Jack had been an orphan since he was young.
He did not remember his parents clearly. Sometimes, when he was drunk or too tired, he could remember a warm hand touching his head or a soft voice calling his name. But those memories were blurry, like a dream disappearing after waking up.
Life never gave him enough time to think about such things.
From the day he could walk, he had been surviving.
He survived by stealing food, fighting with other street kids, and sleeping in dirty corners when winter came. Nobody cared if he lived or died.
As he grew older, he learned the rules of the streets.
The weak got bullied.
The strong bullied others.
And above the strong were the real monsters, the thugs and gang members who ruled the dark parts of the town.
Jack was not brave enough to challenge them.
He often bullied weaker people, stole from drunkards, and scared small kids into giving up their money. But when he saw real thugs, he lowered his head and walked away.
That was how he survived.
He was just another street thug.
Tonight was no different.
Jack walked through the empty streets with a can of beer in his hand.
The cold night wind blew against his face as he slowly wandered around the town.
He whistled casually while looking around.
Maybe tonight he would find someone drunk.
Maybe some rich fool would be walking home alone.
Maybe he could scare someone and grab a few bills.
He needed money badly.
The road he was walking on was one of his favorite places.
It was quiet, dark, and far from the crowded parts of town.
Normally, there would be at least one unlucky person passing through here at night.
But tonight, the road was completely empty.
Not even a fly could be seen.
Jack frowned and looked around.
"Damn..."
He kicked a small stone on the road.
"Looks like someone has been spreading rumors about me."
He laughed to himself.
Over the past few weeks, he had robbed a few people on this road.
One of them was probably angry enough to tell everyone not to walk here at night.
"Maybe one of those idiots finally learned their lesson," Jack muttered.
He took another sip from his beer and kept walking.
The streetlights were weak and broken in some places.
The farther he walked, the darker the road became.
On one side of the road were old trees and thick bushes.
On the other side was an empty field.
Jack was already thinking about giving up and heading home.
Then suddenly, he noticed something strange.
There was a faint pink light coming from the bushes beside the road.
Jack stopped walking.
At first, he thought he was imagining things because of the beer.
But when he looked again, the light was still there.
A soft pink glow was shining from deep inside the bushes.
"What the hell is that?"
Curious, Jack threw away the empty beer can and slowly walked closer.
The bushes moved against his legs as he pushed through them.
The pink light became brighter.
When he got close enough, he finally saw it.
There was a strange pink stone lying on the ground.
It was about the size of his fist.
The stone looked smooth and beautiful.
It almost looked like a gem.
The pink light was coming from inside it.
Jack's eyes widened.
"No way..."
He crouched down and stared at the shining stone.
"Is this some kind of diamond?"
His heart suddenly started beating faster.
If it really was something expensive, then his problems would disappear.
He could pay his rent.
He could eat good food for weeks.
Maybe he could even leave this dirty town.
Without wasting time, Jack reached his hand toward the stone.
The moment his fingers touched it, the pink light exploded.
"Ah!"
A bright flash covered everything around him.
Jack could not see anything.
Then suddenly, the pink light rushed forward and entered straight into his forehead.
Jack froze.
For a moment, he could not move.
His whole body became stiff.
The world around him became silent.
Then, after a few seconds, everything returned to normal.
The light disappeared.
The stone was gone.
Jack stood there blankly.
He touched his forehead.
Nothing.
No wound.
No pain.
No strange feeling.
He blinked a few times.
"What the heck was that?"
He looked around nervously.
There was nothing in the bushes anymore.
Only dirt, dead leaves, and darkness.
Jack frowned.
For a moment, he had really thought he had found something valuable.
He thought it was some kind of rare pink diamond.
He had even started imagining all the things he would do with the money.
But now everything was gone.
His sudden happiness disappeared as quickly as it came.
Jack let out a long sigh.
"There is no such thing as luck in this world," he muttered.
He rubbed his forehead one more time and stepped out of the bushes.
The cold wind blew past him.
He looked around the empty road one last time.
Still nobody.
Jack wandered around the outskirts of the town for another hour.
He checked a few alleys, looked around near an old bar, and even waited near a small bridge.
But there was nobody worth robbing.
Everyone had already gone home.
Finally, tired and annoyed, Jack decided to return to his small rented apartment.
The roads were dirty.
Trash could be seen in the corners.
Stray dogs barked somewhere in the distance.
Jack eventually stopped in front of an old apartment building with many small apartments
But it was cheap.
That was the only reason he lived there.
He slowly climbed the stairs and opened the door to his room.
The room was tiny.
There was an old bed in one corner, a broken chair, and a dirty table.
His clothes were lying around carelessly.
Jack closed the door behind him and dropped onto the bed.
As he stared at the ceiling, he suddenly remembered something.
He still had three months of unpaid rent.
"Damn..."
The landlady had already warned him many times.
She was an annoying woman with a loud voice and a bad temper.
Every time she saw him, she demanded money.
Jack frowned.
"I don't know what that woman will do if I can't pay again."
Then he snorted.
"What can she do? Kick me out? That's all she can do."
He was already used to bad things happening.
If he got kicked out, he would just find another place.
That was how he had always lived.
Jack closed his eyes.
Within a few minutes, he fell asleep on the old bed.
Outside, the night remained cold and silent.
And deep inside Jack's forehead, a faint pink light flashed for a single second.