Temptation and Choice

I am just over twenty years old, and I have already finished university a year ago. After that, I spent a lot of time searching for a job. The more I searched, the more I realized that the time spent on education was wasted. Perhaps I was too stubborn to listen to my inner voice, which screamed about the wrongness of my choice. But what else could I do? Should I go against my parents who believed in me or risk everything and lose it all? I couldn't make that decision back then, and now I am reaping the consequences of my choice. Although I graduated from university with honors, finding a job without work experience was an impossible task. I had to run from one interview to another, only to receive the ingrained response of "rejected."

The more rejections I received, the more I fell into despair. My parents expected me to stand on my own feet immediately and forge my path in life, becoming wealthier later so I could take care of them in their old age. So, after some time, I lied to them for the first time. I told them that I had landed my dream job and that I no longer needed their support, meaning I would take care of myself. As many might have guessed, I took odd jobs, delivering orders during the day and working as a waiter in busy restaurants at night. Although I had plenty of work, the money I earned barely covered my expenses for housing and food, forcing me to keep running like a squirrel on a wheel, not even allowing myself to relax.

Perhaps I could have done something in the future if I finally found a decent job, but fate likes to play tricks on us ordinary people. My roommate, due to losing his job, couldn't pay his share of the rent, so I had to cover for him. This happened several times until he finally said goodbye, stating, "I'm sorry, but I won't be able to repay you, and I'm going back to my hometown." Those were his farewell words. By that time, someone might have guessed why he was asking for forgiveness, partly because of the debt, but mostly because he realized I had to borrow money, not from friends or family, but from a small credit organization. That was my main mistake in life.

The amount borrowed for a month doubled, not counting the interest for repayment. And now, multiply that amount by three, as I had to do this several times in attempts to stay afloat. Now I was burdened with a debt that could not only disappoint my parents but also make them completely forget about me, as I had lied to them, which was my first and possibly last mistake before them. Because of all these thoughts and worries about repaying the debt, my usual, or rather, my daily routine was completely destroyed. I started to be late not only as a courier but also couldn't even arrive on time for my part-time job at the restaurants, which led to me being dismissed. Losing one of the two incomes brought me one step closer to doing something I was even afraid to think about.

I didn't have any more time to think about anything because just a week after my roommate left, I was bombarded with calls from debt collectors. At first, they politely asked me to settle my debts, even if just the interest, but later they started threatening me with calls to my relatives. The longer this went on, the harder I tried to corner myself, waiting for this nightmare to end. Unfortunately, such a tactic could only work in childhood when my parents weren't home, and I was left alone with my fears. But now, I was surrounded by real people, not imaginary fears. They wouldn't disappear no matter how much I hid. So, I needed to act, but how? If it weren't for the fear of disappointing my parents, I would have given up long ago. It was as if I were a dead man clinging to life only because of the intense pain in my heart that wouldn't let me rest, because every time I nearly crossed the line in my mind, illusions resembling reality flashed before my eyes. In them, my parents literally lost the will to live because losing me was too great a blow for them. I simply couldn't allow that to happen.

Arriving home late on my creaky bicycle, I slowly entered the entrance hall. Perhaps due to the building being situated in a rather unfavorable area, the hallway was marred with graffiti. Immediately upon entering, I was met with a bouquet of odors—trash, cigarettes, and something else that I'd rather not know about. Pinching my nose with one hand and gripping my bicycle tightly with the other, I laboriously made my way up to my floor. Opening the old but surprisingly sturdy door, I stepped into my new rented home, which I had fortunately found after my roommate's departure.

Perhaps it was the atmosphere surrounding me or the increasing panic engulfing me, but in search of even the slightest motivation, I decided to open the internet to find something to distract myself from such thoughts. I slowly sank down the wall in the corner of the room, partly from exhaustion and partly from the sudden chest pain brought on by the weight of the burden upon me. Only at night, when I was alone, could I release some of my pain, which I hid from acquaintances. But what was even more sorrowful—or rather, what hurt me the most inside—was my helplessness in conversing with my family. I couldn't share my pain with them, fearing to hurt them. And as time passed, I noticed that I became more reserved and withdrawn than I had been before. Now I thought about what could be talked about and what couldn't be.

In an attempt to alleviate the pain that had accumulated within me, I decided to take out my phone, which by my acquaintances' standards could be called old, as it had been released just over three years ago. Moreover, a crack ran across the entire screen from the top corner to the bottom. The crack itself didn't bother me much, as I had grown accustomed to it; it reminded me of my life, which had also been shattered in some way.

And then, hoping to stumble upon some hint of what to do next, I stumbled upon a video featuring a seemingly respectable man sharing his thoughts about the world. The video, with its good sound and clear image, presented before me a man who appeared to be in his fifties or sixties. Unfortunately, his face was obscured from the viewers, but his attire and manner of speech, refined by his harmonious voice, created an atmosphere reminiscent of my anticipation while listening to professors as a student. He began to read his text slowly but clearly, as if leisurely sharing his thoughts with me.

Further, the text from the video:

"In childhood, many of you envisioned your future filled with happiness and wealth, without realizing how far removed those words were from reality. Your vision of the future was merely a dream, created from a mistaken understanding of the world and a mixture of your desires," he said, making a slight pause that lasted several seconds before slowly continuing.

"This applies to everyone, both women and men, as in childhood, each of you was a naive child whom parents protected to the best of their abilities from this ominous and unfair world, where you can only see the worst accumulation of impurities and filth covered with 'blessings' accessible to few, who in turn share these 'blessings' as if giving scraps from their feast to the poor," he said, shifting his legs and continuing his speech.

"This is how the world is structured, where you see only a beautiful facade enticing you to work day in and day out, striving to achieve those morsels clumsily dropped from the banquet of the rich, hoping to taste the life of those who stand above you. It's funny, isn't it?" he said, adding a laugh at the end.

"So is the world structured, and such are its laws, but in every law, there are exceptions, moments that create an opportunity to break the vicious cycle. In our case, these are people who have overcome all difficulties and risen high, so high that they can see those who have been playing the game for them all this time. Who are they?" he asked, then paused for more than 5 seconds before continuing.

"These are people who give their all to reach heights never before scaled. They fall into two categories: those who had no boundaries in life, confident in their environment and support, and the second type, those who grew up in poverty and adversity, often orphans, who had to rely only on themselves, slowly climbing to the top," he said, slowly raising a finger upward.

"And now you must be wondering, what about the others? It's simple; they will strive to maintain their world in stability, not even realizing that they are slaves in this world, not even having rights to anything. All that surrounds them is work and home, as well as new and new problems imposed either by society or the state. Should something disappear from their world, they slowly wither under the weight of fear of losing stability, realizing the futility of the world. That's the fate of the average person born into this world. Doesn't it remind you of anyone?" he asked, grinning and baring his teeth.

"In summary, we have the rich, the striving, the average, and the poor, whom I didn't mention. So, what do those who want to break out of this vicious circle, or rather, square, do?" he asked, slowly intertwining his fingers into a lock, widening his smile even more, as if relishing the moment.

"What if I told you, looking at me through the screen of your phone, poor and destitute, living the life of a slave, that you have a way out, where you won't have to climb over heads for promotion or rely on God's mercy waiting for a stroke of luck. All you need to do, like a rat cornered, is to throw yourself into my embrace and give up the most precious thing you have. It's simple, isn't it?" he said, after which I received a text message on my phone.

"Read it and decide for yourself whether you want to continue being a slave in this world or become the one who rules this world. You have only 1 minute, buddy," he said, and the video ended.

My heart was pounding furiously; was the SMS that arrived at the moment the man in the video spoke about it an incredible coincidence, or not? My hands were shaking, and my head was struggling to comprehend, but I still decided to check what had come to me. Opening the SMS, I found a short text.

"As a welcome gift and a manifestation of the purity of my intentions, I give you a sum equal to your debts. You can settle these debts with this money, including the interest. However, if you are not satisfied with such a small amount, I invite you to participate in my game, where the word 'money' is accompanied by the word 'infinite.'"

After reading the message, I received another message from the bank, with an amount that would be enough to cover all my debts, not only to credit organizations but also to repay debts to acquaintances and friends. For the first time, my hands trembled with happiness and joy; the thought of clearing all my debts was incredible to me. Finally, I would be able to breathe freely and relax a little from everything that was happening, but... how did he know how much I owed, and... how did he send me the money? The bank's message only stated the receipt of the amount, but did not mention from whom or where, as if the money just appeared in the account. Although it slightly worried me, the feeling of joy and freedom overwhelmed everything.

In the end, I frantically started to pay off my debts, prioritizing settling with the creditors, as their interest was increasing day by day, and perhaps tomorrow the amount would be much larger than today's. But as soon as I paid off the first debt, I received another SMS from an unknown sender.

"I'm glad you decided to use the money to cover your debts, but time waits for no one. Are you ready to join the game, or are you satisfied with this amount? If not, you should only respond to this message with the number 12."

My gaze quickly ran over the text, and inside me, a gambling thrill began to rise, fueled by my greed. I wanted the money; they were needed to me more than anyone else, because having received them, I could hide my lies from my family and return home with my head held high. Therefore, without wasting a second, I wrote the number 12 and sent the message. Immediately after sending the message, I received a reply from the stranger.

"It seems you enjoyed the feeling of spending money, as you decided to play the game. In an hour, you will receive a sum of money that you can spend on anything, but time is short. Only one hour after receiving the amount, you must spend all the money, or it will disappear from your account. Good luck!"

For the first few seconds, I didn't know whether to rejoice or doubt, but literally after 2-3 seconds, a new wave of euphoria hit me, and I continued to pay off my debts while waiting for the money. Along the way, I contemplated how I would spend them; if the amount was large, I would finally buy myself a car, and if it was small, I would upgrade my phone and send the remaining amount to my parents. Such thoughts were swirling in my head until I saw the amount displayed in the message from the bank.