Part 1: The Beginning

Try to imagine this for me.

It's Wednesday. You wake up groggily, no matter how much you've actually slept – nine, ten, eleven hours, it makes no difference. You find yourself wondering if this is just what being over thirty feels like, this constant, low hum of "what's the point of it all?"

The shower head’s pressure is weak sauce.

The toaster offers up burnt, half-buttered toast.

Your car groans on startup, practically begging you to fix its dying transmission with what little cash is left in your bank account.

Traffic, as always, is a backed-up nightmare; whichever lane you gamble on, it conspires to make you even later for work. You question if this city life, with its expensive conveniences, is worth all the goddamn trouble. Spotify, in its infinite wisdom, serves up back-to-back Nickelback, but you can’t change it – there’s a cop right behind you, eagle-eyeing for anyone daring to touch their phone.