Reaching back home, Adrian did what he usually do, he cooked some light dinner for himself.
Took a cold shower, brushed his teeth, and started scrolling on his phone.
This has been his routine after work for who knows how long, maybe from the moment he came here.
Of course he has other motivation as well, like joining a gym, learn to play a guitar and even get a girlfriend but none of that matters anymore.
After all, "I am just stuck here..." Adrian said to himself, as he dropped his phone beside him on the bed and just kept staring at the ceiling.
Suddenly, as if he remembered something, he looked at his office bag on the desk beside his table and reached out his hand, pulling a dairy from it.
It was the same dairy which was on his desk for 2 consecutive days and something inside him... Feels drawn towards this thing.
'Should I write a dairy?' he thought and immediately decided to act on it, as he also brought out a pen before opening the dairy for the first time.
The first page was empty as Adrian decided to start with his name on it...
"Adrian Elijah..." He said while writing as he closed his eyes and thought about his day.
For a few seconds, I just stared at it... Then I took a deep breath and started writing...
Woke up late again.
Almost missed office.
Traffic was the usual mess.
I paused for a moment before continuing.
Mike asked Sarah out for coffee yesterday.
My pen stopped for a second.
She said yes.
I pressed my lips together and kept writing.
She talked to me today. Asked why I was ignoring her. I said I was busy. That was a lie... I sighed as I wrote this.
Work was normal, did some emails, reports and took some calls. Same old routine, there was nothing special.
The words felt simple, boring even. Just like my life as I continued writing.
Came back home. Cooked instant noodles. Took a cold shower. Scrolled on my phone for hours. Did nothing useful.
I stared at the page.
I thought I would become something big when I came to New York. It's been a year. I'm still the same.
The room was quiet. Only the faint sound of traffic outside the window.
Maybe I'm just not good enough.
I stopped writing after that as my chest felt a little heavy.
I leaned back against the bed, holding the pen loosely in my hand. For some reason, writing it down made everything feel more real as I looked back at the page slowly and... that strange feeling returned again.
Like the diary was… listening.
"Whatever," I said closing my eyes, "Let's just go to sleep..."
.
.
.
The next day came earlier than usual, earlier as in for me, I woke up around an hour before the alarm.
Took an early shower, and had some eggs and bread after brushing, my favourite breakfast since I don't have to do anything when making them.
Well, I don't cook a lot anyways, being vegetarian, my diet is easy to maintain.
After having my dinner, I washed the dishes and even ironed the clothes that I have been piling up for a while now.
After all that, I finally got dressed for office and it was only then did my alarm started ringing.
"When was the last time I woke up before even the first alarm?" I said to myself with a chuckle as I decided to walk to my office since I had plenty of time.
The morning air was cool and fresh, something I rarely noticed when I rushed every day.
People were already out... some walking fast, some holding coffee cups, some just standing and waiting.
As I walked past the small convenience store near the corner, I noticed an old man trip on the uneven sidewalk.
His bag fell, and a few oranges rolled out onto the road. "Oh—careful," I said instinctively, stepping forward to help him.
But before I could reach him, another man picked up the oranges and handed them back.
The old man nodded gratefully. "Thank you." the old man said to that man as I slowed down for a moment, watching them, before continuing to walk.
A few steps later, near the bus stop, I saw something else. A young guy bumped into a woman.
"Sorry," he said quickly, before walking away faster than usual. The woman didn't react immediately. But after a second, she frowned and checked her purse.
"My wallet…?" She said and looked around in panic but the guy was already gone.
I frowned but didn't say anything.
Stuff like this… it happens every day... Thinking so, I kept walking.
As I reached the next crossing, the signal turned red as cars stopped and everyone started walking.
A biker passed by, ignoring the signal completely, speeding through the road as if nothing mattered.
Some people cursed under their breath as a school girl fell down, before standing up and cursing the biker who was already gone.
Normal... Everything felt normal. This was the everyday life in New York.
Before I know it, I had reached my office building, that too earlier than usual. I stood there for a second, looking up at the tall structure.
"God let it not be another boring day." I said and walked in.
.
.
.
"Look who is on time today, is the world coming to an end or something?"
"Stop it Mike." I said, rolling my eyes as I went to cafeteria with him since there's still time in my shift start.
"Hey, I'm serious, is the world gonna end today or something?" He said jokingly with a laugh as we both took coffee and walked towards one of the empty benches, with me not laughing at his 'Oh so funny,' jokes.
"Good morning guys," Sarah said as she walked towards us with a smile on her face as I too turned towards her.
"Hey, morning." I said with a polite smile to her before looking at my phone while drinking coffee.
Mike leaned back on the bench, stretching. "You know, even the weather feels weird today."
Sarah frowned slightly. "Weird how?"
"Haven't you guys seen the news?" Mike said as he shrugged. "They say it's snowing in Africa, penguins walking to a certain death and no one knows who? Even the New York, it's too calm. They said on live television that everyone sensed something is gonna happen soon."
I paused mid-sip.
He wasn't wrong.
Usually, even from the cafeteria, you could hear the distant chaos of the city... cars, people, life. But today… it was quieter. Not peaceful quiet.
Empty quiet.
Sarah laughed it off. "You're being dramatic."
Mike smirked. "I'm telling you, first he shows up early, now the world is upside down." He said with a pause, "A weird day really."
Just as he finished saying that, I suddenly felt a choke in my neck as I spit out a mouthful of coffee and fell down from my chair.
"Adrian?!" Sarah shouted as Mike too looked over, just as they were about to move over to me to help me however, they felt pain all over their body as well.
Mike grabbed his chest, his face twisting. "W-What the hell-" Mike said as he fell on floor, his words coming to halt midway as Sarah tol let out a cry of pain as her knees gave out beneath her.
Pain. It was a pain unlike anything I had ever felt before.
It wasn't just in one place. It was everywhere. My muscles tightened violently, my veins felt like they were burning, and my heart pounded so hard it felt like it would explode out of my chest.
I couldn't even breathe properly let alone move. It felt like something was choking me from the inside as my fingers clawed at my throat instinctively.
"W-What… is… happening…" I croaked, my voice barely coming out. I was not at all right.
My vision was blurred, my ears were rang and my entire body just trembled uncontrollably.
In front of me, faint blue lines appeared in the air, almost unreal but I wasn't even able to glance at them.
[Beginning evolution in World #676967.]
[Bringing out the full potentia present in the body.]
[No mutation possible.]
[Evolving the being as High Human.]
I just couldn't.
I didn't notice anything except the pain.
My mind was drowning in it.
My thoughts became chaotic.
It hurts…
It hurts…
Why does it hurt so much…
My chest tightened again and I coughed out blood violently, my body curling in on itself.
Did someone poison my coffee…?
The thought came suddenly.
My eyes moved weakly toward the spilled coffee on the floor.
My breathing became uneven.
Poison…
Did someone… poison me…?
Fear gripped my heart.
But then—
My eyes shifted.
Sarah.
She was on the ground too.
Her body trembled, her face pale, her fingers digging into the floor as she struggled to breathe.
She hadn't drunk any coffee yet she was like this.
Mike too was in the same state, his face twisted in agony, the coffee he brought was still on the table, untouched yet.
My mind froze.
No…
That's not possible…
They didn't drink it…
My heart skipped.
Then…
A terrifying thought formed in my mind.
It's not the coffee.
My breathing became more frantic.
My fingers tightened against the floor.
The air…
Is the air poisoned…?
Panic surged through me.
All around us, others began falling too.
Chairs toppled.
Cups shattered.
People screamed.
Some tried to stand but collapsed again.
Some cried.
Some couldn't even make a sound.
The entire cafeteria had turned into chaos.
My vision darkened at the edges.
My consciousness began slipping.
What… is happening to us…
My last thought before everything faded was simple.
Am I… dying…?