[1]
This is the story of a man named J.
J lived alone in an apartment. Every day, J would wake up at around 5:00 to eat breakfast, take a shower, and get dressed up for work. He would walk to the bus stop where he would usually sit near the window in the third row. He'd get off the bus at the bus stop near his place of employment and would ride the elevator up to the 23rd floor where his office is located. He would then check the notifications on his social media accounts before doing any actual work. That's his way of getting ready.
J worked for an internet marketing company specializing in search engine optimization and BPO. His job was simple. He would get the links from a keyword plan for the month provided by his boss and would look for blogs online for him to comment on. Every blog is different, he would often say to himself while "working." After commenting, he would tally his progress on a separate form and then the search starts once again.
At around 10:30, he would have his coffee break. He often drank his coffee alone and isolated. Sometimes his officemates would stop by and say hi. Most of his coffee break conversations would only last for about 3 minutes. He would go back to his workstation after two cups of caffeine-reduced coffee.
Lunches were as uneventful as his mornings. He'd eat outside of the office in a fast food restaurant to make his lunch break quick. He would always order the same food in the same restaurant and eat it on the same spot, near the window where he can see the passing ghosts and vehicles. He'd be done with his meal in less than 35 minutes before going back to his office and doing some more work.
In the afternoon, sometimes someone somewhere would ask to call for a meeting. That someone is usually his boss and that somewhere is usually in the boss' office or in the "conference room." The term "conference room" is used very loosely in this context due to the fact that the room is actually just a narrow room with a long table made out of hardwood placed in the center surrounded by black office chairs. He would bring a pen and a notepad and he would take down notes as the presenter would explain his report. J doesn't even really need to do this but does it anyway. He liked taking down notes. The meeting would always end in an applause, however boring or wrong the reporter was.
He would go home at around 4:30. He doesn't travel back home immediately, though. He would always go to this convenience store near his office first to buy some stuff, either something important or something that would peak his interest. For today, he bought some shoe glue because his tennis shoes were ruined. He had those shoes for almost a decade now, not even once did the idea of replacing those old shoes ever crossed J's mind. He loved those pairs of shoes so much.
He would eat his dinner alone in his apartment. He would eat it while watching TV or surfing the net on his computer. After eating, he would either surf the net or watch some more cable television before he would go to the bathroom to brush his teeth and wash his face. He would finally go to that ever wonderful world of dreams at around 9:00. This has been J's routine for every day of every month of every year. Nothing changed in his stagnant life. He hasn't seen his high school and college friends in a while. He hasn't even greeted his parents for weeks. He never had any hobbies or a girlfriend to distract him from his mundane every day life. Yet, even though his soul is rotting because of this repetitive cycle he calls his life, he relished his every day routine. This is my life, he would say to himself on occasion. I am content.
I am happy.
Truth be told, he wasn't really happy. Deep inside, he knows this truth. He buries this truth within himself. The real reason why he does this is because he is afraid and he liked to lie to himself. He would lie saying that he was content, that he was happy. This was all just a big lie because he still believed that things will be better along this path.
===
[2]
This is a story of a man named J.
He woke up on a day like any other. It was a regular Wednesday morning like all of the regular Wednesday mornings that he had so far. He had his usual breakfast, took his regular shower, and wore his time-tested office clothes. He followed his morning routine on the dot and without hesitation. There's only one particular deviation from his usual routine that would forever change J.
He had arrived at his destination, the usual office building that he's been going to for the past half decade. He stood in the middle before the staircase, ready to start the day. But before he took his first step towards the lobby, he decided to look to his left. He saw the old cafe that he used to go to when he was younger, before his work routine consumed him. He hasn't been to that cafe for years. He almost forgot that it existed. And it made him wonder. "What happened for the last five years that I have been doing this? Why do I let myself rot? How can I live like this?" These questions raced in his mind, bothering him. He felt like the cafe was calling him and he was destined to go there on that very day.
And so, taking up all of the courage that was left inside him, he took the first step and went straight to that cafe.
After entering the establishment, he felt a tidal wave of nostalgia. He remembered that he almost sat on every table there, and every time he was there, something important happens to him. On the table adjacent to the counter, he finished his first novel. It was a crime novel about a tough-as-nails detective who must solve a murder so heinous that it threatens the security of the entire nation. He never got to publish it though. On the booth near the window on the right, he celebrated his birthday. He missed being here.
"Can I get your order, sir?" the barista at the counter asked J as he approached it. He only ordered a regular brewed coffee and a doughnut. He paid for his second breakfast and he got his meal. He sat on the last place he hasn't sat on, the booth on the right near the door.
---xxx---
Their conversation started when J saw her looking for a spot, their eyes met halfway. Then they exchanged smiles and it went on to simple hellos.
J shared his table with a silver haired woman. She was neither too young nor too old. She was just at the right age. She was at the right age to be making her own decisions in life; to be there in that cafe at that time of the day; and to be drinking that tall cup of mocha cappuccino she's been drinking. He sensed that she was a peculiar woman, someone wise beyond her years.
This is the story of a man named J and a silver haired woman named O. O lived in a townhouse along this stretch of road. She dyed her hair from onyx to silver because she wanted to fully express herself, much to her conservative family's chagrin. J then shared his life to her. He told her about his house, his job, and his life. She listened... for a while and then she told him that she observes everyone.
Every day, according to her, she would visit this cafe. She would sit in that booth and she would immediately see the office building just across the street. She told J that every time she sees him go to his office, she can't help herself but to pity him. She told him how mind-numbing it is to live in a life like that. J, after hearing all of this, felt sad but he silently agreed. He realized that he doesn't want to live like this anymore. Life is slowly dripping away in him and, if he doesn't do anything immediately, he would just let the years pass him by and he would miss every opportunity to do more things in this life.. He then cursed the quicksand that he calls his job. He felt pity for himself.
"Come find me," O said to him after she finished her coffee. She wrote her phone number on a tissue and she gave it to him. "Call me. I'll show you what you've been missing. Promise me. I'll wait for you."
After that she left him there dumbfounded. And she left him wanting for more.
===
[3]
This is the story of a man named J.
J could not stop thinking about the silver haired woman and she occupied every nook, cranny, and crevice of his stagnant mind for the whole day. He held the tissue paper that contained the woman's number for almost the whole day as well. He held it while he was in the photocopying room. He held it during a meeting held by someone somewhere. He could not concentrate on his work. She left him with a hole inside his heart and J knew what to do next.
He dialed the number immediately after he got off from work.
---xxx---
This is the story of a silver haired woman named O and a man named J. J called her after he was done with all of his work. She told him to meet up with her at 6:00 over at the hill that overlooked the city. J knew this place perfectly well, yet he doesn't know why. A big chunk of his memories were missing. He only remembers that he was always there with someone. Was it a friend or a relative? He couldn't tell.
Every step that J took, a rush of adrenaline pumps through him. He couldn't wait. He cannot wait. He must see this woman. She saw things and she knew what he needed. He needed a break, a detachment from all of the things that kept him from doing the things that he loved for the past 5 years. He was ready.
J took a short cut through the streets, the alleyways, the parks. J initially walked, then he jogged, and then he ran. He ran past the convenience store, the bus stop, and then his apartment building. J ran as if his life depended on it. He ran to the answers he was looking for.
"I want my life back," J screamed in his thoughts as he ran through the city.
He arrived at his destination. Sweat dripped from his forehead, his lungs out of breath, his knees and legs weak from miles and miles of constant running. He hasn't ran that far and that fast for so long. Every deep breath he took, he considered it as a sign of his own liberation. His pilgrimage was only beginning.
The silver haired woman was already there sitting with her knees close to her body. "Just in time," she told J. He smiled, and then he laughed before sitting down beside her.
---xxx---
Slowly, the lights from all of the buildings, the streets, and the establishments soon illuminated the city below. Its lights, colors, and it's own chaotic harmony gradually made the city more alive.
This is the story of a man named J and a silver haired woman named O. O sat there for the longest time before he arrived. She wanted to show him what he has missed so far. "Why am I doing this for him?" she asked herself in her thoughts. "Was it just out of pity? Or was it because I saw my own reflection in his slow demise? Or maybe it was because of something more important..."
The silver haired woman pointed at the city, the godforsaken city. She told him to look at the beauty of this city, this wretched city. And so he did. He studied it without missing any detail. He studied how the people moved so fast. He saw everyone doing their redundant things. Waking up, going to school or work, and then going back home. J reflected on how his life is no different from all of those repetitive people, those backwards people.
"Why do you want to do this?" J finally asked her, breaking the silence between them.
"Because I want you to be free."
"Free?"
"Yes, free. You have been trapped in a cycle of your own undoing. I want you to realize that. I want you to break the shackles that held you for so long."
"Why? You just met me," he said, looking towards her.
"No, I have known you for so long. I was an important part of your past. You helped me before and I'm helping you now. I want you to remember your past. I want you to remember... me."
"Who... are you?"
She hesitated to tell him the truth. He saw a tear running down from her cheeks. Her voice cracked slightly. "I'm O, and that's all you have to know for now."
More questions bothered him. How does she truly know who he was? Why is he with her? Who is she? Who was he? What's going to happen?
But none of it mattered... for now. All of his questions will be answered in some other time. He sighed. She sniffed and then wiped the single tear from her green eyes, the tear of the universe. He just wanted to rest. She just wanted to be with him again.
"J, it's time for you to take things slow and take your life back," O said. He looked up and saw the few stars that already decorated the dark night sky.
"I want to be free," he said. He reached up towards the heavens before O sent him back down to earth and kissed him, their lips interlocked in an unknown passion. Emotions running high, questions unanswered. They felt like it was the right action for the moment. Hearts beating fast, eyes closed, lips in contact. They went on like this for moments.
Then everything went black. And then J found himself back on the bed of his small apartment with his alarm clock buzzing.
---xxx---
This is the story of a man named J.
===
[Epilogue]
This is the story of a man named J.
J lived alone in an apartment. Every day, J would wake up at around 5:00 to eat breakfast, take a shower, and get dressed up for work. As he wore his usual jacket to work, he felt something unusual in his inner pocket. It was a small rectangular piece of paper. He pulled it out and he saw a photograph. It was a photograph of a couple dressed to the nines standing in front of an altar. The woman wore a long white gown while the man wore a black tuxedo. As he observed it more, he noticed who were this happy young couple. It was him and the silver haired woman.
It wasn't just a dream.
He turned the picture around and he saw a handwritten note. "If you find this picture, call me," it said. "You know where to find me." Below the message was the silver haired woman's phone number. He knew what to do.
---xxx---
This is the story of a man and a woman.
J and O met each other at a cafe four years ago. It was a cliche boy-meets-girl story and it developed into more. They went on first dates, and then to second dates, until they no longer tallied how many dates they have been on. They fell in love, gave each other gifts, and made love on occasion. It was only a year later when J finally realized it was time for him to settle down and marry O. Their wedding day was the happiest day of their lives.
This is the story of a woman named O.
O looked for her husband. He went missing for days, then months, and then years. She found him doing his usual routine with no memory of his past. She never knew why he had lost his memories. All that she knew was she wanted him to come back to her. She waited for the right moment to approach him. Every day, she sat on the booth in the cafe where they first met. She waited diligently. Until that moment finally arrived when he broke his routine and looked back at the cafe. She went to the establishment and he was already there. She tried to hide her pain, her tears, her sorrow, and her happiness when she sat on the booth with him.
It was the second happiest day of her life.
---xxx---
"I've been waiting for you Justin."
"Olivia..." he replied.
---xxx---
This was the story of a man named Justin and a silver haired woman named Olivia. And the both of them were happy.