The Hollow Veil

Emox allowed free will to reign, as long as you weren't an Emox yourself. Michael returned to his room of six. As he opened the door, he saw the others engaged in their usual argument—debating the best curves, the best hips. Yet, Michael's mind was elsewhere, on his beloved.

He couldn't quite understand why she consumed his thoughts like this. He had met other girls before, plenty of them, but none had stirred a thing in him. But this girl… she was different. She felt like the only joy, the only light. He wouldn't say she was his oxygen, but she was the oxygen that made him want to live—not forced him to live.

Michael stared at his phone, remembering what she had done. He should have been angry. He wanted to be furious. He wanted to put distance between them, to give her space, but the more he tried, the more he felt her slipping away. The worst part? She didn't see him the way he saw her. He knew this.

For him, she was everything. He felt poetic, he felt angelic when he thought of her. Just her assurance gave him confidence. He was young, yes, still in school with his father still supporting him. She was in school too. He couldn't provide for her yet, but God, he loved her. He wished he could tell her, but the fear gnawed at him. What if her reaction was detachment? He feared that more than anything, for without her, his life would spiral into a disconnected void. As much as he wanted to die, he also wanted to live—with her.

Lost in these thoughts, a message snapped him back to reality. Her name lit up on his screen, and the message read, "I sent this to speak to you."

His heart lifted. She wanted to talk. That alone made him feel special, wanted, needed—feelings he craved but seldom got. They talked. She embraced him in that conversation, knowing he was overwhelmed with feelings he didn't fully understand. Yet it pained him. She didn't feel the same way about him, and that's the cruel joke of life, isn't it? You always want someone who doesn't want you back, while someone else pines for you. It's the pain of reality.

Drowning in these thoughts, Michael dozed off, ignoring the background noise of his roommates. They all had abilities—abilities that could easily overpower him. He set his alarm for the next day and let sleep take him.

Beep Beep.

The alarm blared.

It was six a.m., the day that would determine Michael's fate.