2 Chapter 01: An Unfamiliar World (1/2)

A cold breeze blew through my hair, snowflakes dartled down leaving a fresh trail of white as it covered the sides of the streets during this bright and shiny winter day.

Outside there was no one to be found...

Silence filled the reaches of the streets,

only to be broken by occasional rustling of leaves as the freshly fallen snow became to heavy to hold, the cracking of snow being pushed together could be heard over the freezing cold winds as they swept the snowflakes further than the eye could see.

Curious how the crystals would taste, I stuck out my tongue. The snowflakes dartled down on my tongue soundlessly melting, as they left only but a droplet of water. Just then a pile if snow to heavy to hold by the tree branches fell on top of me.

”Cold!”

Being bright and cheerful, I couldn't care less about my short blond hair getting all wet, brushing the melting snow away without a care in the world I styled it on the spot resulting in spikey brushed back hair. My light blue eyes brimmed with life realizing I had nothing to stress about anymore. Finally finishing school I slacked a well deserved sigh of relieve enjoying my new found free time.

”Woohoo!”

Playing all kinds of games, having movie and series marathons. You name it. Knowing I had all the time in the world, the excitement became almost to much to bare as I couldn't wait to start.

Thinking of gaming, what would my online team mates be doing? I always did love to play against or together, sharing my experiences with the community online.

You see there is something peculiar about me,

I wasn't like any other average person.

Not because I was extremely talented or had dashing looks or an unavoidable presence.

It was because of something else, something most people might not be struggling with until they became old or when being unfortunate getting into an accident.

I am telling you this because, most people won't... keeping it to themselves wanting to be noticed, but not me I will get myself noticed by expressing all the good and bad things about myself. So that I can go trough life knowing there is nothing to worry about, so that I can have the confidence to go out and share my experiences with the world.

You see... it was because I always struggled with walking, not learning to until the age of two, even then struggling more than most. Falling down after a few steps, which is why my parents arranged the use of a wheelchair for the long distances outside seeing as it did not improve over time.

Being born to early I easily caught the tiniest of sparks that could make me sick, resulting in spending my first two years being constantly sick.

Not giving up, I fought my way up enjoying my life to the fullest, always with a smile on my face.

While I was able to walk inside the house now, as these were always short distances.

After a few steps, I was always able to grab onto the walls, chairs, tables or couches to find my way around the house and prevent me from falling.

Because of this, it was rare to see someone like me in a wheelchair I mostly was the centerpiece of attention in school for both positive and negative experiences, there where even those who dared to bully a poor young man like me by pushing me out of my chair, laughing as I froliced like a fish would gasp for air on the drylands. Struggling to get back to the chair.

This happened occasionally and stopped rather quickly as I didn't take these actions lightly.

There where even times when I let it seem as if I fell out of my chair just to catch the bully off guard and counter his actions, pulling him to the ground on equal footing. As you can see, I knew how to defend myself... But don't mind me, we are getting off topic.

As I live on my own now no one can bother me. Especially now that I finally finished school.

It was time to focus on one of my hobbies. Gaming!

Strategically building armies and conquering the opponent, slowly observing, finding the weak spots and exploiting them to the road of victory.

Like I did with the bullies haha. Always learn from your experiences, good or bad. Because there is always a reason behind the actions of the individual.

As I learned this rather fast in real life anything goes in the battle for survival. In this urban jungle, the same rule applies, the survival of the fittest.

[Captured the enemies Base]

”Man, I wish I could share these experiences with someone battling together, sharing creativity and opinions. That would be great”.

Because of my chair I never really got the chance to approach women either let alone find the courage to talk to them. The weirdest thing thought... was that for some reason they always approached me, wanting to help me and telling me that I was cute.

However... when I actually found the courage,

I got shot down because of this damned chair. This left me scarred, making myself into the biggest obstacle. I should never have let that come so far.

Maybe the biggest problem, was that I just didn't pick up on the signs they gave off.

”I wish I had a chance to gain the strength and confidence needed to walk this earth being proud of life... Ah... who am I kidding? I shouldn't bitch about this stuff and just grab the changes when the time is right. At least... that's what I should be doing.”

Frustrated and upset, knowing I shouldn't worry about these things I went to the fridge to grab something to drink and eat as it was getting late. On my way there I opened the fridge to find that there was nothing left to drink or eat for that matter.

”Empty? Hmm... must have been that time again? Seems I have to grab something to eat and drink from the convenience store at the other side of town... oh well...”.

I looked at the clock in my room. with big, bright numbers, you could read the time.

[00:00]

”Midnight”.

I grabbed my wallet, picked up my keys from the table and put on a comfortable leather jacket for the freezing cold outside. You know, the ones with warm Woolley filling inside. Man, they are the best for these cold winter days I tell you!

”Since it's so cold outside I'll have to get warm cocoa before I go to bed, maybe it's a good idea to combine it with some kebab, right? Since I aced my exams I should allow myself a special treat once in a while”.

Making my way to the 24/7 Convenience Store I decided to take a short cut through the park as it would normally be rather quiet during these times.

Upon entry, there was no one to be found in the park. Completely abandoned, not even any stray birds, dogs or cats could be found at this hour.

Absolute silence...

Thinking of this... Not even the fountain in the middle was pouring out the water. Silence... Except... in the distance, rustling of leaves as a gust of wind gently blew past the trees.

The silence almost felt calming as I knew no one was anywhere to be found for meters on end.

[00:18]

It was past midnight when I finally arrived at the convenience store and found what I wanted, deciding to head back to my warm, comfortable and cozy home.

Since the route through the park was rather relaxing and quiet I decided to venture through it once more.

Before entering the park I realized I forgot my late night snack and went to the restaurant of an acquaintance of mine. For some reason,

he always opened the shop around midnight and stayed open till 04:00.

I won't tell anyone how to run a business but, I can tell you his family restaurant was booming.

Here in the city, it was common sense to smoke or eat weed in any way possible.

And seeing as most people get the munchies during such a session he thought it would be a killer idea to open a shop with some of the best munchies recipes he could think of.

For example, he had something called the hair salon.

It was a blend of french fries, lettuce, tomatoes and cucumber with a topping of sliced lamb meat on a bed of cheese. roasted in the oven till perfection marinaded in garlic saus. Thinking about it already made my mouth water.

But what made the man a genius is that he also had a version with rice instead of french fries. Thinking about this only made my mouth water more.

After a little while, I finally had everything I wanted and decided to go back home through the park.

When entering the park on my way back I could swear that I heard something... shouting...? Voices of people nearby...

”looking at the time they would probably be drunk or stoned.”

I giggled at the second thought knowing how epic it was.

I was almost at the center of the park when I got closer to the voices. Getting a better grasp of the noice. I was confused... before it sounded more friendly but now someone was screaming... shouting even.

”Help! Don't touch me you creep... let go of me!”