An Eye For An Eye: The Rise Of Cassius Lucas

A Reason To Die

"Get out of here!” the manager shouted. “You think we serve people like you here? I wouldn’t let someone like you near my house, let alone my food.”

Lucas took a step back, raising his hands a little in surprise.

“I have money with me,” he said. “I just want to eat something small. I’m not here to beg”

“Didn’t you hear me?” the manager shot back, looking at him angrily. “Leave before I call the police! Do you think this restaurant is for lowly people like you?”

“But I will surely pay for—”

Before Lucas could finish his words, the manager cut him off.

"Shut up and get out of here! This place is only for wealthy people… not poor people who don't even have good clothes to wear. You look like garbage, and I'm telling you… I'm not hot-tempered, but you're testing my patience. Get out of this place before I get mad at you.”

Lucas moved back a little as he gently put his hands into his pocket. Bringing out two dollar notes, he pointed them at the manager.

“This is a hundred dollars, and I'm sure this will get me something good. I just want a sandwich, and that's all.”

“Why not use it to buy clothes for yourself?” the manager replied, laughing mockingly.

“But—”

Before Lucas could finish his sentence, the manager suddenly removed a thick black belt from his pocket, folding it in half. Seeing this, Lucas quickly took his chance and ran out of the restaurant.

Some minutes before this fateful incident, Lucas walked slowly out of the prison gate. Looking up at the beautiful sky, he closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath.

Opening his eyes back, Lucas gazed at his torn clothes for a moment. A once overall best student of Washington University now stood looking like a beggar at its worst prison.

Then, he started walking down the street, his shoe making a sound as he lifted his legs. As he walked past people, they started making jest of him and pointing at him.

Suddenly, a middle-aged man pointed at him, talking to his wife. “Look at that guy, honey,” he said, a dismissive smirk on his face.“Look at how filthy he is, like a stray dog, walking around decent people. People like this should be sent somewhere else, and they should not be allowed to walk freely among us.”

Then, a well-dressed woman holding her child’s hand paused at the curb as Lucas walked past. She looked him up and down in a disgusting way. “You see that man, sweetheart?” she said loudly. “That’s what happens when people make terrible choices. He probably hurt someone or stole something. That’s why he looks very dirty, broken, and lost. You should stay in school and be good, okay? You don’t ever want to end up like him.”

As Lucas ran out of the restaurant, he saw a big, uncompleted seven-story building to his right. Then, he entered it and went to the top. Standing at the edge of the rooftop, Lucas gazed at the bottom of the building.

What's the essence of being alive when everyone has turned their back against you? What's the essence of being alive when there's no more parents nor friends?

Lucas sighed heavily, forcing a smile. He closed his eyes as he took a step forward, both feet now positioned at the very edge of the building.

“It’s better to die than to keep living a life this miserable. I have tried my best to become something great in life. I trusted people, and I was betrayed. Life has been so unfair to the poor people. We don't have access to any good things. I thought becoming a lawyer would help, but my future was crushed by mere jealousy," he murmured to himself, lifting his right leg slowly.

Just as he was about to jump off the building, a strange voice echoed in his ears.

“Do you even know who your father is? Yes, your biological father. Do you know he’s still alive?”