1. What was once lost.

"Why are you so useless?" A voice screamed out.

Attention was turned to the voice that screamed and quickly the manager who owned the restaurant ran outside, looking confused. "What seems to be the problem miss?" He inquired.

"This, this thing." She pointed at Aaron Price, who was the employee who had served her. "This thing messed up my order, I wanted a chicken salad and look at what he brought out."

"She ordered beef stew, Sir. She's lying." Aaron explained.

Upon seeing that all the employees were looking at him, the manager turned and looked at Aaron who looked wary of his mistakes. However, in that quick moment, he hit Aaron over the head with his fist. "This isn't the first time this has happened! Why are you so useless!"

Everyone in the restaurant turned to them, some laughing and others clapping as Aaron was publicly mocked. "Get your things and leave, you're fired!" The boss ordered and Aaron made way for the door.

This was not the first time this was happening, whenever he tried to find any type of work it always ended with him being fired.

He lay on the pavement outside the restaurant, clutching a rusty ring in his palm. He couldn't hold a job for more than two weeks always getting fired over every little thing. "I just got that job..." He sighed. "Alissa's going to be so pissed."

Alissa Withers was the daughter of a wealthy family and him? He was an ordinary man who she had fallen in love with. Although she was warned by her parents she went along with her own decision, not caring that they had disowned her in the process.

He stood outside his house, looking at his ragged and worn home. The roof was falling through and he had no idea how he was going to pay the light bill, but regardless of that, Alissa had stuck around.

It was their anniversary today and he wanted to get her something, anything but due to him getting fired, he had no money to buy anything. He put his hand in his pocket, bringing out an old ring and staring at it.

He walked into his house, Alissa sat on the chair, holding her child in her hand. "Hey, Ali." He called out and she turned to him, as she did, he noticed that something was wrong. "Is anything wrong?" He asked.

"There's water falling through the building and the lights have gone out. You know why?" She stood up with her baby who had begun to cry. "It's because you're useless."

This was not the first or second time he had heard these words from her mouth, but he tried salvaging the situation the best he could. "Please Ali, let's just settle down. I don't have much, but we can go out for a little din-"

"At where? McDonald's, Wendy's?" She chuckled. "You know when I fell in love with you, you had money. You were stable and a business man so even when my parents warned me about you, I was so sure."

"Ali," Aaron tried walking toward her but she put her hand out, stopping his advances.

"Don't touch me or the kids, it's over between us." She pulled her ring from her finger. Tossing it on the ground.

He watched as the ring rolled along the floor before settling under a chair. "You can have your hundred-dollar ring back, I'm done."

"Ali. It's our anniversary, let's not do this now. Please, not here. Not in front of Benjamin." Aaron begged. "I got you a gift," He reached into his pocket, bringing out the old ring.

"The old musty ring you've had for years now." She laughed mockingly, "That's my gift? You know what Aaron? I was blinded, I should've just listened to my parents when they advised me."

"Ali, I'll get a job. It'll get better."

"Your sentiments are no longer necessary Mr. Price." A deep voice uttered as two sets of footsteps approached them.

"It smells in here." The other person voiced her frustration as she closed her nose.

"Mom, Dad," Alissa uttered and Aaron turned around to see his in-laws.

"Sir, with all due respect I'd like privacy so I can discuss with my wife."

"With all due respect boy. My daughter is no longer your wife." His voice resounded and Aaron's eyes widened, he glanced at Alissa as she walked toward her parents.

"Alissa, we've been strong for three years. This isn't how it's supposed to end." Aaron begged, his eyes teary and his voice low.

"Save your breath." Her mother spoke. "Look at this dump, you really wanted to raise my grandson inside this compost bin?"

"Do me a favor kid," Her father grabbed his shoulder. "Forget about my daughter and her child, you... live out the rest of your life without her. Moving on if you will."

"And don't worry about the divorce papers, we already had a lawyer look them over, and don't worry about alimony either, half of zero is still zero." Her mother added and slowly they walked out of the building.

Aaron wanted to stop her but he didn't know if she would have stopped, trying to stop her and seeing her walk even faster would've broken his heart even more than it already was.

He fell to the ground, tears falling out of his eyes, and when he opened his eyes back up. He was at a bridge, looking down into the canal that lay below.

This was where he used to gather his thoughts but now it was where he'd end it all, he stared over the bridge. Today he had truly lost everything that kept him alive.

He stood at the edge, about to jump, when he felt a poke in his pocket. Pulling out his hand, he found an old, rusty ring.

Even after this horrible day, the only thing he had was this rusty ring, pissed off he threw the ring behind him but little did he know, a switch beneath it was activated and a faint red light gleamed within.

"It was all my fault." He told himself as he prepared to jump, he told himself that the reason she left was because of his own failures but before he took the final step a voice stopped him.

"Stop!"

He turned to his left and several black cars stopped, each of their headlights beaming at him, and from within one of the cars, a man dressed as a butler walked out, an umbrella in his hand.

"Master Payne. We've finally found you." The butler spoke, his voice calm and brittle almost as if he was weeping. "After all these years, the GPS on your ring had finally brought us to your location."

"Who are you?" Aaron asked as the man slowly approached him. "I believe you're mistaking me for someone else."

"After all these years and this is the state we find you in." The butler put his umbrella over Aaron's head and as if almost on command, rain began to fall. It's downpour quick and heavy. "Come down Mr. Payne, a new chapter of your life is about to begin."

Aaron was reluctant to grab the outstretched hand of the stranger, but no matter how much he wanted to die, he wanted to live just as much. He grabbed the mans hand as he descended onto the bridge.

"I don't know what you've been going through Master Payne, but from today onward." A car pulled up beside them and the butler opened the door, "It's going to get much better."