Everyone has a downfall, an undoing. That moment in everyone's lives where the world inevitably comes crashing down to your feet and you're left with nothing but shattered memories and fragments of 'what could have beens' and 'whys'. Our downfall is...
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Prologue "Before there was us."
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Isaac Rowland could have been anything he ever wanted to be.
He could have been charming smiles and melodic lullabies. He could have been the calm after a storm putting your heart at piece when it arrives. The thrill of sneaking out of the house for the very first time, the desire to run through the sprinklers on a hot summer morning. The adrenaline rush you feel through your chest when you receive a kiss for the very first time, heart fluttering against your ribcage as you lean in a second time.
But he was none of those things.
Isaac Rowland.
Two words. Twelve letters. Four syllables. And of course, what you could describe to be the embodiment of chaos itself.
Because Isaac Rowland wasn't sweet laughter or pleasant smiles, he wasn't the calm after the storm, or the adrenaline rush of lips feeling your skin for the first time.
He was the epitome of eyes like daggers and drunken kisses, late night talks and broken hearts. He was the hurricane destroying everything in its path leaving nothing but a sense of sorrow and loss behind. The trembling of your hands as you try to dry your tear stained cheeks, the pain in your chest as you watched your first love leave you behind on a cold winter night.
Because Isaac Rowland wasn't lovely nor was he sweet.
He was what he let the world mold him into, but most importantly, Isaac Rowland was real.
Of course, that is until he wasn't.
Everyone has a downfall, an undoing. That moment in everyone's life where the world inevitably comes crashing down to your feet and you're left with nothing but shattered memories and fragments of what could have beens and whys. Our downfall is inexorable, and sometimes, it destroys as fast as it appears.
Isaac's undoing had been following him in the shadows ever since he could remember. But what led to his ruination was a bottle of sake, a light so bright it could blind eyes, a crashing sound so loud it shattered glass, and the clock almost striking midnight.
It was late at night, around 20 minutes before the clock could hit twelve. Small pellets of rain continued to pound against the gravel, bouncing off the rooftops of the darkened city of Tokyo. Isaac Rowland found himself drunk and alone, aimlessly wondering the almost empty city, a sense of regret filling his stomach as he eyed the gray sky.
Numb.
That was his current state as he took another sip on the almost empty bottle of sake, no longer walking nor thinking straight, he hummed along a forgotten tune, letting the rain soak him wet as he stood directly under the darkening clouds of the already darker sky, relaxing as the thunder filled his ears.
He was supposed to be meeting one of his friends that had called a few minutes prior to see if he was free to hang out. Isaac, drunk and alone accepted the invitation and both agreed to meet at a convenience store not so far from Isaac's apartment.
The walk didn't take long, and he soon found himself to be standing across the street of a dimly lit store with a flashing light that said open. He looked at it, a smirk spreading across his chapped lips, maybe they could still sell him some alcohol.
He looked both sides before crossing the street when suddenly his phone rang, he squinted his eyes, looking around to see if his friend had arrived still walking towards the convenience store, he picked up the phone, his voice coming out in a slur as he greeted his friend.
Still, he didn't get to the other side of the street, his vision was suddenly blinded by a white light, a loud crash filled his ears and he was sure it didn't come from the lightning that was currently storming the sky. He closed his eyes, a ringing in his ears that was now starting to be the cause of a forming headache.
The impact pushed him back, landing on the hard cement as he heard himself collide with the gravel. So head against the soil, lying on the ground, he found himself not moving, not making a sound, and not being able to breath.
His heart, was it beating?
He could feel his consciousness slip right from under his fingertips, and now as his body laid on the cold cement, he didn't know what to feel.
Eyes closed, tears against cheeks, ringing ears, muffled blares, and an almost lifeless body lying on the ground.
The clock hit 12:00 a.m, and as of today, the ruination of Isaac Rowland had left him in a state that could be described as neither dead or alive.
His ruination, would eventually lead him to her.
It would lead him to the girl who could see infinity.
There was a reason why Isaac Rowland was chaos, and it was so that he could survive the hurricane that was his downfall.
The rain poured over his body, soaking him as the scene unfolded around his laying presence.
He could only help but stare back at himself as he tried to make sense of the situation. He tried screaming, screaming at the top of his lungs.
No one heard him.
No one looked at him.
Was this some kind of twisted nightmare?
He tried catching a glimpse of himself on the window of the convenience store, but he saw nothing.
The only thing he saw was his body laying motionless, an arriving ambulance, and a familiar black car. And he noticed, how he no longer inhabited his own body.
Fate works in many ways, some of which we could never come to understand.
