Edward hated the afternoon shifts.
The mall was empty, the air conditioning seemed stronger than usual, and his phone barely vibrated with some irrelevant notification. At 25 years old, working as a clothing store clerk wasn't what he had imagined for his life. But what stressed him the most was his salary: it depended on sales, and that day he hadn't sold a single sock.
He sighed for the umpteenth time when the shop bell rang. A couple walked in, and Edward forced a smile.
"Good afternoon, how can I help you?"
The man looked at him impatiently.
"A dress for her. The first one you have."
"Sure, right this way..." Edward tried to sound friendly, but the guy kept grumbling behind him.
When he finally handed over a dress, the customer said:
"Slow and bad service. What a lousy store."
Something inside Edward broke.
"Sir... there's no need to be rude."
The silence lasted for a second. Then, the punch hit him without warning.
The pain in his eye was immediate. The man left the store without looking back, leaving Edward dazed with a sharp burning sensation on his face. No one defended him. No one said a word.
Hours later, he finished his shift and left the mall without saying a word. It was drizzling.
He called a taxi.
"To the north. La Loma del Viento estate," he said, trying to sound firm.
The driver didn't answer, but he started the car. Edward noticed that the doors were locked. The car sped up too much.
"Sir, this isn't the way," Edward said.
Silence.
Then, a sudden stop.
Two men got into the taxi. Everything happened fast: knives, shouting, struggling. They stripped him of everything. They threw him onto a deserted road and disappeared.
Shivering, he walked. The wind was strong; the night seemed endless. Until he saw a police station.
He stopped in front of the police station. He knocked on the door, soaked from the drizzle. A tired officer came out to attend to him.
"Officer... I was robbed. I have no way of getting home..."
The officer looked him up and down, noticing his dirty clothes, bruised face, and disoriented look.
"Where did it happen?"
"In a taxi... two guys got in and threatened me with knives. They left me on the road. I have no phone or money."
The officer sighed, clearly exhausted.
"We don't have any patrol cars available right now. But... if you want to stay inside here until dawn, you can."
"Thank you... really, thank you."
Edward sat down on a hard chair, trying not to cry. But then he saw a circle of light on the ground, right beneath his feet. Like a magical mark.
"What...?"
A white flash surrounded him.
And the world disappeared.
When he opened his eyes, he found himself in the middle of a forest surrounded by colossal trees. In front of him, a man in a robe holding a carved staff watched him in silence. At his feet, the same circle glowed intensely, as if alive.
"Where am I? What happened?" Edward shouted.
The man looked at him with disappointment.
"Another spirit... useless. I wanted to summon a beast. Not this."
Edward looked at his hands. They weren't hands anymore.
They glowed. They were pure light.
"No... this can't be... Am I dead?"
The mage turned around without saying more, and vanished among the trees.
Edward, alone, without a body, without answers, began to walk.
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