The stress he felt was like diving underwater, only to stay there.

Only to die there.

He felt like his lungs would collapse. He felt like his head would explode. He felt like he could just stay under there forever.

He lived a stressed life. A very sad, a very lonely life. Nobody at work like him, and he didn’t like anyone at work. His mother died years ago, he had never known his father. He had always been an only child.

That job he hated didn’t help pay for anything. He still owed companies money. He couldn’t really borrow from friends. He didn’t have any.

He thrashed his feet, trying to swim up. It was like that feeling you get when you know you’ve stayed underwater for just too long, and you need to take a breath. He swung his arms and thrashed his legs, and there, right above him was a light.

He knew that if he went towards that light, all his problems would go away. He just knew it. So he reached up with one hand, kicked his legs one last stroke.

And all his troubles went away.