CHAPTER 2 - FLOATING WORDS

The next day, just like any other day, he is greeted by the morning sun,

"It's so bright..." He says half-awake.

He yawns, gets out of his cotton sheets and sits for a while. He feels drowsy,

"I'm too lazy to get up, ugh.."

"Yukito! Are you awake?" A woman's voice passes through his door.

"Right, that woman is still here. Do I really have to deal with this? What a great day to start the morning." He mumbles sarcastically.

"When you're ready, come down and eat okay?"

Yukito stands up and walks to the bathroom to brush his teeth. He washes his face and looks at himself in the mirror,

"How did I become like this..? Why is my life..."

He whispers to himself. He sighs and on the first floor, his "mother" is already prepared to go to work.

"Oh, Yukito, you're up! I already prepared breakfast for you, I'm gonna come home late today, it seems that I'll have to pull an all-nighter haha. You can order delivery or just use the ingredients in the fridge to make yourself a meal okay?" She says while busy getting her stuff ready.

It seems that she has forgotten about yesterday, Yukito was too focused observing the food his "mother" had prepared for him. He glanced at his "mother" and his eyes widen.

"What the heck is that?" He thought to himself,

"Why are there words above her head?" He muttered as he tries to read the floating words on top of her head. His "mother" who was busy getting ready stops her rummaging and turns to Yukito who was squinting his eyes, busy trying to read the transparent writing.

"Is something wrong, Yukito?"

It seems that only he can see the text on his "mother's" head. He ignores her question and murmured the following words,

"Stressed, worried about her son, and... in grief..?"

"What did you say Yukito? I didn't catch that."

"Oh! I-It's nothing."

Her eyebrows raise in confusion for a split second but she ignores her uneasiness as she is almost late for work.

"Well, I hope you go to school today... Or at least just try to go outside for a bit okay?"

The one thing he hates the most in this world is when his "mother" tries to give him useless advices and be nosy about his life.

"I do whatever I want." He replies with his brows furrowed, narrowed eyes filled with loathing and hatred.

"Right. It's your life after all." Those are the only things his "mother" can say. She understands fully that he despises her, she walks out the door in hopes that her son will one day return back to his old self. Yukito doesn't care if his "mother" gets back home late or early, it's not his problem. To be honest, it would be better if his she doesn't come back at all. While he was preoccupied with his "mother", a sudden thought momentarily flashed inside his mind,

"Was it the necklace? Is that why I can see weird floating words now?"

Since the floating words doesn't block his vision, it doesn't really bother him, but the contents inside made him wonder,

"What was the context of those words? But man, this sure feels surreal. It feels like I'm in a game right now."

He eats his breakfast, today's menu is natto with eggrice. As he chews his food, he starts to make conclusions and hypotheses in his head,

"Am I just high? Maybe this is a dream. I should wake up"

He pinches his hand,

"Ouch!"

"Okay, I guess it's not a dream after all. I wonder if it only applies to that woman or... Wait a second! First of all, if this is not a dream then that necklace must be the only explanation to why I can see weird stuff now!"

He rises from his seating position and starts to search for the necklace. He checks the trash bin but it was already gone!

"That witch! The stupid plastic bag inside was probably thrown away somewhere else. I should check the dumpster outside."

As he was about to go out to explore the existence of the necklace, he hears a loud vroom,

"Shoot! It must be the garbage truck!"

He rushes to the front door, but it was too late. All of the trash at the dumpster had already been picked up by the truck.

"SCREW YOU!" He screamed in anger,

"What am I supposed to do now?! There's no way I'm gonna live my life with floating words blinding my eyes everywhere I go!"

He closes the glossy maroon red wooden door and growls in frustration. A few hours passed by, it is currently raining cats and dogs. The wind is so strong, the trees outside of the house starts to dance wildly. Thunder roars, ringing the ears of those who hears. He sits idly in his room, thinking about what he should do next. Should he just give up and live his life like a video game or should he search for other alternatives to solve this problem?

*growl*

He was so busy in thought, he didn't even notice that he hasn't eaten yet. He walks through the kitchen full of wooden cabinets and silver utensils. He reaches the fridge, however, there is nothing in sight.

"Are you kidding me?! Could this day get any worse!?!" He gruffed,

"Seriously. I'm gonna die of starvation, actually that's not a bad idea!"

He laughs at his own joke, he checks the food delivery apps on his phone and none of them are available due to the storm outside. In distress, he couldn't think of any choices other than going to the minimarket for food. He puts on his unwashed used black hoodie, grabs an umbrella located next to the door, and grips the golden doorknob. The dim light from the grey sky outside casts a faint glow through the glass window on the frontdoor. He can see the pouring rain and as he opens the door, he is met with a bizzare menacing storm. The rain is so loud like someone was playing a huge drum inside his ears.

"Well, I guess I'm either gonna die from starvation or this... Must be my lucky day!"

He sprints to the minimarket just down the block from his neighbourhood, holding his umbrella tightly, he tries his best to fight the wind, it's slowly pushing him back. With all his strength, he finally arrives at the minimarket, all drenched,

"I guess I didn't need to bring my umbrella. After all, the outcome will still be the same. The difference is that the umbrella is now broken, I really hope she doesn't realize that I broke her umbrella." He talked to himself,

"It's been a while since I went outside..."

*growl*

"Alright hold on tummy, don't worry. It's time to buy food." His eyes sparkled as he browsed through the aisles, but then he realizes something.

"Oh dang, I have to talk to another human being. Okay, I hate this already. Maybe I should have just starved to death at home."

However, that option was already too late as Yukito has already arrived at the minimarket. Might as well buy the food he needs, right? He looks around and a cup of ramen intrigued him. The packaging seems interesting. He grabs 3 cups of ramen just in case. He walks to the counter and is met with a cashier, a really tall boy, he seems to be the same age as Yukito.

"Your total is 3,000 yen."

Yukito rummages through his pockets to find his wallet. As he opens his wallet, he is faced with a shocking situation. Empty. His wallet had no money left inside, only flies flew out from it. Yukito lifts up his head and lets out a really long sigh showing his exhaustion and anger.

"I should've just died at home." He thought to himself,

"Sorry, turns out I don't have any money to buy those. I think I left my cash at home- Hold on, my e-wallet is... also.. empty..."

"Oh, it's alright. I'll pay for you!" The cashier replied.

"Just take the cups of ramen and eat it here, I saw you outside, trudging through the storm. It seems to me that you really want those cups of ramen huh?" He chuckled,

"But-"

Before Yukito could speak, the cashier interrupts him,

"It's fine. Relax, I help those who are in need. Maybe someday you'll help me too, who knows!"

"Right..."

"I doubt that." Yukito muttered,

"Thanks. I'll keep that in mind."

Before he walks away to the table across to eat, he notices something. The floating words! They're still there!

"I guess it applies to all people huh?"

"Hm? Did you say something?"

"Ah, nothing. I'm gonna go eat, thank you."

"No problem! Enjoy your food!"

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