A Flight's Desire

Chapter 1: Sleepless Nights

And who knew that she would find more than just inspiration in the days that followed?

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In a different part of Budapest, a young man ran his fingers through his dark wavy hair as he couldn't bring himself to fall asleep. It was a few hours past midnight and he was staring at the ceiling in the dark, watching the lights from the passing vehicles outside make patterns. He remembered the imagination game that he used to play while trying to associate a character to the shapes on the ceiling because of the lights. He felt nostalgic and a wave of emotions hit him at once. As much as wanted it to happen, he couldn't become a little kid again.

Having not wanted to think about the worries of his life for a while, he groaned and gave up on sleep. He forced himself out of the comfort of his bed, his feet brushing against the cold surface of the wooden floor of his hotel room. He tried to brush the sleep out of his eyes as he walked to the washroom.

Switching the bright white light of the overhead lights inside the washroom, his sleepless eyes stung at first. After blinking quickly several times, he seemed to daze out of that state. He stared at himself in the mirror. His skin was pale, the only mark on his face being the scar over his right eyebrow. Dark circles threatened to creep under his eyes. "Why are you like this?" He knew that it wasn't right to talk to oneself while facing a mirror but he was too tired to think clearly. "Maybe you need something different in life."

He opened the medicine bag on the counter of the pedestal and pulled out the prescription that his psychologist had given him. It was not that long since he had started going for counseling and treatment, but even the course of six months felt like forever.

Thinking about what he was doing with his life, he held the dull prescription bottle in his hand. He wasn't doing very well compared to his colleagues in the film industry. He wondered whether it was worth continuing as an actor. How could he face everyone with everything that was running in his head? He wasn't even sure who he was anymore. Everything felt strange and different. He wondered whether he had made the right decision about joining acting school several years ago. He had taken part in school plays and college dramas before that, but he had never been serious about it until he saw an interview of his favourite actor in the entire world.

But wondering about it that night, he thought that maybe he should have finished his higher studies and then worked at some company all his life. Maybe he would have gotten married to a nice woman like his mother had been talking to him about. At least, he wouldn't have been fighting with his own mind.

People had always told him that he was a good actor but something was missing in his life. There was an emptiness; a void that he could feel but could never bring himself to talk about it. He didn't know what it was and that was exactly the problem. It had been with him most of his life but it had grown to nag him during silent moments in the past few months. He thought it was money and recognition, since he hadn't grown up seeing a lot of it in his life. He was brought up in a humble way and he was grateful to his parents for that. But like everyone else that he had the privilege of knowing, he always wondered what it would be like to have fame as a part of his life while trying to pursue his hobby, and that was the reason he chose to become an actor in the middle of his higher studies.

But even after acting in about ten movies, he wasn't entirely sure of what he wanted to become in life. He found it absolutely absurd when society expected others to know what they wanted to become in the future when they were only teenagers.

Life was unpredictable and you couldn't control it even if you wanted to.

He still felt that something was missing. And who knew that he would find this something in the days to follow?

He had dedicated fans all over the world and they were his only ray of hope. He tried venturing into new ideas like directing a short film and singing covers on Instagram. His fans were supportive as always and he was grateful to have them. Every year, he looked forward to Comic Cons, where he could meet and get to know them personally, even if that was only for a short while.

He walked over to the living room and opened the curtains wide. He stared at his own reflection for some time before admiring the gorgeous city that looked even more beautiful at night than it did during the day. He had taken a short tour of the city after meeting with the producers of an upcoming movie, who wanted him to act as the lead but of course, someone with more fame called in for the role and they were handed it on a silver platter.

Despite all their apologies for bringing him all the way over to Budapest, Ben Summers didn't regret the trip. He loved the city. He loved that there were very few people that knew him as an actor. He mingled with the crowd as if he was a tourist. It had been a while since he could do so but he was overcome with joy when a fan approached him and respectfully asked for a photograph with him.

The phone on the nightstands of Robin and Ben rang, more or less at the same time. "Who could that be?" They thought as they rushed to pick it up.