-Hello Mr. Frank. I’m calling in behalf of **** Attorney and Law for the debt amounting to ******. Due to you being unable to pay the sum which includes interests and legal fees, we have decided to take legal actions on behalf of A bank.

 

Beep Beep Beep~

 

Frank hung his head down after hearing the recorded message on his phone. He was knee-deep into debt. Holding an empty bottle in one hand and the phone on the other, he looked up at his ceiling. The lights were flickering, the bulb almost about to give in. He looked around at his apartment slash room. A small bed, one window, kitchen, and bath. His room was stuffy from the smell of cigarettes which was scattered all over the place. Empty bottles and cans of alcohol littered around his feet. Food containers that are now filled with mold. Insects running around devouring his leftovers. His place was just like a dump.

 

He was already used to the people calling him, harassing him, asking for money he did not have. Phone calls did not bother him that much, it was the home visits that use force that troubles him the most. It was something he was not proud of.

 

After incurring a lot of debts from banks, he went to another source that people should not go to. What’s worse was that his parents are now being hounded by these individuals.

 

He did not know what went wrong.

 

He thought back at his life.

 

He was only 37.

 

At the young age of 25, he became a team leader at their management company. He handled stars which included actors, singers, and models.

 

His father was a well-known director while his mother is a successful businesswoman.

 

His mother, using his father’s connection, made a management company which handles talents. He grew up knowing the world of the entertainment business which made him interested in working there like his father and mother.

 

Everything was smooth sailing when he managed stars. They were able to garner attention with the public and became famous. His name started appearing in news and magazines.

 

Not just as a son of a famous director or a management company CEO.

 

He was recognized for his own hard work and the success of the talents under him.

 

However, things changed when he got more and more successful.

 

He started to handle bigger things.

 

In the end, not everything was successful.

 

Movies, songs, commercials started to plop.

 

His once shining record of success turned to ridicule in a blink of an eye.

 

This led to him deciding to take things on his own hands.

 

Growing up in the industry led him to believe that he can make movies, songs, and commercials successful.

 

He borrowed money to produce scripts that the thoughts would become hits.

 

He signed unknown songwriters.

 

Debt kept piling up, more money being spent but no income was generated from his endeavor.

 

He used his father’s and mother’s name in order to borrow more money.

 

After some time of being unable to pay for his debt. There was no other place to loan him money, which led him to people who one should not borrow money from.

 

The visage of his once handsome face was left with nothing but the face of a haggard middle-aged man. All that was left in the body of a man tired, wrinkles on his forehead showing, hair thinning from stress.

 

The time running around, trying to make things work all ended up into nothing.

 

The company his mother worked so hard to make successful was used as collateral to one of his loans.

 

His father’s name was tarnished due to his son’s actions. The creditors too started to ask money from his family.

 

He sat on top of his bed, holding one empty bottle in his hand, a phone on the other.

 

There were no chairs for visitors in his room.

 

No one was going to visit.

 

If ever there were visitors, the would leave as soon as they come in.

 

The people that became successful from his earlier years?

 

They deserted him as fast as they could when things went downhill.

 

Frank wondered where he went wrong?

 

Was he too greedy?

 

Was it wrong to wish for something more?

 

To be part of history.

 

To make something that will become a legacy.

 

Frank looked around the small room one last time.

 

He dropped the empty bottle and phone at the floor.

 

He reached for the small bedside drawer near his bed.

 

~Clink

 

He unlocked the drawer.

Dragged the wooden drawer out.

 

He did not need to look inside to know what was inside.

 

He gently touched the thing that was inside.

 

The cold touch reminded him of the coldness his heart was feeling right now.

 

He gripped the metal thing inside the drawer and took it out carefully.

 

Once he saw the glint of the metal as the light hit it, he had one final thought.

 

Would I have done things differently when given another chance?

 

Slowly

 

Very slowly and carefully

 

He pointed the cold metal to his forehead.

 

He felt empty.

 

He felt defeated.

 

~Click

 

His fingers touched the trigger.

 

~Bang

 

Frank felt that everything went into slow motion.

 

His body swayed from the impact of the cold metal barrel.

 

~Thud

 

His body fell on the bed.

 

His sheets bloomed with red ink that dyed the sheets wet.

 

His body shivered.

 

He felt cold.

 

Different from the coldness from his heart.

 

I wanted to at least apologized to my parents.

 

His final thoughts.

 

His eyes trickled with warm tears as he closed them.