He looked down and found himself standing in a pool of blood, then running for all he was worth. In his hand, he held his case.

His subconscious told him that he should already know what was going to happen, but he wasn’t thinking enough to grasp what it was.

It felt like endless running, but finally his feet screeched to a halt without him willing them to. He looked up and realized that the sky was dark. He also recognized the house as his father’s.

The dire situation wasn’t easy on his nerves. Suddenly, he knew what was going to happen before he saw it. Even then, he couldn’t put the mental picture out of mind. It kept resurfacing. In the end, he allowed it. For a full moment, he stood there in prolonged agony before finding himself running yet again.

Rain was falling now. He knew this part already and succumbed to it briefly. This moment had been relieved many times. It no longer seemed as painful.

But there was one thing that would always be painful- rejecting someone for the first time.

He saw that scene, heard every word, her pleading tone, his hard one as he laid down the ultimatum. How he had been emotionally severed for so long after that.

The proximity of an impending death- his own. Apologizing and feeling like the worst human alive. Scene after scene filled his mind, like tiny daggers relentlessly stabbing his heart all at once.

It was a nightmare, one he had had many times. It wasn’t bound to stop soon.

But against these things, he was utterly powerless.