I've lived in the city of Kyoto all my life and yet I find out more about it everyday. It's where I thought I had found love with my current girlfriend Nicole, an American who moved here.
Nicole taught me a lot with english that I didn't know and for awhile I was genuinely happy with her. My name is Tabata Yori, I'm 25 years old.
I was a programmer for a big tech company for the last 8 years but recently my job was taken away from me. I've been unemployed for a month and a half now because of the advancements in technology.
How are we supposed to live in a world dominated by A.I that can do our jobs ten times faster than us. This was something that was happening to companies all around me so it made it even harder to find a job.
Depression began to kick in more and more as the days passed, leaving me to lean into games that I didn't use to play.
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The lands of Zerif is a popular MMO RPG game that I've gotten addicted to over my course of unemployment. I didn't have anything better to do so I figured that it would be best to play it.
It was the one place I could have peace while ignoring the cruel reality of the real world.
Her voice could be heard clearly from behind as she begins to speak. "I'm off to work. You should get off the damn game and find a job already Yori. It's been almost two months. Come on." Nicole says with a bit of anger in her voice.
She was kind and understanding when it first happened but I guess it does get a bit annoying after awhile. I should've had a job by now but what could I do?
Working at a fast food place wasn't where I wanted to go and the tech companies or even the game companies were all converting to a.i for their development teams.
He's let's out a sigh before responding. "I'll find something." Yori replies while still focusing on the screen.
The fights were already happening before I lost the job but died down for a bit because of me losing my job. She knew I was good at what I did so she tried to be supportive, it's no ones fault here but a.i.
Whatever, I can't dwell on it forever.
He opened up another energy drink and chugged it down before gaming for a few hours.
Honestly I should probably head to the store while I have the chance to do since we need some more snacks. How much longer will she put up with me?
She's the only one I really have left, my family gave up on me a long time ago which was the whole reason I went into the tech industry. I wanted to prove that my life was worth more than they thought.
It never did make a difference though, I was still the pathetic kid that they didn't want anything to do with. Success, my success didn't mean anything to them.
Honk. Honk. A car could be heard honking it's horn as it passed by the building.
Right, I needed to go and get more snacks before I continued playing.
He got up and left the room, but something was on the screen when he left.
Are you tired of everything?
What if you had another chance?
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He didn't see those messages before he left but something was obviously trying to reach out to him. What though?
The part of the city I lived in was nice at least but we had a fair amount of deliveries that went through this part. Accidents were fairly known to happen around here since people don't pay attention.
It wasn't something I focused on much though, I just wanted to hurry up and get back to gaming. At least that's how I feel today.
Yori got his snacks for the convenience store and then began to make his way back towards his apartment. Honk. Honk. A car could be heard think about behind him as he walked.
Sometimes I swear people just honk to try and get attention around here, it's a bit ridiculous. I understand when you need to honk but there's so many times that people don't have to.
Schreeeech. Crash!!!!
"Oh my gosh! Someone call for help!" A woman shouts.
At first I didn't understand what was happening but before I knew it, I was on the floor. Was I just hit by a car? How the hell did that even happen, actually does it even matter?
I looked around while on the ground and could see my blood slowly making a puddle around me. The car hit me pretty damn good so this is probably it for me isn't it?
Will Nicole even care about what happened, will my family care that their son died?
Buzz. Buzz. A cracked phone could be seen vibrating on the ground.
Someone picked up the phone to answer and a woman's voice could be heard. "Hello, why didn't Yori answer?" Nicole's voice could slightly be heard.
She does take her lunch around this time doesn't she, huh. I didn't even think about that. I'm not really sure what I should be thinking about right now as I lay here on the ground in my own blood.
Maybe it is for the best though, if I'm lucky I can have another chance at life.
To be reborn with a whole different life, it could be a lot better than this one. Maybe my family will care about me and love me.
"Sir can you hear me? Your girlfriend is on the way. Sir?" The woman continues to try to keep him awake.
Everything began to get darker around me until I realized I was floating in this dark abyss. Of all ways to die, a random car hits me.
I was just another person added to the statistics of my accidents in my neighborhood.
Is this all there is?