to take a chunk off their savings.

Foucalt Center, Warisan Mall, the newly emerged AirGrab Tower, and so on...., as the train stopped at these buildings and continued to glide halfway into the city. Now arriving: Equatorial Tower, as the train slowly decelerates and stopped. The doors open and the commuters go on about with their lives.