"My dear Son,
I hope you're doing well & fine. But, as your father, I'm always worried about you. However, if you read this letter, I guess it'll be my last letter to you. By now, I've gone far beyond your imaginations. So, don't find me & better prepare for your future. We'll be happy to see you as a successful man. Goodbye, son! Maybe for forever.
Your loving dad."
After reading the letter silently, a tall and handsome middle-aged gentleman threw the letter into a dustbin, while lying leisurely on his armchair. By then, the sun had begun to set on the horizon. Slowly, tears began to flow from his eyes. The tears in his eyes began to sparkle in the light of the setting sun. His golden hair shimmered faintly in the light of the setting sun. His face became gloomy. He remained like in that state for about half an hour. After that, he wiped his tears and came in front a mirror in his room, saying in grief,
"Pa, if only you can watch me how I became one of the most successful men in the world right now! But, why did you leave me and mom, pa? And, how kind of farewell this is! I don't care! I only wanted to see you, pa! But, no worries, pa. No matter what, I will find you very soon, just you wait!"
After that, he left the room.
As he stepped out of the room, his temperament became cold and distant. He looked at the setting sun. Gradually, the twilight shadows descended onto the plains of the distant mountain range, clearly visible far from the corridor. He smiled coldly. After that, he silently approached forwards to the exit of the corridor. His footsteps echoed softly across the polished floor as he walked forward without looking back.
At the end of the corridor, two massive glass doors slid open on their own.
The moment he stepped out, many people at the surroundings stopped their conversations. A strong fear and trauma became clearly visible at their eyes. Everyone literally froze at that moment. Even the voices outside the hall seemed to quite down, as if the situation itself recognized his presence. Nobody couldn't talk anything at all in that moment.
At that moment, a black-suited lady hurried towards him from the outside.
"Sir, what have you decided on that matter?"
He did not respond. His eyes were fixed on the dark mountain range beyond the glass walls. The same eyes that had shed tears just minutes ago now looked distant… unreadable. Her golden hair was fluttering in the gentle breeze. He pushed a golden thread of his hair that had fallen in front of her forehead away.
The lady again asked in a trembled voice, "Sir, your decision?"
But he did not turn. He simply adjusted his voice and spoke in a cold and calm voice that carried across the entire hall.
"I won't go. It's my final decision. Now, you can go."
After saying that, he left the hall. The moment he left, everyone felt relieved. Then, one of them suddenly burst out in anger.
"What did he think of himself, huh? Just because he became the no 1 successful man, he feels so proud of himself now! But we never forget that incident..." Then suddenly he was interrupted by another man.
"Shush! Don't mention that incident ever! That scandal only blacklisted our career, not his. So, if it's mentioned again, our professional life will be at risk! So, be very cautious!"
"What do you mean? He had done the scandal and only we'll face the consequences instead of him! How unfair!"
Thus, many conversations started chattering across the hall. And, all the conversations were mainly focused on shaming him. However, the lady remained silent. A cunning smile ran through her lips, as if it was pretty much expected to her. After a few moments, she suddenly spoke in a calm voice that echoed across the hall.
"Ladies & Gentlemen, I'm very regretful to say that, according to boss said, this weekend, there won't be any picnic happening in that mountain edge. So, it's better you all forget about it."
After hearing that, everyone left the room with anger, frustration, and misery. But, no one didn't say anything except accepting the decision.
Outside the hall,
As he stepped outside the hall, flashy fluorescent road lights, high-rise buildings, the web of drones, and crowd of thousands of people widened his eyes. He somehow crossed the crossing and reached the parking lot, where his driver was waiting for him to pick him up to his hotel.
"I know you more than anyone else. And, you're not that cold at all, sir... So, if you show a little empathy towards your juniors, it won't be a big problem, sir!" While driving the car, the driver spoke to him.
"Uncle, you won't understand what I'm facing right now!" His voice became slightly soft.
"Yeah yeah, I don't know. And, I don't want to know of course. But, if you remain like this rude, arrogant, cold, distant; you mental health will deteriorate for sure, sir!" The driver taunted him as if he cared for him.
"Okok, now please drop me off at the hotel. I just want to freshen up." After saying that, he took a nap there in the AC.
After about an half of hour, the car stopped before a lavish hundred storey hotel. It was adorned with platinums and diamonds. Each floor was made with diamond plated glass floors and ceilings. Solar panels and multiple web of advanced drones always produced unlimited resources such as electricity, water, and networks to that hotel.
After reaching the entrance of the hotel, he moved out of the car and spoke to the driver,
"Uncle, now you can go home. Bye-bye."
After that, he entered the hotel and asked the receptionist to not disturbed him at night. Then he went on lift to reach to his room at the tenth floor.
After reaching his room. he first freshened up himself. After that, he sat on a couch and began to observe the city. A long sigh left from his mouth. He spoke under his breath, as though the walls might be listening.
"What a ruin this place has become… Ten years ago this city still breathed. There were trees lining the streets, their leaves whispering in the wind like quiet promises. People lived ordinary lives then... imperfect, slow, human. Morning sunlight fell on green fields, and the air carried the smell of soil after rain. Back then the sky felt open… endless. Alive."
He paused, staring through the glass at the silent horizon.
"And then they came."
The words seemed to linger in the air like a stain.
"They came and suddenly everything fell apart. We did not welcome them. They did not conquer us with weapons. No… they arrived with machines and miracles. They gave us a better life... progress, efficiency, perfection."
His fingers tightened slowly into a fist.
"And now look at us."
Outside, the distant towers flickered with a cold mechanical glow.
"Steel replaced trees. Circuits replaced roots. Even the wind feels artificial now, as if it has been measured and approved before it touches our skin. They say the technologies make life smoother… easier… safer."
A hollow laugh escaped him.
"Safer for whom?"
His eyes drifted toward the towering ridges that surrounded the city, black shapes against a dimming sky.
"And these mountains…"
His voice dropped to a whisper.
"They were never here."
He swallowed.
"This city was once part of a vast nation. Roads stretched outward for hundreds of miles. Trains came and went. People traveled freely. Then that year they arrived… and the earth itself began to move."
His gaze hardened, though fear trembled beneath it.
"They built these mountains like walls around a prison. Stone where there was once open land. A ring of silence sealing us away from the rest of the world. No roads. No signals. No way out."
He pressed his palm against the cold window.
"And we stayed."
A long silence followed.
"Sometimes I wonder what we became after that… citizens… or specimens."
His reflection stared back at him, pale and uncertain.
"Perhaps we are nothing more than puppets now. Or worse… offerings. Living sacrifices to their endless experiments."
His voice faltered.
"I cannot remember the last time I saw a bird in the sky… not one. No stray dogs in the alleys. No insects buzzing near the lights. No sound of life beyond our own footsteps."
He exhaled slowly, as if the air itself weighed upon him.
"It is as though the world outside us died… and we were never told."
His eyes shifted toward the distant towers again, glowing like watchful eyes in the dark.
"And them…"
The word barely formed on his lips.
"I fear them more with each passing day."
Silence filled the room once more. His face became more gloomy. After that, he slept in the room.
The next day,
The next day, after his bath, he came before the mirror. His yesterday's melancholy expression completely disappeared. Cold air brushed against his skin. He did not react. His movements were deliberate, mechanical with stripped of hesitation, stripped of vanity. He dressed not to impress, not to comfort himself, but to prepare.
He reached for the black uniform laid neatly across the chair. The fabric was stiff and precise, engineered rather than tailored, absorbing light instead of reflecting it. It seemed less like clothing and more like a declaration and authority without warmth.
The material settled against him like a second skin.
He fastened the collar carefully, tightening it until it rested firmly against his throat. Not uncomfortable. Not loose. Exact.
After that, he looked his reflection in the mirror for one last time. Under the dim light, His eyes held no softness. His face seemed an unnaturally calmness. After that, he turned off the light and stepped into the darkness without hesitation, as if it were the only place he truly belonged.
After leaving his room, he straight came at the parking lot where the driver already waited for him. About an half an hour later, he arrived at his organization.
The organization occupied nearly a ten acres of enclosed land, where creativity had become schedules and quiet efficiency. It had been a place of expressions of color, form, imagination. But it had become colder, more disciplined. Every brushstroke was documented, every design stored, every material accounted for with clinical precision. The long lines of worktables shone under the cold white lights as the artisans worked metal, fibers, clay, and composites into admired but often misunderstood pieces.
At the top of the organization was the Head of Department, a man whose power did not need to be advertised. His presence alone was enough to bring order. The organization itself was a leading art and craft Institution in the city, famous for perfect precision rather than inspired creativity. Nothing left the department without his approval; nothing imperfect remained alive.
To the outsider, it was a place of beauty. To the insider, it was a place of controlled perfection, where creativity was only within his parameters.
Before entering from the entrance, suddenly he felt a strange intuition from his office. However, he ignored it and entered at the organization. At that moment, suddenly that black-suited lady came in front of her, and said,
"Sir, a lady is waiting for you."