Chapter 3: Future Glimpse
Working in a construction firm, a man in his late thirties, hefted a beam onto his shoulders.
Olive-green irises and coal-black hair, the weariness on his features would lead one to believe he was aged far older.
Working with the same company for the past couple years had taken a serious toll on him.
However, given it had been his only avenue to make ends meet given all that had happened in his life, he simply sucked up and did the best he could.
Afterall, he was barely living above near poverty.
Unfortunately for him, that stability didn’t last.
In the coming months, the company went bankrupt, resulting in him alongside many others getting laid off.
Forced to pivot to make ends meet once again, he began job hunting, an endeavor that didn’t go all too well for him.
It also didn’t help that he was in serious debt, a situation that ultimately resulted in his home being mortgaged and claimed.
Now homeless, he often took to sleeping in his car, all whilst still job hunting.
And even when he did land a job as a waiter in a small restaurant in Chinatown, it didn’t improve his living conditions in the least bit.
Living in his car, he often went job hunting when his shift was over, all in the hopes that maybe a second job would serve to elevate his living conditions.
Soon enough, he worked as a part-time uber driver... and yet, his living conditions only improved slightly, barely enough to rent a single bedroom apartment in a rundown neighborhood in New York.
Today was no different from the other days as he clocked out for the day, tired and spent as he dragged himself up the stairs.
Crashing onto his bed a few minutes later, he blankly stared at the ceiling, wondering for the umpteenth how he’d found himself in this shithole.
Yet, deep in his heart, he couldn’t help but feel that he dug himself into it.
Setting aside the fact that his father’s tireless working schedule, alongside his drinking and smoking habits had led to him suffering from not just a failing liver, but also a cerebral hemorrhage, one that ultimately led to his death, the man remained guiltily aware of how his own shortcomings had a hand in it.
For starters, he had been extremely complacent about life, simply moving with the flow and embodying the prime definition of a nihilistic mindset.
He never aspired for anything great.
Never put in the effort and energy to try his hands at things he was even mildly interested in, much less things he had a genuine interest in.
And now, he was paying for it. Severely.
Laying there on the bed, simply replaying core memories from his life and regretting;
Not putting in enough effort in high school to get into his college of choice,
Having to drop out of the college he’d eventually attended to take care of his old man,
Not retiring the old man from his strenuous job,
Wasting away his years at jobs that were well below his paygrade,
Failing at trying his hand at new things due to his crippling fear of failure,
Having to live in this dump of a place he called home, a consequence of the poverty he’d wrought upon himself...
The man couldn’t help but wonder;
Would things be different had I given myself the clarity and courage to overcome the fear of failure?
With misty eyes, he slowly closed his eyes, a trail of tear running down his cheek.
What use was there crying over spilt milk though?
This was the consequence of the complacency he’d so much lived by.
And whether he liked it or not, this was now the reality he’d have to keep living in for the foreseeable future.
No sooner had he felt himself whisked away by slumber, Aiden suddenly shot up from the bed!
Drenched in sweat, his breathing heavy and his pupils dilated, a terrified expression was plastered on his features.
Despite the beautiful rays of the morning sun spilling through his blinds, it did nothing to dampen the fear etched into his features.
Staring down at his palms, Aiden watched them tremble even as he slowly curled them into tight fists.
Even now, everything he’d experienced felt real.
Too real.
It was almost like he had been peering into his future. Yet, the current scenario made him feel otherwise.
’What a god-awful drea--’
That thought hadn’t fully registered when something flickered into his field of vision.
It was a system panel, it’s translucent interface a deep green.
By all accounts, Aiden wanted to believe he was just hallucinating, perhaps even still dreaming.
Yet, the message on the interface froze him in place;
| The future isn’t set in stone, child. |
| All you’ve seen, is a glimpse of what it could be if you continue on the path you are now. |
| But with this, you should gain the clarity you need, and the courage that you seek. |
Then, as if shed of its consciousness, the message assumed a robotic tone.
| Optimizing celestial energy to host’s preference... |
| Optimization, complete. |
| Welcome, Aiden North, to your Life System. |
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[Aiden North] – Life Points – [0]
⸢Stats
› Mind — D
› Strength — E-
› Stamina — F+
› Agility — F-
› Charm — C
⸢Skills
› {Empty}.
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Staring blankly at the screen, everything more or less still bewilderingly unreal to him, Aiden heard the cabinet of the kitchen opening.
In an instant, he jumped off the bed and rushed downstairs.
Arriving at the kitchen, he watched as his father pulled out a glass cup, quietly whistling to himself as he went through the motions.
Staring at him, watching him remain completely unaware of the future, Aiden walked over to him teary-eyed.
"Hey, champ. Lovely morning, we’re having eh--?"
Richard didn’t get the chance to finish his greetings before his son assaulted him in a crushing hug.
Stunned, and unable to react in time, he recovered just as fast and then asked, a genuine concern seeping into his tone;
"Aiden. What’s wrong? Is everything okay?"
Aiden simply remained quiet in response, his eyes snapped tightly shut as he chose to savor the moment as best as he could instead.
Though he and his father hadn’t had all that great of a relationship in his younger years and early tweens, all that had changed after his mother had kicked the bucket.
With no other person to grieve with, he was forced to open up to the man, and so did the man himself with him.
Now, he was all that he truly had.
And though he’d always known that was the case, it hit harder after what he’d experienced.
Realizing that his son just wanted to remain as is, Richard simply indulged him, his hand landing softly on his back with gentle pats in reciprocation.
"Whatever it is, it’s gonna be alright, okay?" the man assured him with a fatherly warmth, one that Aiden responded to with a tight nod on his chest.
A few minutes later, he disentangled from the hug, smiling with warmth and appreciation as he replied;
"Yeah. Thanks, Pops. I just... I had a really bad dream."
"Wanna talk about it?" Richard offered, his gaze understanding.
"Nah, it’s alright. I’m good now." he replied with a warm smile.
"You sure?" the concerned father pressed a bit.
"Hundred percent." Aiden assured him.
"Alright. But remember, if you ever need someone to talk to, I’m always here. Always." Richard placed a hand on his shoulder.
Nodding simply, a warm smile on his features, Aiden proceeded to make his way out of the kitchen and back to his room.
However, just before he left, he spoke;
"Pops,"
"Yeah?" Richard responded, his head tilted slightly.
"Stay off the brandy, and also the smoking at work. I know why you do it, but it’s still pretty bad for your health, nonetheless."
No sooner had he said that, he disappeared into the corridor and up the stairs.
Richard’s hand froze on the knob of the cabinet, his expression stunned.
Not once had his son ever called him out for drinking, or smoking for that matter, both of which were habits he’d picked up after his wife had died to cope with the loss.
These days though, it had become an addiction he couldn’t quite get over.
Flitting his gaze between his glass cup, and then the cabinet, he reluctantly returned the cup into the cabinet and then retrieved a mug with a resigned sigh.
"Coffee, it is."
Meanwhile, Aiden was once again seated on his bed, his palms interlocked.
Staring at the panel in his field of vision, his gaze burned right though it with a fiery gaze.
There was no way in hell he was going to let the future play out as it did.
And though he couldn’t quite recall everything that had happened in the dream, three core experiences stood out to him.
His father’s death.
The life of poverty he lived.
And the bitter regrets he felt at not giving his all for the things he wanted in life.
Burning those experiences into his mind, he kept replaying them in his mind, over and over and over again.
Aiden had always wanted clarity in his life.
Clarity that would give him direction on the path he wanted to take, and the person he wanted to become.
Now, he had it. He had all the clarity he could ever need.
And though the fear of failure still ate at him even now, there was something far worse he now feared.
Seeing the future he had dreamt about becoming a reality.
With that mindset, he immediately set three goals for himself.
’I’m going to retire my dad before he turns fifty,’
’I’m going to give it my all to get into the college of my choice,’
’And I’m going to be filthy rich! Enough that poverty sees me and it skedaddles the other way.’
No sooner had he settled on those goals, his system responded in kind;
[Ding!]
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