Year after year slipped by. Cheng Tian had lost track of how long he had been repeating this corporate-drone life. Every day, he woke up and went to work, then came home just before he dropped dead.
Through day after day of grueling training, Haunter also grew rapidly, constantly striving and fighting to avoid being abandoned.
Greninja kept running through the forest blanketed in heavy snow. It wanted so badly to escape this place; it did not want to face this cruel reality. But no matter how hard it ran in one direction, it always ended up back beside that great tree.
Our lives never change, like a circle, or perhaps a sea.
We swim upward with all our might, wanting to breathe one last mouthful of air before we drown, only to discover that no matter how we swim, we can never return to the surface.
This sea, this nightmare, has a name: time.
"Bzzz, bzzz, bzzz..."
Cheng Tian irritably crawled out from under the covers and switched off his phone's alarm.
How strange. It's the weekend, so why is my alarm going off?
Cheng Tian's eyes flew open. "Right! Today's the day I'm going to the movies!"
The latest Pokémon movie was coming out this weekend, and he had booked his ticket well in advance. The screening was in the evening, though.
He drew the curtains and looked outside, discovering that it was already getting dark. Cheng Tian hurried off to wash up.
The pedestrian street was crowded. While having his ticket checked at the cinema entrance, Cheng Tian bumped into someone familiar.
"Senior?"
"Oh? It's you, Cheng Tian!" his senior said in some surprise. "Are you here to see a movie too?"
"You too?" Cheng Tian stared somewhat blankly at the ticket stub in her hand.