My Savior

Foreword/Chapter 1: View from the Window

Kris sighed as he removed his reading glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. He'd had a long week, and wanted nothing more than to go back to his apartment and sleep. However, he had recently been selected to lead an important project, and the job had unfortunately resulted in him leaving the office a good 4 hours after his coworkers. But then again, Kris thought to himself, there was something peaceful about being all alone in his office, looking out the window at the street lined with various shops and restaurants.

Sometimes he would even pretend he could see the Han River from his large office window – and although he never dwelled on the childish thought for long, Kris occasionally imagined he could see his house in China. Even more occasionally, those thoughts led to reminiscing about the past and wondering why he'd left his family back in China for so long. A quick look at the pile of paperwork on his desk soon reminded him why he had left once he turned 18 – someone had to keep the family afloat in this worsening economy.

Besides, it's not as though he hadn't spoken with them at all in the past 6 years – there had been plenty of phone calls, FaceTimes, and even an (attempted) surprise visit last Christmas. Kris had found out through his blabbermouth sister and had promptly cancelled the tickets, cutting off his mother's protests with a simple "We can't afford it" before hanging up the phone.

Another sigh passed Kris's lips as he stood from the uncomfortable office chair to go stand by the window. He began to ponder the sudden absence of phone calls that he'd had with his family for the past couple months, but was suddenly drawn out of his thoughts when he spotted a tall figure limping down the nearly empty sidewalk before dropping to its knees and crawling slowly before collapsing next to the bus stop.

Just as Kris was about to rush out of his office to go and help the poor individual, he noticed another man kneel down next to the figure and pick them up. Sighing again, this time in relief, Kris glanced at his office clock for a full minute before realizing that he still had 3 more data files to input before he could call it a day.

As he turned his back on the window, Kris failed to notice the person who had collapsed struggling weakly against his supposed "helper."