What Do 100 Days Mean?

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97 days earlier.

"I listened to you."

Friday night, 10:45pm, his voice pierces the silence of the audience. The professor raises his head, frowning.

"Really?"

"Yes. About Louis Tomlinson. I talked to him."

"And how did it go?"

"He doesn't know it's me."

"What?"

"I wrote to him on the campus conversation forum without telling him who I was."

"Why not?"

"I didn't want him to start judging me based on rumors and stereotypes."

"I think that's a good idea."

"I asked him what he would do if he only had 100 days to live."

"Harry...

"I know.

"Are you still going to do it?"

"Yes."

"You know that's not an option.

"It's a way out for me.

"Harry... Death doesn't solve anything. You're young, you have so much more to do."

"I don't want to talk about it.

"Ok then. Did he answer?

"Yes."

"What did he say?"

"That he would try to live."

"I like his answer.

"Me, too.

"What did you tell him?"

"I didn't answer.

"Will you try?"

"Try what?"

"Live."

"97 days, yes."

***

110 days earlier.

Because there are fears that can touch the soul, words that obsessively ring in your ears, and situations that leave you no choice. Which you can't react to in any way. You can't find a way out. What could a Philosophy Professor do after his 19-year-old student told him he didn't want to live anymore?

"One year, Harry. Keep it for another year."

"A hundred."

"A hundred?"

"A hundred days.

"Why a hundred?"

"Because it's a round number.

"You know I don't agree with you, right?"

"I know."

"And when will these "100 days" begin?"

"When I'm sure I want to die."

***

8 days before the first email

Alone in his room. The blade cuts through his skin again. His wrist is practically bursting. Everything is horizontal. He doesn't want to die tonight. Just feel the pain. It's hard without her, and cocaine helps you forget, even for a moment. It penetrates into every cell of his body. Into the blood that runs down to the floor. He sees her face, her blond hair, her eyes, her smile...

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