Jacob Hamilton. If I'm not remembering incorrectly, that should be my name. How long has it been? I am too tired to even keep count. Still the memories of when it all began are still vivid in my mind. That's why I'm writing it down in case I forget it all, not that forgetting everything would be a bad thing.
I was born into a rich family, went to the most prestigious institutions, got admitted into the best university in the country, fair and square that was, without pulling any strings. And then finally joined the family business. That's how people such as myself usually spend their lives.
I've to say, I was quite content with how everything was going. Because when the Future is set in stone, you don't usually have to worry about anything and just make the best use of the Present. Well, at least that's how I used to think.
I did my best to live up to my father's expectations. One may think I was forced to do so. But truth be told, being born in a rich family, receiving the best care as a child is more like an investment made by the family. They give you almost everything you can ask for and in return they want you to work hard for the family. So, I had no complaints about that.
Both of my parents were busy handling the family business. So I actually grew up being taken care of by the family butler and the maids. But I have to say I hardly knew what loneliness even was.
Time passed by and eventually my time to lead the family business came. I started as a normal employee at my dad's firm. It was how the Hamilton family did it. First you start from the bottom, then work your way up. No special treatments were given. You not only have to prove to your family but also to the other shareholders and employees that you are capable of shouldering the responsibility to carry on the legacy. That's how my father did, so did my grandfather and all their previous generations.
Well, at first everything was going as usual. Nothing out of the ordinary. The colleagues I had at first were quite friendly. They were the reason the job didn't feel boring.
But things messed up after I took a paid leave. I was returning home after submitting my application. I was driving home. I was in a hurry, so I took a shortcut. Haste makes waste, they say. They weren't wrong.
Well, right at this moment, I have lost count to how many times I've wished it all ended back then. But life's always full of surprises and you can hardly do anything about it.
Out of nowhere, something like a bird crashed onto my windshield. It might have been a bat, not that I care anymore. But I didn't have the luxury to verify at that time. Because the incident was so sudden and unexpected, I panicked, like any other human being would've done and without thinking, I turned the steering wheel to the right. The car was going at around 80 and it went straight into the sidewalks. Fortunately there wasn't anyone on the sidewalks at that time of the night. Well, fortunate for them but not for me.
The car slammed into a fire hydrant.
The impact threw me forward, and my head struck the steering wheel making me lose consciousness.
It should have been an ordinary accident. A careless mistake on an otherwise uneventful night.
But the anomaly began after I woke up.