An old man sat alone, typing slowly on his phone. The screen remained blank—no reply from the other side.
"The world is never empty… yet I have no one to talk to."
For a moment, he just stared at the screen, feeling the quiet weight of his loneliness. Then, with a sigh, he typed a message:
"Bye, sister."
He sent it, his fingers lingering on the edge of the phone as if letting go of more than just words.
He rose and walked to the freezer, taking out a bottle of water. Sitting back on the worn sofa, he sipped slowly, memories washing over him.
"As a child, there were so many people to talk to… to laugh with… but as I grew older, they all vanished, one by one. And now, it's only me."
He closed the bottle with a soft click and set it aside. His eyes fell on a small box nearby. He lifted it carefully, climbing to the roof with a slow, deliberate pace. From the box, he pulled a cigarette, staring at it like it held answers to questions he couldn't even ask.
"Perhaps this is the first… and the last time."
The smoke hit his lips, tasting strange and bitter, curling up into the air and disappearing.
"Maybe there was never anyone to talk to… and perhaps, I don't want anyone now."
He walked forward slowly, feeling the wind on his face, lost in thought… until suddenly, his foot slipped. With a loud thud, he tumbled, heart racing.
When he opened his eyes, the world had changed. A foggy path stretched before him, strange and unreal. Fish leapt through the misty air as if gravity had no hold here. And then, suddenly, a burst of light illuminated a lush, green forest—though he had no idea why he had arrived.
A voice echoed through the clearing, deep and distant:
"There was never anyone by your side… so why did you risk your life? You don't understand, do you… but it was never meant for you."
Darkness swallowed everything.
To be Continued