NullTale ~Origins~

Ch1- Disappointments

I was in Ebott City when the barrier was broken. I, like everyone else around here, remember the day it happened. I would like to say it was a normal day, just like any other. That's how most begin the story. Although, that wouldn't be entirely true. The actual truth is that it had been a bad day from the start.

Over the years I had gotten used to rejection. But now, as an adult, I was trying to make a living in a world full of other people that saw me as just another human. I was expendable, just a drone seeking distinction in an endless world of push and pull. A world where no one would notice if I were to simply disappear. Such a fact was crippling.

How do other people find this so easy? I asked myself as I sat alone in my room once again. I used an old laptop to key though jobsearch after jobsearch, applying for anything that was a remote possibility. I had been fired a week previous... Oh excuse me, "let go" as they had insisted. This was just one more thing on the growing pile of frustrations. I couldn't seem to hold on to a decent job for more than a few months at a time, no matter how hard I tried to appease them. What was their excuse this time? Moving location? Cutting down on staff? Or is it just the fact that I'm not all bubbly and smiley like they expect all us young girls to be? By all means, I was never angry or cranky, I just was never excitable. Well, whatever their reasons this time for giving me the boot, I was out of luck. It was about time I found a new job anyways.

No matter what I did, I was getting nothing but rejection letters and silence every way I turned. Even places that that hired the most incompetent of people were brushing me aside. I didn't believe myself to be incompetent. I thought myself a hard worker, and a persistent one. I was reliant and trustworthy and...

What? The results on this page were starting to look awfully familiar. Didn't I already apply for this one? Stupid website... I know I applied for this...um, yesterday...was it? I paused, my mind clouded with confusion. I had applied for a few of these yesterday, but yesterday was Sunday and I had spent the whole day away from home and computer. I couldn't have applied for any jobs yesterday so why do I get the feeling I did?

Wait, what day is it today? Isn't it Tuesday? No, Monday. Of course it's Monday. Sunday was yesterday, and... Something's not adding up. This shouldn't be so hard to remember! I checked the calendar on my monitor. It's Monday. I was used to being a tad forgetful, but this was just ridiculous.

"Why does it even matter?" I grumbled to myself as I leaned away from the computer. I rubbed my palms in my eyes, trying to calm my frustrations. "I could be the most trustworthy and hardworking person in the world, and they still wouldn't accept me. And even if they do accept me they'd change their mind just a few months later... But why?" I never believed the first answer that came to mind.

Well there's obviously something wrong with you. Whatever it is, they can see it, and it is inexcusable. No one wants someone like you around.

"No, there has to be somebody that will take me. There has to be something other than whether they like me or not. Maybe there's something I could be doing differently."

Denying it won't help. The sooner you accept the fact, the sooner you can find a real solution. You're running out of time!

"Ugh, I know." I grumbled. I glanced at the sheets of paper next to my desk and felt my chest clench a little with anxiety. Ignoring the problem wasn't going to solve it. Bills were coming due, and I could only last so long on savings. Everything was running low. Including my will to keep up the fight.

If you don't find a solution within the next week you could very well end up homeless. Then any chance you did have would be gone.