Vicious Circle

                                                                                                                                                                                         -LittleFawn
 (Tale-5)

(This is just a fictional story.)

It was another soul-crushing evening when Alex dragged himself up the stairs to his fourth-floor apartment. Each step felt like a marathon, and his eyes, rimmed with dark circles, struggled to stay open. His boss had made him work for two relentless days without a break, and instead of receiving any gratitude, he had been scolded and berated.

"Ugh... That boss of mine makes me work for two days straight without even giving me time to rest. Instead of praising me, he yells at me. It's been two days since I came home, all because of him. Curse him," Alex muttered under his breath.

His eyes were bloodshot, and he yawned constantly, on the verge of collapse. He finally reached his door, fumbling with the key before entering.

The sight that greeted him was chaos. His apartment was a mess, a testament to his hectic and neglected life. Dirty dishes piled up in the sink, clothes scattered everywhere, and a general sense of decay hung in the air.

"Ahh... My stomach is growling so badly, but I really want to sleep. I don't think I can sleep like this, though. I don't even remember if there's anything left to eat," Alex grumbled, rubbing his aching temples.

He shuffled to the kitchen, searching for something to stave off his hunger. After rummaging through the cabinets, he found a lone cup noodle. Relieved, he decided to eat it quickly and then collapse into bed. He moved to the sink to get some water to boil.

As he turned on the tap, he noticed a cockroach struggling in the basin. It was desperately trying to climb out, its tiny legs scrabbling against the slick surface. Alex watched it for a moment, a sense of morbid curiosity taking hold. He saw the insect finally reach the edge, only for him to pour water over it, sending it back to the center.

He found this amusing, in a twisted way. He repeated the process several times, watching the cockroach struggle and fall back each time it almost reached freedom.

"He he he, you and I are somehow the same. Here I am torturing you, and at the office, my boss is torturing me. But what can we even do, right? You're a cockroach, and I'm a human, so you can't do anything. I don't want to be fired, so I can't do anything," Alex said to the insect, his voice filled with bitterness.

As he continued this cruel game, he cursed his boss with every splash of water. After the seventh time, he remembered the water on the stove. He placed it to boil but couldn’t resist returning to the sink. The cockroach, now weak and exhausted, made another attempt to escape. Again, Alex poured water, sending it back to the center. He smirked, finding a perverse satisfaction in the act.

By the seventeenth time, the cockroach was barely moving, its strength almost entirely spent. Alex finally left it alone to tend to his boiling water. He made his cup noodle, ate it quickly, and then stumbled towards his bed, still cursing his boss.

As Alex drifted off to sleep, the cockroach, driven by sheer survival instinct, managed to climb out of the sink. It crawled across the counter and onto the floor, slowly making its way toward Alex. The man's snores filled the room as the cockroach climbed onto the bed, heading for his ear.

Morning came, and Alex woke up feeling groggy but strangely light-hearted. He checked his phone, and his eyes widened as he saw a message in the company group chat: "Unpredictable demise of the marketing manager of our company in a car accident."

It was his boss.

Alex's initial shock gave way to a grim smile. He started laughing, a sense of liberation washing over him. "Finally, that tyrant is gone!" he exclaimed, almost giddy with relief.

He got up and opened the door to let in the fresh morning air, feeling like the post had made his entire day. But as he stood there, he felt a strange itching in his ear. He scratched at it absently, but the itch only intensified.

Suddenly, a sharp pain pierced his ear. Alex yelped, instinctively swatting at his ear. In his panic, he stumbled backward, losing his balance. The world spun around him as he tumbled down the stairs, the fourth floor seeming endless in those terrifying seconds.

Alex's body hit the ground with a sickening thud, the life draining from him almost instantly. The last thing he felt was the excruciating pain in his ear as the cockroach emerged, crawling away from his lifeless form.

As the morning light cast its gentle glow over the scene, the tiny insect made its way back into the shadows, its struggle for survival complete.

The news of Alex's death spread quickly. His colleagues at the office were shocked, and some even felt a pang of guilt, knowing the pressure they all faced under their harsh boss. But life moved on, as it always does, and the cycle of suffering and survival continued.

In the end, Alex's life had been marked by the same cruelty he had shown to the cockroach. His boss had tormented him, and in turn, he had tormented the insect, each one perpetuating a cycle of suffering. The cockroach, a mere survivor in a world much larger than itself, had unwittingly become an agent of poetic justice.

The story of Alex and the cockroach serves as a poignant reminder of the interconnectedness of all life, and the importance of compassion even in the smallest acts. For in a world where everyone struggles, a little kindness can make all the difference. And as Alex learned too late, cruelty begets cruelty, and in the end, it may come back to haunt us in ways we never expected.