INSIDE THE LABORATORY - 6:40 PM

White lab gowns dominated the floor while mechanical arms continued to assist the doctors in the most advanced medical laboratory. 

OUTSIDE THE BUILDING - 6:40 PM

The orange glow of the setting sun reflected off the glass façade of the towering building. A sign above it read Newfangled Incorporation.

A young woman, her dark brown hair framing her face and hazel eyes fixed ahead, paused for a final look at the structure.

She clutched a cardboard box in both hands, her footsteps heavy as she descended the stairs.

Five years... she thought. Five years, and now this is the last time.

Her legs continued moving, but her mind wandered back.

I spent so much of my life working for that job, she reflected bitterly. I locked myself away... in this cage.

The shadows of evening crept across the busy street, the sounds of the city blurring into a steady hum. Yet, for Evah, the world seemed to slow down. Each step felt like it carried the weight of her regrets.

I thought... I thought my hard work would pay off. That there was meaning to all of this.

The steady beat of raindrops began to fall, hitting the cardboard box with a soft plunk. Her shoulders slumped as she let out a long, frustrated sigh. "Just when I thought it couldn’t get worse," she muttered, pulling her umbrella out from beneath her arm.

She continued on her way, the transparent umbrella barely offering refuge from the cold rain. Her orange dress clung to her, and the cream-colored boots squelched softly with each step.

Without warning, a man bumped into her, his blue jacket brushing against her side.

The box fell from her grasp, spilling its contents—notebooks, tumblers, and photographs—across the wet sidewalk.

She barely had time to glimpse his face before he was gone.

"Hey! Watch where you're going!" she snapped, but the man didn't even turn around to apologize.

Frustrated, she bent down quickly, balancing the umbrella as she began gathering the scattered items. Her heart sank when she saw a few photos already trampled on by strangers' feet.

Nobody cared.

Just like my work. Nobody cared.

She had spent countless sleepless nights and poured all of her energy into a job that had taken so much and given so little. She had worked while sick. She had ignored her own life, thinking it would all pay off.

As she stooped to pick up the last few photos, her fingers trembled. She held them carefully, feeling the rainwater soaking through the paper.

With the dim glow of a streetlight overhead, she paused, staring at the photographs in her hands.

Right. One photo caught her eye—a family picture from years ago. Her brother, grinning proudly in his graduation cap.

Memories flooded back without warning.

"You promised you'd be here!" Her brother's voice echoed in her mind, desperate and hurt.

She was sitting at her desk, surrounded by papers. Her eyes scanned the screen, but her thoughts were elsewhere.

"I will. Just wait for me, okay?" she had said, trying to reassure him.

"But it's almost time!" he wailed through the phone.

In the background, the sounds of a crowded room spilled through the receiver—the laughter, the clinking of glasses, and the buzz of celebration as the graduation ceremony neared its end. But none of it could drown out the quiet, aching sobs of her brother. They were louder than everything else, cutting through the noise, a painful reminder of what she was missing.

Her mother's voice had scolded him from the other room. "Stop bothering your sister."

"I'll be there," she'd promised, but her words were empty.

That night, she came home near midnight. The apartment was quiet, save for the soft sounds of the city. She found her brother asleep on the couch, clutching the diploma he had worked so hard for.

Under the pale moonlight, tears welled up in her eyes.

I broke my promise. I'm sorry.

She blinked back the tears, placing the photo back in the box, and moved to the next one—a picture of her friends.

It had been raining that night, too.

"Come on, Evah! It's the weekend!" one of them had urged, pulling her out of her apartment.

"You’re not going to spend your whole day working, are you?" another had teased.

She had declined, as she always did.

A letter sat on her desk that morning. She had read it while waiting for her coffee to brew. The photo inside showed her friends at an amusement park—without her.

I never kept my promises. Did I?

Another raindrop splashed onto the photo she was holding.

Her reality was clearer now.

I don’t even remember when they stopped inviting me.

Why don't they talk to me anymore?

Only Yuka had stuck by her. Only Yuka had stayed.

A tear slipped down her cheek, but she wiped it away quickly, not wanting to face it.

Why did I miss all of this? she asked herself. Why did I choose work over the people who mattered?

Her heart squeezed with guilt. She had told herself, time and time again, Just a little more work. Then I’ll have time to live. To be happy.

Shaking her head, she tried to snap herself out of it. But as she bent down to put the photos back, a small blue card caught her eye. A ribbon was tied around it—a wedding invitation.

Wedding... she thought. I didn’t know she was getting married.

Her mind wandered, the image of her coworker from earlier that day flashing through her thoughts.

Erika is pregnant too... It hit her hard. She had spent so many years running on autopilot, ignoring everything and everyone around her, and now people were moving forward with their lives.

What about me? she wondered. What’s changed for me since graduation?

Evah kept walking, her footsteps slow and heavy, weighed down by the heavy realization that seemed to follow her like a shadow. The rain, once a gentle patter, grew louder, the rhythmic drumming against her umbrella blending with the steady hum of the world around her. As she passed through the park, the atmosphere shifted.

She paused, the flickering light from nearby lampposts casting a soft glow over the scene ahead. The paths, glistening from the rain, were lined with trees that swayed in the cool evening breeze, their leaves rustling faintly. Couples strolled by, hands intertwined, their laughter light and carefree, a sweet sound that seemed to float through the air, mingling with the distant murmur of voices and the occasional soft clink of a nearby café's last order of the night.

The couples moved with such effortless intimacy—heads leaning close, eyes filled with affection, quiet words shared between them like tender secrets. There was an unspoken warmth in the way they moved together, the kind of connection that Evah had longed for but had never allowed herself to experience.

She stood frozen, a spectator to their joy, her heart aching with longing. She caught glimpses of their smiles, the way they leaned into each other as if the world outside their bubble didn’t matter. In that moment, the contrast between their happiness and her isolation felt almost unbearable.

How does it feel to be kissed?