After seeing the time, he slid his phone back into his pocket.
Feeling the urge to move, he broke into a run. Within moments, the cafe could no longer be seen as he passed the spider lilies hidden within the grass.
Was that there before? He didn't ask. He didn't even notice that it was there. And yet, a part of him felt it. Though, he didn't stop to see it or to take it in. All he did was put his hoodie over his face and run. Running until something would make him stop. That something was the tree he had seen before.
He stopped, wheezing.
Then leaned against the tree as he gasped for air.
The cup was still in his hand. A lot had spilled, burning his skin under the cold sky.
Standing in the middle of the storm, he put down the cup.
Fist clenched.
Nails biting on his skin, he turned to face the trunk.
"I thought I don't care." He frowned.
"I thought I'd already decided."
His arm raised.
"Then why?" His voice sore, rising above the rainstorm.
"Why do I feel this!?"
The tightening of his heart felt throughout his body.
"Why are you so weak!?" he shouted, his voice echoing as it came back from the rigid surface of the tree.
Nerves forming on his forehead, he clenched his fingers. Veins poked his skin. He looked manically at the tree as thoughts overwhelmed him. More and more voices gathered in his head until he couldn't hold out any longer.
He howled, his voice cutting through the dense atmosphere.
"LEAVE ME ALONE!"
His throat was sore from all the pressure that surfaced.
Watching the upper part of his right hand, the claw mark reflected in his eyes. His voice struggled to escape; his hand was pulled back, his shoulders rotating until his fist was behind his chest.
For a moment, all he did was keep his arm still.
Then, his fist launched forward and swung at the tree, drilling it into the trunk. The sound of bones colliding echoed as the rain devoured them.
"Aaaahh!!!"
His scream cut through the storm like someone letting something out that was stuck in for years. A jolt of pain rushed through his fist, traveling up his spine to his forehead. The impact was so strong that even his teeth felt weakened from the blow.
His other hand followed, swinging at the tree with full force. His knuckles grazed it. One splinter slid his hand open. Blood flowed. His right hand was pulled back, skin scraping from it.
He struck again.
Few of the leaves shook off from the crown, landing on the ground. The wind picked them up and took them away from there, whooshing in his ears as they left.
"Aahg!!!" he screamed again, louder.
His hand got increasingly redder with each punch. The three red lines were hardly visible from all the blood.
Another followed, breaking off some flakes. More skin came down.
He didn't stop.
Arms were swift, each faster than the one before.
"You idiot!!!"
More of his wrath followed as the tree tanked all his pummels.
When he smashed it for the last time, the sound of shattered bones cut through his clouded mind, making him stop. Now, only the rain smashing against the muddy ground echoed. His panting fueled the beating of his heart. The entirety of his hand was painted in blood. Some of his fingers were dislocated, while a few bent the opposite way they were supposed to.
Tears of rage escaped, falling to the ground, eventually disappearing.
As the rain intensified, his knees buckled. He collapsed next to the tree, lying on his stomach like a knight who had arrows poking out from all sides as they watched their final moments with only their bloodied red hands blurring before their eyes. They trembled with no end. Filled with cuts and bruises. Blood mixed with the rain flowing on his body. His tears could no longer be distinguished from either of those two, creating the same fluid when they touched him.
The mix of warmth and cold sensations entered him.
Is this...it?
He asked, questioning himself... Maybe even someone else. But there was no response from anyone. Only the cold rain fell on his shivering body. With each second, he lost more of his body's heat. This was it. This was the end.
And that's when it happened.
A faint sound in the distance entered the frame of the tree. From that darkness, a young boy's laughter painted the atmosphere with colors, the rain accompanying him as he jumped with joy and excitement, as though the end was still far from sight.
The man was still on the ground. His clothes were soaked, making them heavier on his body. That didn't discourage the little boy. His voice got closer with each passing second. Eventually, the boy appeared just before the man.
The boy looked at him as he lightly tapped the man's back.