

Dim light causes Matthew to stir from his far from peaceful slumber. As he sits up to meet the morning, he groans in unison with his tired body.

"Another day. Another damned day." After sitting on his bed regretting the upcoming events, Matthew finally forces his overworked limbs to rejoin reality and places his clothing upon his body. Yawns overtake his mouth as he works his way into the kitchen for a mediocre bowl of cereal. Looking into the fridge, he detects a foul odor coming from the milk bottle. He grunts, grabs his prepared bowl, and begins chewing on the pieces without the milk.

Once the crumbs had all been forced down Matthew's throat, he began assembling his bag for the day. The laptop he grabs is old and on the end of its life, barely clinging to its last threads of survival. Without any hint of gentleness, he shoves the laptop into its case and places the strap upon his shoulder. After slipping into his dirty shoes, the man grabs the door handle and steps into the world.

Dim eyes scan the cityscape, groping its surface for signs of threat other than the thick smog that threatens to choke the breath out of his lungs. A thick man dressed in shabby clothes which had been poorly patched up steps into view. Matthew cringes as he continues on his path, praying to a dead god that he'll be left alone. The stranger walks by, giving only a quick glance, no small blade in sight. Matthew lets out a silent sigh, for once glad that he looks so poor. 

After fifteen minutes had passed, the man enters a dirt-covered building that has been grayed with age. "Morning Bill," he greets the man at the entrance. "Morning Matt," the man greets back. Matthew continues through the heavy machinery, considering that it could tear off his limbs in an instant. His mind attempts fervently to block out his working station, located right next to the piece of machinery that was the biggest threat. His mind failed, as it always did. He got to work, pulling powerful levers and running errands every thirty minutes, hoping uselessly to get a promotion. 

Lunch takes too long to arrive, and when it does, Matthew's body greets it with open arms. Taking his this burger into his calloused hands, he devours the food, succumbing to it. All too soon, his meal is gone, leaving nothing but the gray tray and the grayer table beneath it. Once again Matthew must force his body up to rejoin the life that he so dreads. 

The work day eventually comes to a close. He has no more energy than he did at the beginning of the day and his tired feet shuffle across the floor. Trying to be optimistic, he envisions his bed - crawling into it, resting, falling prey to his sleepy mind. Then his pessimist is once again revealed as he remembers that he'll have to wake up. Heaving a gargantuan sigh, he dreams of never again waking then he thinks, "If only dreams would become real." 

