Tastebuds

Badrick limped out of the hospital, his body still healing from the physical and mental trauma of the tsunami. The nurses had insisted he should stay longer, but he knew he couldn't stay in that sterile setting anymore, He had little to no money left.

It had been one month since the disaster, and he was desperate for familiar surroundings, a glimpse of normalcy. As he stepped outside, the city's vibrant sounds assaulted his ears, a stark contrast to the sterile quiet of the hospital.

He let out a sigh, feeling the weight of the past month on his shoulders.

Badrick's heart sank as he inserted his card into the payment terminal. The low balance on his account seemed to mock him, a stark reminder of his dire financial situation.

The tsunami had not only taken away his friend but also his livelihood, leaving him with little more than a thread of hope to hold onto. As the payment processed and the receipt printed, he knew that he had just spent the last of his money. The despair weighed heavily on his shoulders, the thought of facing the future without any means of support suffocating him.

Badrick stepped into his hotel room and was immediately hit by a wave of emotions.

His friend's belongings were still scattered on the bed and around the room, untouched since the tsunami. A half-empty suitcase lay open, waiting for its owner to complete the packing. The sight sent another wave of grief crashing over him, and he sank onto the bed, the sobs racking his body.

He decided to do something, He tied a rope to the fan and placed a stool under it. Badrick stood on the stool for a few moments, his heart pounding in his chest. He longed for an escape from the pain, the helplessness, and the suffering.

As Badrick stood there, he felt the weight of his solitude more acutely than ever. He had no family, no one to turn to in his time of need. His best friend had been his one source of comfort, the one person who truly understood him, and now he was gone too. It felt like the world was closing in on him, stealing away any sources of light in his life.

But as he gazed at the familiar surroundings of his hotel room, a pang of nostalgia held him back. He couldn't do it. He couldn't leave this world, not yet. There was still a flicker of fear, a sliver of terror somewhere deep inside him that told him to live, to keep holding on. He slowly stepped down, his feet steadier than before.

Badrick sank onto the sofa and reached for the remote, his fingers automatically flicking on the TV. The glow of the screen flooded the room, chasing away the shadows as it flickered to life.

He let the sounds of whatever program was on wash over him, the constant barrage of noise providing a distraction from his own thoughts. It was a small comfort, but for now, it was enough.

But soon he noticed the program that was going on.

Badrick couldn't tear his eyes away from the TV screen. The news anchors were still reporting on the meteorite incident, the images from the tsunami replaying over and over again. He couldn't believe that the cause of the catastrophe was a meteorite. It seemed too surreal.

As Badrick watched the news report on the meteorite, he realized that it didn't matter what the cause was. The result, the loss and devastation, was the only thing that truly mattered. It didn't matter if it was a meteorite, an earthquake, or anything else. The pain, the grief, the emptiness he felt, those were real. And nothing could change that.

As the news coverage continued, Badrick paid particular attention when they mentioned that belongings retrieved from the incident zone were being kept in a nearby location for people to claim them with proof. A spark of hope flickered within him as he realized his wallet, containing all the money he had left for the trip, might be there.

Maybe he could get it back and salvage something from this disaster.

With a sense of urgency, Badrick collected any remaining change he had and booked a taxi to the location where the belongings were being held. His heart raced with a mixture of hope and anxiety as he made his way there, the faint possibility of getting his wallet back fueling his determination.

As Badrick approached near the incident zone, he was struck by the fog that had formed just behind it. Through the misty veil, he could make out the devastating effects of the tsunami, the crumbled buildings, and the wreckage that remained. He quickly made his way to the office situated behind the incident zone, his mind set on recovering his lost wallet. Inside the office, he urgently asked the person-in-charge if they had retrieved his wallet as part of the belongings collection.

Dejection surged through Badrick's heart as the person-in-charge informed him that his wallet hadn't been found. The flicker of hope that had ignited earlier extinguished almost instantly, leaving behind a heavy sense of disappointment. He had pinned his hopes on retrieving his wallet, the only financial lifeline he had left, and its absence felt like a crushing blow.

Walking out of the office, Badrick's eyes fell upon the garden beside the office, There were multiple flower plants there.

Frustration, anger, and desperation overcame him, and he crushed the plants beneath his feet, He stomped on them furiously. But as he looked around, he noticed something unusual. Every plant in there was brown as if they are starting to dry.

As Badrick raced to the beach, the realization slowly dawned upon him.

He tasted a metallic tang on his lips, and the unusual drying of vegetation raised many questions in his mind. Evading the guards protecting the incident zone, he powered through the dense fog and finally reached the beach. However, to his surprise, he saw no visible signs of a meteorite crater.

The security guards, alerted by Badrick's escape, quickly caught up to him and apprehended him. They had been tasked with monitoring the incident zone and preventing unauthorized access, and Badrick's attempt to bypass them had been noticed. As the guards surrounded him, he found himself trapped, with no escape in sight.

As the guards firmly held Badrick and began to drag him away, an unexpected and unsettling occurrence took place. A sudden and sharp ringing sound started to reverberate inside his ears. It grew in intensity, becoming more and more uncomfortable as the guards continued to move him further away from the seashore.

Badrick's mind was a whirlwind of confusion and uncertainty, but one thing stood out with startling clarity. There was something deeply suspicious about the incident. Too many strange occurrences and coincidences were adding up, making it difficult to believe that all of this could be mere random chance. The more he thought about it, the more convinced he became that something far more complex and sinister was at play.