The brink of exhaustion

 It was the middle of summer, a time when the scorching sun threatened to give people heat stroke. The sound of cicadas buzzing, the revving of car engines, the soles of shoes as they hit the ground, it all blended into one cacophonous melody. Together with the horrible smell of smoke it made a morbid setting, almost as if the city itself was just dying for some action.

 It was the year 2010, a time when the fast growing economy of Japan had barely halted it's decline. Even then, not everyone could survive. One of such people was Satsuki Fujimoto, a 34 year old man who served as a clerk in a financial agency, a beautiful place to work. A high rise building several stories high where you could leisurely gaze down at the people below and feel some fleeting sense of superiority. Even now as Satsuki stood at the very top of the building, looking down he couldn't help but see the people like ants. Of course they only seemed that way because of his point of view, but who cared about any of that, certainly not him. The scruff on his face, the dark circles underneath his eyes. One good look at the man and you could find long standing signs of exhaustion.

 Taking out a lighter from his pockets, Satsuki quickly lit up the cigarette already in his mouth. It's glowing red end burned strongly as Satsuki drew in the smoke. And with practiced ease he removed the cigarette and exhaled deeply breathing out a plume of white smoke. 

"I'm so tired."

 Even now as he stood on the edge of the building several meters tall with death a step away, Satsuki could feel the exhaustion born from the lack of sleep slowly eating at him.

 A weak smile spread across his face as he chuckled softly. He never liked his job, but he never thought there would come a day where he would be free from it. At least not this soon, and in this exact manner. Satsuki could vividly remember the conversation he had with his boss. Just the thought of that pig of a man made Satsuki's skin crawl, not from anger or anything of the sort. It was just from utter disgust. The way his suit struggled to contain the mass of his body, his slicked back hair, greasy hands. Most especially the greasy hands, Satsuki suppressed the urge to vomit at the thought of them shaking his but still ended up retching.

"You're fired."

 He could vividly remember the pigs voice as he said those words, after all it had only happened minutes ago. Satsuki made a living by offering people loans with ungodly interest rates making them nigh unpayable, the people knew this of course but even then they still accepted them. He wondered what the people felt as they signed the papers that sealed their fates. He'd made his living off the suffering of people and cast them aside once they'd outlived their usefulness, and now just like those people he had now been cast aside. 

"Karma's a bitch."

 He'd lost his job and his life was very well at it's end, Satsuki though so too as he stood on the edge of the building feeling death breathe on his neck. He had come out there to die and now he was in the midst of spouting something philosophical as he scaled the weight of his life. Satsuki had lived a very dishonest life and deserved to atone with his life, maybe that was his reason for attempting suicide. That, or maybe he was just a tired man seeking rest, either way it didn't matter. Of course he didn't, he was smarter than that. He wouldn't have survived for a decade in he dog eat dog workplace. He'd come all the way out here to make a choice after weighing his options, and frankly suicide was not very appealing.

 Satsuki momentarily closed his eyes as he ran a hand through his hair.

"Good grief. This is stupid."

 Satsuki had made his choice. He was going to live. He brought his hand to his lips and his eyes fell on the still burning cigarette.

And maybe I should quit smoking while I'm at it.

 He took a step backwards and turned around briefly, and just then the unexpected happened. It felt as if time slowed down as a pair of hands pushed Satsuki. His eyes widened as he leaned backwards and lost his balance. And then eventually, he fell. It all happened in an instant, but after that everything seemed to last an eternity.

 What?

 Satsuki felt rage as he plummeted down. For once in his life he had decided to take a stand but the world decided he didn't get a to make a choice. He was going to die at the age of 34 without ever doing anything with his life, worst still, his death wasn't going to be pretty. He was going to become a stain on the brick paved ground of Tokyo. The visage of a younger woman popped up in his head. A woman, short and slender with auburn hair.

Kana.

 In the moments before his death, Satsuki's only regret was leaving his sister behind. They didn't exactly see eye to eye, but perhaps it was for the best, at least this way she wouldn't lose a loved one.

 The seconds in which the wind brushed against his face and his hair fluttered, his racing heart, and the bitter taste in his mouth. It all seemed like it was going to last forever, but it didn't. Of course, all things must come to an end. After the brief seconds of falling several meters down, Satsuki landed with chilling crunch as his body hit the ground killing him slowly.

 The morbid scene quickly gathered attention as people rushed over. With his eyes instantly going black, the sound of his own heartbeat as he was loaded into an ambulance was the last thing Satsuki heard before his life gave out.