CHAPTER ONE

Outside the hospital, with the scorching heat of the sun on his already tanned face, Leon felt like the world was crashing down on his shoulders. In his grip was what he considered a death sentence. A scan results showed he'd been diagnosed with a brain tumor. 

Leon hissed, feeling hopeless and dejected. He could not believe that the migraines he'd been enduring for a while could be a tumor in his brain. Many questions ran through his head, how long did he have? Was his health insurance good? Could he survive a surgery? With another glance at that scan report, he had to hold in the emotions that threatened to overwhelm him. He had to be strong, he had to find a way to get better. 

At the same time, his phone rang and he reached into his pocket to retrieve it, it was his boss from work. 

"Hello, boss." He said and the next words he heard were typical of his toxic boss. 

"Why on Earth are you out of your cubicle? You are useless to the company already and now you're skipping work too?!" He scolded. 

 "I'm so sorry, boss, I had to come to the hospital, my health was getting worse and__" 

"I don't care about your health! I am not interested in what's happening to you, I care about my business and my money, and right now, you're of no use to me." He snapped. Leon knew his boss, when he was in one of his moods, all he could do was wait it out, but with the splitting headache and the state of his shock, all he wanted was to get the man off his phone and think about his life. 

"Are you listening to me?! Are you deaf too?!" The man asked angrily after calling his name twice without any reply. 

"I'm sorry, boss, I took permission from you, I said I had to come get diagnosed and__" Leon began but the rude man cut him short. 

"And that letter is still on my desk, I haven't approved it yet, so who told you to leave? Who permitted you to?" He asked..Leon had nothing to say, he'd simply been too sick and he knew he had to be at the hospital to get himself checked, he'd made sure to send a letter requesting permission to his table, but when he hadn't replied quickly, Leon went anyway. He was getting tired of trying to sleep it off anymore, his headache was making him lose sleep and when he slept, he always woke up a lot worse.

"You know what? This company has rules and policies, and since you can no longer keep to it, we'll have to let you go." The man said….Leon gulped, he could not believe that he was going to be fired on the same day he got the worst news of his life.  

"What do you mean, boss?" He asked, his voice low, almost too low and distracted. 

"It means you are fired! Don't show up at the company anymore, turn in all company properties and return your ID." He said and then hung up promptly before Leon could say a word….But as Leon stood there, his eyes blank, his face expressionless, he had nothing to say, he felt numb inside. He was sure, he could tell that the world was ending and it wouldn't make any sense, after all, his whole world was crumbling right before his eyes. 

The medical result was still in his hands, he knew no news could make it worse than that, he certainly wouldn't be able to work with a brain tumor, he couldn't function, his head was clouded with fear and anxiety and he was overwhelmed. Leon managed to compose himself long enough to get to the next bus stop and hail a taxi back home.   

Arriving at his house, he was greeted with the sight of his wife in front of the television screen, her favorite soap opera was playing and she was laughing loudly at it, with a box of unfinished popcorn on her thighs and many more empty takeout boxes on the floor. Leon tossed one throw pillow out of his way, his face still blank, he could almost not feel the world around him anymore.As he closed the door behind him, his wife jerked and finally noticed his presence. 

"Hello," she said, evidently surprised. 

Leon didn't say anything, he walked like a zombie, heading to his room but she stopped him midway. 

"What's happening? You got back home early, I wasn't expecting you, at least not for another three hours." She said, curious. 

Leon shrugged and replied, "I got fired today," His wife, Helen's eyes bulged as she heard this. "What?! And you are talking so casually?" She asked angrily. Leon did not know what to tell her, she looked very disappointed in him already and he didn't want to make it worse. "You finally got yourself fired right?! I'm sure they found out what a loser you are! You can't even keep a freaking job!" She said, jumping off the couch in anger. 

Leon could feel his head banging, he could not tell her of his medical report, he was depressed, he was dejected, and he was going to lose it if he did not get out of the house. "Answer me, Leon! What did you do to get yourself fired?! How can you keep a simple job!" She screamed in his face, letting the box of popcorn fall on the floor and make an even bigger mess.

"You're a total loser!" She snapped angrily. Leon sighed, he silently pulled ok his socks and slid his feet into his sneakers, he couldn't stand Helen for even one more second, he needed a place to clear his head. As she yelled, he silently moved to the door and opened it, stepping outside. But before she slammed the door shut, she said, "You better die out there, Leon! And never come back!"