Sidestory:
This is Goodbye
by Cres
Amir slammed his fist down. Why? Why was life so cruel?
The thought haunted his mind, never allowing him peace or escape. Constantly, it twisted and tormented his soul, until he was only a shadow of his former self, a wreck of the man he once was.
His friends had seen the changes. It had not been long before they had taken note of the dark circles beneath his eyes, the decrease in his appetite, the hollowness of his cheeks. He seemed morose, depressed. He drifted through his classes like a wandering shade.
They tried to get him to talk about it. "Open up, you'll feel better," the encouraged him.
Yet how could he make them realize that it was his own private torment? He would have to deal with this hellishness on his own. What good would it do to talk to *them*? *They* couldn't help him. No one could help him.
Only time...
He stifled a shuddering sob, hurling a quick succession of cds across the room. They bounced into the wall, sliding neatly into the trash can. Even in such torment, he couldn't bear to be disorganized.
"You FIEND!" Amir couldn't keep his inner torment inside anymore. "You are OUT of here! I can find one BETTER than you!"
I just have to save a bit, that's all, he reasoned to himself, wiping his face on his sleeve as he stormed out of the living room and into his bedroom, slamming the door behind him. Better to cut his losses now than deal with more of this anguish.
He flopped onto his bed, and dragged a magazine from under the mattress. He idly flipped through the pages... Looks good... looks good... mmmm... why couldn't I have one like that? he wished idly.
His mind drifted back to the one he had left behind in the living room... sitting there, without a heart, without a soul, denying him even the simplest of wishes.
His eye fell upon one picture, and he almost stopped breathing. Such... such perfection. Was it possible? This was the *one* he knew, without any doubt. This one *had* to be his...
After his next paycheck, he would buy a new cd burner.