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Contemporary Crime

Of all the stupid things he had done in his life, this one seemed like the worst at the moment. Well, well, this time he didn't make it. He just found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time. It wasn't his first time either, but this time the thing was stuck in his mind and he couldn't get rid of it no matter how hard he tried.

Sometimes he would forget for a while, and then the whole stupid situation would fall on him again. He didn't even know why, so it wasn't like that was his problem. Still, he knew very well what was right and what was wrong, and that did not give him peace.

He didn't work for this company for a long time and he didn't really get attached. Not for work, much less for people. He never bonded, that was his thing. All the more this would be so easy to forget, so why then could he not?

He wasn't stupid, far from it, but he just couldn't settle down anywhere. There was something about every job that couldn’t keep him going for a long time, so he wandered and wandered. Or he just wasn’t one of the lucky ones who was born with a purpose in life. It was boring anyway, he comforted himself, when his parents would criticize him many times.

Maybe this was finally the time to show everyone, and most of all them, how valuable he is. Only, there was a small problem. He had no evidence, only his word, and he doubted anyone would be inclined to believe him.

The bird on the branch already knew what it was all about. Someone from killed one of the bosses, actually tried to kill, to be more precise. The man was in a deep coma from which who knows if he would ever wake up, so it was almost as if he had killed him.

The investigation has been going on for a long time. There was no progress anyway. Little by little everyone blamed everyone, but no one had the right information.

Well, almost no one, so to speak, because at least two people knew about it. The killer and Adam, and he just couldn’t bring himself to say any of that to investigators.

Several things prevented him. The man who committed this heinous act was influential and respectable. Secondly, it was still not his business nor would he benefit from it. Third, even though he knows that he is not a special person, if he directly accuses him, he will only be blacklisted.

If he put it all aside he still had no evidence, and his word was not worth much here.

His daily routine has not changed for years. After returning from work, whatever he is, he returns to a rented apartment in a bad neighborhood. No wonder, everyone gave up on him. Parents, friends, and even himself.

So far he hadn’t even thought much about it, until the crime happened. Maybe his whole life was like that. Why did he live it at all? When did everything actually go wrong? He couldn't point his finger exactly at anything. Or he just forgot.

He used to be a good and obedient child. Great at school and everything his parents demanded. Only, as he grew up day by day, it all meant nothing to him anymore. Emptiness. A great void he could not fill with anything. Not insignificant meetings with women, not work, not some hobbies that everyone recommended to him. Is it possible that he was the only one damaged? Everyone around him lived a "normal" life. Only he didn't fit in at all. He became a big zero, as his father had long called him. Well, he was increasingly inclined to believe him.

And now, by some miracle, he seemed to be given a chance to fix everything. And even himself. Maybe there is hope for him too, he thought for the first time in his life.

He indulged so much all those years that he didn’t even notice the problem he had. And this would really be a weird way to get started, but maybe only if he tries, maybe…

He still hadn't said anything to anyone. There was no point in involving anyone else in their intimate problems. But even if he wanted to, he didn't even have anyone to share all this with. The only thing that came to his mind was to visit the church he passed every day. No, he doesn't want to confess, he hasn't done that in a long time. He just wants to find some peace and maybe hope for a miracle to somehow make the right decision.

He sits for a while in a semi-dark church where fortunately there is no one. It wouldn't matter to him even if he had. People didn't really bother him. Rather, they had no influence on him. Yet, alone in this sacred space, more than ever, he is confronted with himself. We all need it from time to time.

The moment passes through his mind again and again when he finds the killer and the victim in the dark passage behind the company. There was no chance of anyone seeing him, and he was totally frozen in the place, all and if he had seen him he would not have been able to move. Before he could flinch, the killer had already disappeared and a bystander found a man lying in blood. Adam then fled. It was only when he closed the door of his modest apartment that he finally began to breathe normally. Why him, he has constantly wondered since then, but the peace of this space somehow comforts and changes him.

Maybe there’s no evidence, maybe his reputation and word mean nothing, but now his time has come. Whatever happens from now on he decided.

He gets up slowly and bows once more in the empty church, then heads exactly towards one goal…

November 12, 2020 19:37

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2 comments

Carrie O'Keefe
22:31 Nov 18, 2020

It is a nice even tone. It holds the mood well and keeps you locked in. I don't care much for works that don't have dialog. I think it would have not worked in this story and how you told it. I don't think I have anything to add to on how to make it better. Good job!!!

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Snjeguljica 33
14:34 Nov 19, 2020

thanks :)

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