The year 2026 settled into Richard's memory with the clarity of a scar, vivid and impossible to forget. From the outside, it was the year he finally broke away from the version of himself who drifted through life without direction.
But from within, from the eyes of an omniscient witness, it was the year he let go of the boy he used to be and stepped into a world that would devour him before remaking him. He was eighteen then, painfully young, burning with ambition yet hollowed by uncertainty.
City X towered over him like a restless titan, neon lights flickering against cracked sidewalks. He walked those streets with the weight of desperation in his chest, clutching dreams too big for his worn-out shoes. He told friends and family he was taking a gap year, a little pause before choosing his path. But the truth was simpler and harsher. He didn't know where he belonged.
College felt too small. Too slow. Too ordinary for what he believed he needed to become.
