"Food is coming!" Lisa shouted outside the door.
"Yes," Zein said.
Zein Veldron was a cripple, incapable of using his legs, AND arms. In other words, he couldn't….
He could see, and he could hear, but he couldn't walk. He had been like this because of his shit mother. A mother who was pregnant, but she still drank alcohol, smoked, and ate the things a pregnant mother should not eat. And guess what? That baby became crippled because of her. She fell, too drunk one night, fell down the staircase and landed on her stomach, immediately crushing the baby's bones and almost killing him.
And she?
She died before she even got to the hospital.
And Jacob veldron, the father, took it upon himself to rescue the child and take care of the older sister.
When they heard the news of the mother's passing, they weren't surprised. She was a drunkard, a big drunkard, and that was one day going to kill her. But now she almost took someone's life with it.
THAT WAS UNACCEPTABLE.
Zein grew like this. Thankfully, he was in a rich household, so he got the support he needed. His sister always took care of him, bathed him, fed him, washed him, clothed him, and did all kinds of things for him….
Zein was 20 years old. White hair. Blue eyes. Chiselled face and jawline. Good neck and aesthetic features. But below his neck—crippled. Bones twisted. Body, barely any fat. One could even see his ribs.
But he lived like that all his life. He'd thought of escaping it all by killing himself. But so what? It wouldn't free him of everything. He'd still remember the shackles, his mother, and worst of all, the very people who want to take care of him would feel even more guilty.
His sister came in.
"Zein," Lisa said as she came into his room.
"What are you doing?" she said.
"Nothing, just staring into nothingness," Zein replied.
"Do you want to watch something?" Lisa asked, aware of his boredom.
Zein nodded his head. Then she carried the remote onto his bed and put on a random channel.
"Oh right, I have a present for you," she said.
Today was Zein's birthday, and he hoped this gift would not be medicine and health care treatment, because that would have been very boring.
His eyes opened up in excitement. "Really!" he exclaimed.
"Alright, alright, but I'll only give it to you if you eat your food," she said with a teasing smile.
"Fine!" Zein said.
"Ok."
She hurriedly went outside the door.
Then Zein watched his TV.
Then the TV channels changed.
"BREAKING NEWS!"
"THE FIRST EVER VRMMORPG HAS BEEN MADE."
It then showed something that looked like a helmet and a capsule.
Then other reporters on the TV were talking about it.
"This will absolutely change the gaming industry!" one reporter said.
Then another chimed in, "Not only that, but it offers an immersion rate of 1000%."
Then Zein thought to himself.
I wish I could get a game like that, he thought.
Just then, his sister came in with a tray of food and helped him up to eat.
"Oh, you're watching the new game," she said, looking at the news.
"Yeah," he said.
After a while, he had eaten his beef soup with two chicken wings and one cow head. He was very full.
"Sister, you were talking about?"About my birthday gift."
"Ah, yes, I almost forgot," she said.
She clapped her hands, and instantly the doors burst open.
Two individuals burst open the door, carrying two boxes. One was huge and long, while the other was a small box.
Lisa got up excitedly and said, with her hands open wide, "It's the newest VRMMO."
The two guys who came in loaded the boxes like they were nothing. After a few minutes, the guy with the small box pulled out something. It was like glasses, but it covered his eyes and nose. It was white in colour and fully transparent.
The other guy unloaded the big box with the other guy.
"How is this possible?" Zein exclaimed.
"Don't worry about it," Lisa said. "It's made just for you."
The two guys intervened and began to explain.
"This is the first, the prototype, the origin of the whole VRMMORPG itself. THE WORLD OF FANTASY. To play it, you just simply need these glasses. The capsule is designed to keep people in place, but since you are crippled, it wouldn't matter. It also offers an immersion rate of 1000%. Before you say anything, it's the first and the best. No bugs. Additionally, your sister has acquired 20% of our company's stock, thereby owning a significant portion of the company. So this is the least we can give. I hope you enjoy your new reality."
They waved their hand and left, leaving Lisa and Zein.
"Do you need help wearing it?" Lisa asked.
"Wha—" Zein was too shocked to speak.
"Like they said, don't worry."
She brought the glasses and placed the glasses on him, and turned it on.
"I'll be leaving you for tonight. While you're playing, your body's sleeping, but your mind's awake. So I'll give you tonight to familiarize yourself with your new game. Happy birthday, little bro," Lisa said.
And she turned it on and left the room.
"…"