The Shadows Awaken

Chapter 1: Rebirth

The simple day-to-day life and interactions paint a grey and tired picture. I can't take it anymore. It's not simply because it's boring. It's because of how unchangeable it appears. I wake up to the sound of my phone's alarm, getting up early enough to perform the most basic tasks before I have to work. Make coffee. Eat breakfast. Brush teeth. Change clothes. Drive. Cue the basic interactions.

"How is your day?"

"Oh, same old same old."

"It is like that isn't it."

"No helping it."

"Any plans for this weekend?"

"Nothing special."

We said the same things yesterday and the day before that. I wish there was more to it. The truth, however, is the dream killer and reality is the one who delivers it with readiness. Sitting in my office, alone and tired, my thoughts began to drift subtly to childhood ideas. When I was little and asked what I wanted to be when I grew up my immediate response was always:

"A hero!"

And the immediate response would be something along the lines of:

"There are a lot of heroes like doctors, firefighters, and teachers."

That's not what I meant. And it killed me a little each time someone didn't understand. I wanted to be a hero. A person who carried a sword and shield and fought evil. Who was strong and protected the weak. But now, having become more of a cynic from being misunderstood, I don't like heroes as much. I certainly had no interest in being any of those. Now all I want is for some excitement in my life.

While I was growing up, I would do many activities outside of school. Taking martial arts, instrument lessons, and craft shops. What martial arts? What instruments? What crafts? Why, all of them. As many as I could learn and my parents were willing to pay for. I even played a few sports. My thirst for knowledge sprang from my hopes that my life would become more exciting.

"The more I do, the more likely something is to happen."

Or so I thought. My last hope in a world where all childhood dreams die.

One year would go by. Then another. Somewhere along the way I grew up and became an adult working a job with no hopes left. They became hobbies, or so people would call them. But to me, they were skills I wasted and the source of a few regrets. I was left with nothing but dust collectors. That's a good name for my medals and trophies.

Especially the piano which has been left playless for years. My hands have likely forgotten all the songs I once knew. Where I to sit down and play silence would be the only sound made. Then the wooden chair, and other ideas I made, were left to decorate the living room. The chair at least saw some use, unlike my bed.

Sleep. I'm talking about sleep. I haven't been getting any of the other thing, but sleep's more important to me.

Standing up from my desk and walking to the middle of my office, it is spacious. To a degree. I took a boxing stance and began to shadow box. Thankfully, no one was around to see. Otherwise, I would die from embarrassment. Why would I be embarrassed? Because it's not the norm. The boring, tiresome norm. Definitely not the norm when you're making your own sound effects.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath to let out a long yawn. Opening them once more, I expected to see my unremarkable, empty, spacious office.

"Beautiful."

For a brief moment, what I witnessed captivated me. Seven women, dressed in black bodysuits against the moonlight faced away from me. We stood atop a building, over looking a castle city. One of them, with long elf ears and blond hair, turned to me, and with a smile, she spoke in absolute silence. Her expression by its self was a symphony to my heart. Once she finished, the delusion was shattered into pieces and I returned to reality.