It is almost midnight as Jiro entered his bedroom in his penthouse apartment.He got a drink in his hand as he walked straight to the glass window that has the magnificent view of the city.Varied multitudes of lights flashed before his very eyes.New York is the city that never sleeps.One can feel the pulse of the city once you step on it.And Jiro knows the pulse of the city inside and outside.He has walked the streets of this big apple,well he practically grew up on the streets,knowing each turns and nooks in this magnificent place.

It has been a long haul ,coming from the lowest boy of the streets,who got nothing, to the highest man on the top,who got everything,Material things that is.He didn't know how he made it,but he did it.And he did it not without bad blood in his hands.But when you're there ,you just know that you have to do it.That is how you survive in the streets of the mean and the strong.It is either their life or your life,and there is no in between.Decisions are instantaneous,and you conscience has gone or has come in hiding from you.You cannot hear your inner self anymore.You are just to aware of the outside world.You have to in order to live.

As he looked at the photograph in his hands...the boy with a toothless smile in his face and the couple who was holding him and smiling down at him,affection can be seen in their faces.The sweet ,innocent Jiro that his parents thought he was.Never did they thought that he lost his way early on,as he got hooked in an addiction that ultimately lead to his family's death and yes he got nobody but himself to blame for all of it.

Images of his Father and Mother came to him ,as he sat down on his lounge chair,he took another gulp of drink in his hand.He need it,to mask the pain and the sorrow and the guilt he felt right now.

His father is a righteous man,at least in his eyes.He worked as a clerk in the City Hall,in the nearby town.and his Mom was a teacher's aide in the public school.Simple life,simple dreams,that is all they got.As long as they have food on the table and a roof in their head,then they are happy,as long as they are together.He was the only child and he pretty got everything that he needs and whatever he wants.He is loved and adored by both of his parents.With all the love that he got,how come he ends up like this....sour and bitter?

They used to go to the city,a fifteen minutes ride in the train,is that all it takes and it is only ten cents fare.His parents used to take him there and then when he was older,he used to go on his own,especially during classes,unknown to his parents.He likes the buzz and the sounds of the city.It fascinates him and it gives him an all time high.And as he spent more time in the streets,he was bound to meet a lot of people,all different people with different values,and different beliefs,totally the opposite of what he is taught to believe.And the knowledge that he learned in the streets,confused him and made him choose the wrong directions in his life.

He learned early that he does not want the simple life anymore,he doesn't want to go to school,look for a job and earn a meager earning.He wants the easy way and the fast way to earn the bucks.It was easy,the man in the corner said,just deliver the goodie in a specified address,and then he will give him the money and return to them.He can earn in a day what his parents has worked for in a month and more.Everything came easy to him then.

But that is not the only flip of the coin,he has learned to gamble too.The drive,the emotions and the high,whenever he is holding the deck of cards in his hands.The higher the stakes,the better it is and the feeling of excitement and happiness when winning is nothing one can imagine.And before he knew he was hook to it.He would lost his day's earning in one stake and will work again for another day.

And it happen on one fateful day when everything of the easy life has to come to an end.He cannot live in a double life anymore.It was an ordinary trade went wrong,and the money at stake is quite high,more than his life and his parents life all together.He didn't knew,he can't remember if he is getting too careless or the stars are up against him that day,as he delivered the goods ,only to be busted as he ran away from the scene...the drugs..he doesn't know what become of it.Nobody knows.The police don't have it and he doesn't have it nor the gang.Everyone is pointing at him,and before he knew,there was an accident in the house and his parents who were sleeping in their sleep,are gone.He ran away and vanished from earth after that.

Tears came at the memories of his parents .He never knew that he is going to hurt them in the end.If he knew then what he knew now,then his life will be totally different from what it is now....he won't be the Jiro that he is now..Maybe he can at least smile and laugh,truly smile and laugh and be happy at himself...Happiness is a long grasp from where he is right now ,and he doesn't know how to reach out for it....as he finished the drink in his hand...