An argument for a Normal life

"You see their real personality in their moment of weakness,

 Their true morals in their days of strength"

The usual alarm woke Sahej up. He really didn't have the motivation to wake up, he fell asleep quite late, a tired and irritated look enveloped his face as he sat up. He started to wonder about the hours it must have been, 3 or maybe 4? The room was dimly lit by sunlight that brutally came in through the edge of the window and hit the corner of his eye. He turned his head in annoyance towards the ringing clock shouting at him like some raged car horn blaring in the middle of the road, gently lifting his index finger and pushed the button as lightly as he could, despite his sheer desire to smash the clock to pieces. Unlike his best friend of 11 years, he had to find some real work in order to get an unlimited supply of alarm clocks, he didn't have the liberty to 'work' whenever he felt like it, or call it a productive day even after sleeping 12 hours in the middle of the week.

He got up to start another day of his seemingly ordinary life. One of the world's most extraordinary people chased an ordinary life over all other options available, cause, that was how he preferred it. Existence had no meaning to him, life was supposed to be lived in a way that one had both a present and a future and he honestly didn't want some dad lore stories collection for his satisfaction, even though he had ended up gaining his fair share of them even before the Death Angel started his worldwide killings. He cupped his hands over his face and rubbed it as he got up, trying to make his eyes default to open. He went into the bathroom to get ready, for he had an interview with a major firm today. His mind wasn't clouded by thoughts but by sleep as he went through the entire routine at miserable speed, his girlfriend had already picked out his clothes and neatly hanged them in his closet after ironing, but do nice clothes actually matter?

He looked in the mirror as he made a double windsor knot with his tie, it was the second attempt, it didn't have to be a hundred percent perfect, anything that looks good enough will do, and that's it. He ran his fingers through his hair to create light spikes in his recent crew cut, the apartment lights were still off, but it wasn't dark, this much light was enough to see everything while not killing off the eyes.

"Humph", he exhaled as he examined the finished product. Sahej was a slender muscular man who looked ordinary to everyone around him, with skin color that of a dusty white wall, height a little less than what his build made him seem to be. His brown eyes still holding some life in them. Despite his lack of sleep, he hadn't developed dark circles. His triangular face gave him the look of a typical gym rat.

"Ok Sahej you got this", he reassured himself in a depressing voice.

"You are gonna crack this interview!", said a cute voice with a weird tone as the door opened with the characteristic clack of the key. It almost sounded like she was mocking his tone at that moment, but she was trying to be supportive. "You do look like you got this", she said in her normal voice as she approached him. She pressed herself against him as she adjusted the tie's positioning. She wore a pink short sleeved midi dress that made her look irresistible to Sahej. Riya, his loving girlfriend, was one of the only things in the world he admired.

"You think?", he said delightedly, finally talking like an actual human. "Now that you have said it, I believe I am really gonna get this job", he kissed her, but he didn't mean those words, but blurted them for her sake. Sometimes for love, one is compelled to say things they don't believe in, he had just said something he thought to be absolute bullshit, an abomination to his beliefs and intellect, but did that kiss make up for it, he didn't know, but who would want to wonder that.

"What time are you leaving for the airport", he asked her.

"9 o'clock", she replied shortly.

"I see, so I wouldn't be able to see you off I guess", he questioned.

"That's why I came here so early in the morning", she said in her cute tone as she placed some food in the small fridge.

"Oh I love you", he said in pure delightment.

"Aww, I love you too", her voice brought a genuine smile on his face. "And while I am gone for the week, don't get some surgery again, I'll definitely break up with you if you do that to me again.

"I can try", he joked. A month ago, he had ended up surprising Riya when he came back from his trip, without wearing his glasses and a little bulk in his muscles, the obvious thing to tell her was that he was actually gone for some treatment. She wasn't happy.

"I swear, I mean, it's been three month and I still can't get used to you without glasses", she looked him in the eye as she picked a comb for his hair.

"Okay! Anyways it's not like I have any other place in my body where I would need an operation", he said that in a normal tone, but then looked down to adjust the belt. Riya punched him hard in his sides. "Oww"

"Sly bitch", she laughed. He smiled broadly.

He picked up his bag and they left the apartment together. Riya had her cab waiting so he wouldn't have to wait, he kissed her one last time and left while she waited for another cab to arrive. He was perfectly happy with how things were in his life right now, with Ria by his side, he would never have to judge his decision. "This is how life is supposed to be", he thought to himself as he looked out the window to see the perfect weather for the big city, a chilly morning with a sunless clear blue sky and a few clouds. His heart yearned to roll down the windows and feel the cold air on his face, but he didn't want to run the risk of messing up his hair. But this was still good, this was how one should live, his best friend will never be able to convince him otherwise.

That final thought forced him to go on a train of thought as he argued with himself about whether he made the right choice or not. Was he really wrong to chose his comfort over a life of insanity? Why was he suddenly questioning it again. He was getting uncomfortable, his breath uneven and rapid. He kept adjusting in his seat, his skin was not sweating but slowly turning red, despite being inside an air conditioned car on a cool day, he was certainly feeling hot. He placed his hand in the middle of his chest.

"Huuhhh", he gasped loudly. The back of his mouth felt the cold, the chest almost bursting through the tight shirt buttons. Yes, this is the right choice. He didn't owe anything to anyone, if he didn't want to be a hero, he would't be a hero, as simple as that.

"Is this interview really hard or something?", the driver asked in plain voice.

"Kind off, yeah", he replied in a similar plain tone, the cab ride was supposed to be a long one, but he wasn't keen on discussing his private life. 'A man of few words' was what he described himself to be, though not completely true, he did have a tendency of hardly revealing the whole truth to even the people he felt the closest to. If you were to try and construct the whole personality of Sahej through all the versions of him out there, you would still lack a major hole right in the middle, something only he knew about himself, something exclusive to his alone time, that was how Sahej was.

"Is the job market still existing despite these mass killings by the Death Angel?", the driver asked as he curiously looked at him through the mirror. The Death Angel, it felt like a really stupid name for the monster that emerged a few weeks ago, obliterating entire populations of small towns and villages across the world.

"Well, the initial panic died quickly, everyone knows how the victims so far were way too defenseless. That sheriff in Germany did us all good by injuring him with a shotgun and getting it on camera", he lied, deep down, Sahej felt that the world had let itself calm down way too quickly. Although the militaries of every single nation entered a state of high alert to eliminate him the moment he first showed up, they hadn't succeeded yet.

"But no missile has yet hit that thing, has it? Cursed thing is too fast for them", the driver's words shocked Sahej for a second, it was true, the Angel flew at mach speeds with the agility of a child, but the main problem wasn't his speed but his stamina and his ability to change direction as if he was just sprinting on a track, even if they were able to lock him in their radars, no missile or plane has been able to keep up with his extraordinary flying skills. He was a menace to society, the Angel clearly planned for destruction greater than mere eurasian countryside, but everyone in the world was stupid enough to give into a few comforting words and now unknowingly waited for a gruesome end.

"They will catch him eventually", he said it more to himself than the driver, the rest of the ride was quieter. Sahej was able to calm his nerves before they reached the building where the big interview was happening.

Sahej looked up at the tall building from its base, taking in its majestic height, an extraordinary feat achieved by mere ordinary people, of all kinds, architects, builders, workers, people who didn't care about each other working together in a dynamic established by society that allowed humans to surpass their individualistic limitations. Sahej understood society as a rich experience created by unique existences each of which had a role in their particular place at a particular time. All lives had meaning when put in their unique social context, all lives are equal, and no one, no one will ever get him to admit otherwise, he believed from deep within his soul he was right, he had to be.

 *****

He took in the fraction of cityscape behind the interviewer as he thought about his last question here, 'do you have any questions for us?', he already knew everything that felt relevant, work ethic, policies on different matters, number of paid holidays, but there was one thing that he did want to know...

"What's the company's plan for the event that the Death Angel increases its magnitude?", he asked coldly, expecting the answer he got.

"We sincerely believe that the Death Angel is not strong enough to come to a big city like Delhi, in the event it does, and our relevant sectors are in the blast radius, we will contribute to the funds alongside the government to support the victim's family."

Those words were standard among hirers. The amount the government could spare meant nothing to people, cause the piling number of victims may be country folk, but that didn't mean their numbers were anything small, the administrators were more concerned with strengthening their defenses to stop the casualties than to help the victims, it was valid move in a way, but Sahej's instincts said it wasn't.

"I don't have any other questions, so I guess we are done here?", he straightened a bit, implying his wish to leave.

"Yes, we think so, but I feel like you must know this Mr. Dhariwal, your chances are pretty good", the round guy in the center of the table said in a warm tone while looking Sahej in the eye.

"Thank you Sir", Sahej meant all sincerity in those words, he gave a light bow at the end as he left. Maybe nice clothes did matter. He was happy, his life was going well, a beautiful girlfriend, a job on the horizon, and overall satisfaction, ordinary life was worth it, it was worth more than a violent and eventful life in the shadows. Not everyone embraces a life of unexpected ups and downs, some people liked security.

'Ordinary people are not at all bad', he thought to himself as he left the office and dauntingly took the stairs to climb down the 20 stories.