1 Half-Eaten Donut

It was one of those chilly winter morning- no sunlight and only mist all around. The withered leaves on the ground gave a crisp cry as they crumbled under his boots. He entered the bank. Lately, he has known his bank status, still his feet leads him there. The ATM whirrs and displays the amount in his account.

Account Holder: Haruto Miyazaki

Account No.: xxxxxx4562

Acc Balance: ¥4023.00

"Not many days for me." Haruto contemplated. He stepped out of the bank as a dry gust of wind made him shiver. He made up his mind to get himself a cup of coffee and a sandwich. That was his only meal for the day, plain and tasteless. His another round of interviews was scheduled for today. He took the subway to the train station and waited for the train as he took the last bite of the sandwich. As he was sitting on the cold metal bench, he scrolled through the mails from the companies that rejected him. A message popped up on his screen that the electricity bill for his small 10x10 apartment was due. He blankly stared at his mobile screen. He noticed a rat crawling through the train tracks, scrounging for something to eat. As the rat was about to run away with a half-eaten donut in his mouth a train decelerated and came to a stop on the platform. It was the train he was supposed to board. He got up and went into the coach. It was not packed as usual, so he managed to find a seat. He remembered the rat and looked outside to see any trace of it. It was nowhere to be seen. "Probably it died." He concluded. The half eaten donut formed a picture in his mind. For him, it was the man who threw the donut was at fault for the death of the rat. The train clanged as it changed tracks and started for the next station.

It was a glass building, almost thirty floors high. People wearing suits and carrying briefcases were going in and coming out of the building. Everyone wearing the same expression on their faces, and some talking away on their phones. It was a busy hour. Haruto clenched his fist and made his way inside. Crossing the turnstile he came up to the reception and asked the lady at the register for the scheduled interview. He was asked to wait a while and that his name would be called. He realised that there were many applicants for a job interview.

An hour or so had passed until his name got called. Another lady dressed in all black led him to the elevator and pressed the button to the eighteenth floor. It took some time to reach the interview room. the lady engaged with Haruto in small talk to kill the silence. But the loose conversation was not Haruto's strong suit. He got nervous and stammered. Haruto noticed the lady smirking at him through the reflection on the shiny surface of the metal of the elevator. The doors opened and they walked into the interview room.

The interviewing board hardly needed five minutes to give Haruto an immediate rejection. He was sweating bullets as he sat in front of distinguished men. He chickened out and messed up his introduction. He had no chance whatsoever, and he knew this. He knew he would eventually have to return back to his apartment with a rejection. A mellow song was being played in the elevator as he entered it. He suddenly remembered the rat from the station. The rat ran, scrounging in the dark and filthy tracks tempted by a half-eaten donut. It completely ignores the oncoming train, but the donut is a semi-circle. The man who threw away the donut, probably because he disliked the taste of it. And the temptation of a half-eaten donut attracts the rat, probably for the same reason that it was thrown at it. Maybe Haruto was like that rat tempted towards another half-eaten donut that was kept in this building. He thought. But where is his train?

The song on the elevator stopped playing and the doors slid open. He came out of his thoughts and realized he was on the terrace of the building. "I must have pressed the wrong button on the elevator." The wind at such a height was violent. He could see the traffic below as he walked towards the edge. He noticed the station at a distance and a train leaving the station. From this distance, it seemed to be a toy train. He wondered how many half-donut-eating rats were killed every day. 

He checked the traffic below again. His hands were on the railing, shaking. The metal door to the terrace behind him clanged loudly as a strong wind blew through the terrace. The next thing Haruto knew, the traffic on the road was getting closer and closer to his eyes. He realised that his train had arrived and another half-donut-eating rat was being killed.