"J-Julia, w-wait!" Her words felt like broken shards of glass piercing his chest, making Earl clench his phone within his trembling grip.
Initially, he was desperate to hide his vicious boss, who wrongly fired him for not ruining an innocent woman's life, making the future he had dreamt with her turn bleak.
But this time, his broken voice sounded desperate to hold onto her with his everything.
After all…how could he imagine her life without her?
"Julia…p-please listen…You're misunderstanding everything. I didn't make an excuse today…A-Actually, today I was laid off from my—"
"Earl." Without letting him speak, this time she answered in a pained, shaky voice as if she was sobbing on the other side of the phone, "Next time, when you find someone you truly love, treat them a little better. Okay?"
"N-No, Julia, please don't—"
BEEP!
The sound of the call disconnected gave him the answer he was too desperate to turn around. Losing the woman he had dreamt of building a beautiful, happy future with felt truly agonizing, as if Earl had suddenly lost his will to live.
Quite desperately, Earl dialed Julia a few more times, biting his nails, but the aftermath was very clear. She had turned off her phone, making him stumble down on a wooden bench as if he had lost all the strength in his knees.
Clenching the diamond ring box within his grip, Earl trembled with tears welling up in those ocean eyes, but someone said it was true- misery always loves company.
When his phone vibrated with a text notification, Earl quickly grabbed his phone, hoping it would be from her only.
But the moment he read the text, as if the ground beneath his feet had slipped away, leaving Earl succumbed to the devastating reality with no choice left to run away from it.
~ 'We sincerely regret to inform you that the patient in Room No. 101, Mrs. Wilia Brent, has passed away in her sleep a few minutes ago. We kindly request you to clear up the pending hospital bills so that we can initiate the proceedings of the funeral.'
"No…Mom… Not her too..."
Reading that one text was enough for Earl to lose the bare minimum of sanity he was left with, as his body started trembling vigorously.
Within the span of one night, his whole life crumbled upside down, snatching away his beloved ones on whom he had relied to live this life no less than a hellish nightmare.
The hospital bill pending amount was written beneath that text, which led him to toss a pained smile when he realized that just getting his mother's cold, numb body back, arranging this large sum of money when he was already fired from his job, would be a far distant dream now.
Even selling off the diamond ring wouldn't be enough, which meant he wouldn't be able to give his mother a proper farewell either.
But as one last blow to crush his core completely from within, his phone screen blinked with another flash of news, making him gasp aloud.
~ 'Actress Mila found dead in her apartment. Police suspect suicide under the pressure of online trolling. Further investigation carried out next…'
…....
That was it. In just a night, everything fell apart.
All the things that he had feared all his life had happened so quickly within the span of a few minutes that all of a sudden, everything around him had lost its meaning.
Earl dragged his exhausted feet to the Golden Rod bridge, which was always deserted around this time, and it was close to the office.
After thinking of something for the very last time, Earl exhaled a long sigh before he unknowingly climbed up on the railing.
"Fuck…I was someone who was always freaking scared of dying… I can't believe I am the one who's willingly choosing this path now."
A painful smile curved his lips when Earl wiped his eyes before tossing off the diamond ring into the deep Melani River first. "Now that I have lost everything I had cared for…what's the point of living this shitty life anymore?"
The moment before he was about to toss his phone next, his screen suddenly flashed brightly with an Ad, making him read those words that were written.
> 'What would you do if you were given a second chance at life? Do you have many regrets? Can you make things right this time?'
Regrets? Well, Earl probably had countless of them.
The regret of not being able to follow his passion, which used to make him feel alive.
The regret of joining a job where he had to work upto his bones just so he could cover his mother's hospital bills piling up…
The regret of not being able to tell his Mom how much he loved her…
The regret of being unable to make Julia stay, despite loving her with all his might.
Countless regrets popped into his mind one by one, reducing him to tears.
But a painful lump formed deep down his throat when Earl tossed his phone into the cold water before he muttered, "I don't believe the heavens would listen and grant me a new life anyway. I am fuckin' exhausted of everything.
"Yet still, if I am given a second chance…I wonder…if I wish my loved ones wouldn't give up on me easily. And I wouldn't be forced to live like a coward, unlike this time!"
The moment Earl stepped a foot out from the railing, a cold night breeze wafted past him as if he was floating in mid-air, succumbing to the momentary bliss he was granted.
Falling into the deep freezing water with a loud splash, darkness covered before his eyes when he felt the back of his head had hit something hard, as he muttered to himself one last time.
'Mom…I will be coming along with you…so let's go back together, okay?'
…........
However, in his life, attaining eternal peace was probably a myth.
While Earl hoped the pain and remorse would fade away on their own in his last moments, all of a sudden, his body flinched hard. Even with eyes closed, for a second, it felt like he was lying down on a warm, cozy, comfortable bed.
But how could it be possible? He had just chosen jumping off the bridge as his final answer to all of these endless sufferings.
So now…
What was with that absurd sensation of someone groping his ass-cheeks from behind?