“Your coffee is available. Thank you for ordering at Sunbucks, we hope you come again.”

After I took a sip of my hot Frappe, a burst of flavor went down my throat, jolting my entire body awake. 

I glanced at the elevator that had closed and sat on a nearby bench that overlooked the apartment complex.

…on the ground floor, near the stairs, where a small coffee machine stuck out from the beige walls, I observe the clock nearby to pass the time. And when the weight of my cup had been lifted, I flung it towards a garbage bin and took to the streets with my mountain bike. 

The air was cold and only a handful of lamps illuminated the empty street. The sun wasn't even up yet but I pedal forward without much thought; who should I be today, what should I do?

A fleeting moment in the dark. A sinister man with ashen hair. Born on an ill-starred night. His name speaks of disaster.

“Memories make you.”

…I arrived at the front of the building and scanned the area. My fingers shiver as I place the store sign upfront. I stared at the door and pull up my phone to check the time.

“Darling, early again?” a voice said. “Have you heard about the Lyngvanie scam? Looks like a paycheck deduction to us low-level employees…"

Silence ensues as he draws near the door. He has a red face and a bald head and wore a yellow nectar tie.

“Right. I hear a woman was here yesterday. Told me you couldn't handle the pressure,” he says. “I see why you're quitting. Come in, you're drenched in sweat.”

He revealed a key from his bag and unlocked the door to let me in. 

“Our manager decided to celebrate last night. You weren't here though. She said that she hated you for being a wallflower.”

“How many were you?”

He glanced at the ceiling as if remembering something and clicked his tongue.

“Angelo, Linda, Nicholas, and… me. Here, take this towel.”

“Did Linda say anything about me?”

He hesitated to speak and his face held a sort of look you'd give a miserable young man.

“Maybe you shouldn't go to the tournament, she said. Though she said so jokingly.”

I wrapped the towel around my head.

“…I hear you finished your novel?”

“It's published. Already done.”

“That's great! Cool. So, can I get a copy?”

“Not until our shift is over,” I say. 

—my body trembled under the weight of the car and my clothes were stained with blood. An unfathomable and indescribable pain wracked my body.

“Great job, son.”

“Heave—”

Two on the sidewalk in the opposite direction. Visibility is low and I can't see them clearly but I'm certain they're female. The pedals rotate and my bike moves forward. My face is hit by the freezing air and thought, how fast can I go?

My heart pounded and I felt my grip loosen. Sweat on my forehead. Legs slightly bent. Push right pedal, push left pedal. Like a chant with no rest, a cycle with no end. 

They'll be impressed—“Lookout!”

A canal in the distance. But the brakes aren't enough. I fall regardless and the impact instantly kills me. My bike, I sat on you, I fall, what happens to my balls?

“—wake up, boy. Darling? Pink men? What are you talking about? The Sarquis is calling. We attack the nation Ella Fide by dawn. Get up and follow me.”

“…where am I?”