LIVING OFF

MEANT

Oh? What's this? Update after so many years of Haitus? well, read notes at the end :))

On The Wrong Side All Along

Ray, from when he was just a child, knew that the world is cruel and unfair. All children deserve love from their parents, these little folks needed attention and affection.

Ray wouldn't say he didn't receive any but he would say that what he received was merely for show. Which made everything in his life questionable from there. Such as, why is he abandoned by his parents, why is he still alive? And why is Emma freely giving love to everyone?

Emma, right, Emma.

Emma had the brightest smile, the brightest hair, and most mesmerizing eyes.

Ray lived for 18 years and not once would he deny the fact that he would rather spend the rest of his life merely staring into Emma's green orbs.

It must be an exaggeration, eyes can't be sparkling that lively but Emma has always begged to differ every time.

She's unique, to say at least she wasn't a freak. She looked like the typical girl in the books. Always lively and up for an adventure, mostly oblivious and naive. Just a genuine loving protagonist from another cliche fantasy.

But that wouldn't do justice to Emma, one would think that she's oblivious to the most obvious things but she isn't. She knew much more than she speaks.

Emma just like the riot she is, came like a wrecking ball to Ray's life even after they separated ways when they're finally out of the orphanage at the ripe age of 18.

Strings of fate, people would call it. Ray would like to disagree but his protest about his life went straight to deaf ears.

Ray had a stable job as a supervisor of a marketing company. His co-workers knew very little about him which caused the silent uproar of rumors going around the entire 50-floor building spreading harshly like wildfire. Ray does his job efficiently, he dislikes incompetent humans that barely does their job out of compliance. People like those tend to give mediocre's outputs, not impressive but also not something anyone would easily chastise.

Oh but Ray isn't just anyone. He'll put your ass on the line if he sees you slacking off a job because you find it easy, oh nope.

One thing about Ray is that he is harsh, blunt, and does not give a damn if you have children to feed because if you don't do your job at your best, then you don't deserve the salary or the credit.

Hence, it wasn't long before people brew his reputation like coffee on a bad Monday morning.

"You can't just fire me over this!" The man screeches at Ray's face, face contorting in anger. The man was shaking furiously while sweat and desperation decorated his old wrinkled face.

Ray caught the man smoking on the far corner of the stairway beside an open window, the wind blowing away the smoke from his cigar. It's not that smoking is prohibited in the whole building, there are just places that are meant for that like how lunch is done in the cafeteria. Ray wouldn't have minded the man smoking his life away but it's working hours and all humans within his jurisdiction must work for their salary or get the fuck out.

Another thing about Ray is that patience is not one of his virtues and when the man screamed enough volume to his ears, he called for security.

Later that night, Ray went home. He goes for the train since he lives in an apartment unit to save up. Ray stood, a few feet safe from the railway and enough that he could hear the train arriving.