A Depressed Male (India) (Nicholas Meaclis)

It's 20:59(8:59pm). Your home is quiet and dark, except for the soft sound coming from your headphones and the bright glow of your TV while you played on your PS4. It had become a routine. You live alone in a 2BHK flat on rent. You work as an engineer in a multinational company. Life seems to be dull and miserable. You're stuck in a dead-end job with no increments. Your only solace was your gaming console. When you were not working your ass off for "the company", you were playing video games.

Your name is Nicholas Meaclis and you are a citizen of India. You are a 23-year-old guy unhappy with how life was going for you. You just quit Facebook and Instagram a few days ago, unable to bear the fact that your friends were much happier and successful than you were. It just reminded you of how spectacularly below average you were. Life isn't easy.

Your phone alarm rings at 21:00. It was time for your shower. You had to keep these alarms to remind yourself to take a bath every day. Couldn't go to work smelling like a dumpster. Opening the door of your modest bathroom you switch on the lights, remove your clothes, and enter the shower. You take a cold bath and wash yourself up nicely. You dry yourself with a towel and stare at yourself in the mirror. You see a young guy standing at 5'9" with light brown skin, dark brown hair, and dark green eyes. Your mom says you're handsome, although you chalk it up to just parental love. After all, what kind of parent would call their child ugly? You brush your teeth and get out of the bathroom.

*zzzz* *zzzz*. You hear your phone buzz with 10 new notifications. It was your mom. You just sigh and swipe away all the notifications without reading it and go to sleep in your bedroom. The phone rings this time after five minutes. It was your mom. You ignore the call and let it die. She calls you back within the space of a minute. Again it was your mom. She wasn't going to let you go until you picked up her phone. You reluctantly pick it up.

"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU!!?? I KNOW YOU'RE ALWAYS HOME AT THIS TIME OF THE DAY SO WHY DIDN'T YOU PICK UP MY PHONE?? AND DON'T YOU DARE TELL ME IT WAS ON SILENT EITHER!"

"Mumma...*sigh*...I was just tired and trying to get some sleep. I have work tomorrow. Why did you call me? What world-ending scenario has taken place that would need my attention?"

"Don't act smart with me boy! A mother should need no reason to call her only child! You were in my womb for 9 months and I've raised you for the next 21 YEARS OF YOUR LIFE!! AND THIS IS THE RESPONSE I GET FROM YOU??!!"

"*sigh* I'm so sorry mom. You're right. I was being a jerk. Things aren't going so well for me here and I took out all my frustrations on you. I'm sorry about that."

"Yeah, it's okay. I had a feeling you weren't doing so well which is why I called. Listen why don't you come back home for a week. It'll do you some good. You haven't taken a vacation for the past 2 years and it's taking a toll on you. Come back, home son."

"It's not my home any more mom. And I can't come back...I've got a job to do and..."

"What do you mean it's not your home? It'll always be your home. And if you don't come here I'm gonna come over there to visit you!"

"NO!!.... Okay FINE... I'll be there this Sunday until the next Sunday. Is that fine with you?"

"Great! I can't wait to meet my son! It's been so long..."

"Yeah...meet you soon..bye!"

"Yeah...just remember, if you're not here by Sunday I'll be at your place by Monday!"

"Yes mom.."

"Goodnight son"

"Goodnight mom"

*BEEP*. The call ends. You can't believe she threatened you like that. Although you really weren't ready to call her at your place. Although you lived in a good neighborhood your house wasn't much to speak of and you were kinda ashamed of it. Looks like you had to go back to that place after all.

You apply for an 8 day holiday the next day at your office siting "family issues" and your stingy boss grants you leave without pay while also berating you for your supposedly sloppy work which was never the case. You don't fight his decision. You just accept it and move on hoping he wouldn't cancel it altogether. Your manager drones on and on about how you should do your work and what you lack in. You just keep nodding and agree with him. Going back home seems to sound like a really good idea with every passing minute.