"Let's break up..."
"I want to live my life now, I want to focus on me... Thanks for staying by my side all this time but I think it's best to go separate ways..."
Such words echoed in Dan's dream, he saw himself in a dark room and the words pierced into his heart like a dagger shoved into his chest. He tossed and turned unable to wake up from the dream. In the dream, he felt his legs grow weaker and the voice grow louder. This wasn't the first time he's seen such a dream or rather this nightmare. He covered his ears to block the voice but it kept growing louder and even more louder for him. The moment it reached it's peaked is when he suddenly woke up. He was sweating intensely, his body feeling a sudden chill followed by severe shaking. It was as if he caught the chills, he quickly reached for the cabinet next to his bed for his anxiety medicine.
For two years now, Dan has been relying on medications for times like these. He would suddenly get panic attacks and sleep paralysis and so he got prescribed some meds to help him overcome it. In addition, his career wasn't helping, when faced with intense stress and work such episodes became even more frequent leading to him sleeping less or even avoiding sleeping as a whole. Tonight just happened to be one of those nights. He couldn't fully catch his breathe from the fright, so he poured some water in a glass, took a pill and swallowed it. Of course the pills wouldn't take effect immediately so he took a bedsheet and covered himself fully to stop himself from shaking.
After a few minutes passed he finally got some sleep once again. The meds helped him sleep and when he opened his eyes again it was finally morning. A new day different from the intenseness he had last night. Dan immediately got out of bed and rushed to the kitchen for a morning coffee. The moment he reached the kitchen, his doorbell rang. He opened the door and it was Tim his manager.
"Good morning Dan..." Tim enthusiastically asked the slightly annoyed Dan.
"Fine... Why are you here?" Dan responded as he poured the coffee beans into the coffee grinder. He carefully puts the lid on and started slowly grinding. This sound felt like therapy to him, the turning of the beans, crushed to fine particles. Dan always grinds coffee when he wakes up from a night of an episode. He intended to have a peaceful morning just grinding his coffee and enjoying it on his open balcony but Tim had to show up and ruin it.
"I brought you a ticket..." Tim answers.
"What ticket?"
"A movie premiere ticket... Boss said that you needed to attend for PR of your new collaboration. Your partner, has a movie premiering today..." Tim places the ticket on the small table in the kitchen.
"I didn't accept any new project and I don't want to..." Dan answers as he grinds the coffee louder. He pushes the propeller harder to make the loudest noise so that Tim would at least leave him alone.
"Boss accepted it for you... he said and I quote; that rascal thinks sleeping at home will cure him. Let's give him a job for a change..." Tim speaks as he grabs the coffee grinder from Dan's hands and proceed to make the coffee for him. He goes silent for a minute then asks, "Are you ok?"
Tim happens to be the one person who knows Dan inside out, he knows his mood and temper. He is familiar with his tendencies and he was there with Dan throughout his two year hiatus from the entertainment industry. He saw how he struggled to get over his trauma and in those years and so seeing him grinding the coffee already alerted him of the state of mind Dan might be in. Dan took a minute to give him a soft 'yeah' as an answer.
"Dan..." Tim turned to speak to Dan, his tone now deep as the mood had gotten. "We are all thinking of you... Me and the boss, we want you to get out of this state and focus on other things. That's why, boss accepted this project without your knowledge. I just hope you won't drown yourself in sorrow and try to move on for a change..." He taps his shoulder and heads out. At the door he says, "Movie starts at 8 in the evening... make sure you appear..."
Dan takes the ticket, the movie title written on it and it reads, 'Second Chance'. He scoffs lightly, slams the ticket back on the table then walks back to bed. He was planning to read a book as per his usual schedule but Tim came in and ruined his flow.
Dan never said he didn't want to go back to acting? It's just that he needed to stop the jitters, the chills, the panic attacks. Dan recalls how acting was his passion and how he at one point gave up everything for it. He remembers the battles he had to fight against his family until he was free from their shackles. He wouldn't just give it up if he were at his peak. He would push himself, forget sorrow, forget despair, he would push and work hard.
As he closed his eyes to sleep, his head started raising a few questions for himself. How did he get to this point anyways? How is he unable to step outside? Was it really because he was sick? Or did he just wish to close himself off from the world? How many people in this world have gone through what he did and they are still walking the streets and living their lives. Are they not human as well or is he just a weakling? The cloud of doubt and questions filled his head unable to call on any sleep. He got off bed and headed to his balcony where he saw people busy heading to their destinations. He saw a homeless man busy collecting bottles from dustbins, a pregnant woman carrying heavy grocery bags and even a young kid with a heavy backpack heading to school. Surely their lives are even worse than his right now, but life goes on as they say. Dan has never moved on from two years ago, he let his life be affected by a mere setback which he's clearly able to overcome.
Time just can't stop after one crisis, Dan needed to fight, fight harder than how he fought to start his career. He needs to get back his life which has been at crossroads for two years.
Dan's day went by as usual, reading a book, sleeping, waking up after some time, heading to the refrigerator, eating something and just like that darkness fell. It is now 7:30pm, Dan is woken up by the trash collectors truck, and the truck always honks in a loud tone which always annoys Dan. He gets out of bed and heads to the kitchen where he sees the movie ticket. Tim had informed him that the movie was premiering today and when he checks the time it's almost premier time. Premiers are usually not attended by many people, it's usually the whole crew plus a few celebrities who get invited that attend. Dan thinks that it's not such a bad idea to go out and there won't be many people anyways, so he won't need to interact with anyone whatsoever. So he quickly got ready and finally was able to be on his way to the cinema.
The cinema hall was bustling with people, kids, women, couples all gathered to be entertained for the night. There were several cameras as well, surely there for the premier of the movie he got a ticket for. He quietly walked to the teller, showed his ticket and was immediately permitted to enter the hall. He didn't bother himself with popcorns or anything the lesser people he interacts with the better. He enters the fully lit hall and walks to the furthest corner and sits at a sit just before the one at the edge. He adjusts his cap to completely cover his face from recognition, he also brought a face mask to add to the disguise. Slowly, people started entering the hall, a group of people in suits entered and took all of the front seats. It's obvious that they were the film crew, they exchange greetings and assign each other seats.
At the front, they leave almost four seats, these seats are for the main actor and actress and the producer and director of the movie. Looking around, he would totally be the odd one out, sitting too far away from the others would attract even more attention. So he moved forward, closer to the screen and just behind the four empty seats. Everyone involved was chatting and interacting with each other. It looked like this movie was a hot one by looking at the fans outside and the atmosphere inside the theatre. Dan had some idea who his new partner was, he had searched through the internet to find out a few things about her. Apparently, she was the rising star recently, she had gained so much fame in the years he was inactive and considering Dan's disappearance from the industry, he might as well be considered a rookie.
Not to long after shouts and screams were heard from outside, then entered the three men and one lady. In front was the main girl of the movie, she looked so youthful, so cheerful and so full of life. It felt like the hall got brighter with her entrance. A star who has her light bright and shining like the sun. She greeted everyone politely and finally took a seat right in front of Dan. Dan had learned her name from the internet, she was called Mia.
The movie started, it had been so long since Dan sat down to watch a movie. This movie was about a girl who had a second chance to choose between her family or her love. Apparently, it wasn't a romance movie and love is never always the answer. Throughout the two hours length, this girl went from abandoning her family for love to putting love aside for her family. Such a tough journey for a girl in her early twenties, she witnessed the death of her family by choosing love over them. Sobbing could be heard from the several people in the hall, Dan as well, he was deeply touched by the message of the movie. At a young age, he left home to pursue his dreams yet family is important too. He would have been way better and in a better state of mind if he had family to rely on.
After the movie ended, Mia turned back and saw Dan... she extended her hand to him with a bright smile written on her face. Dan also extended his hand and that was their first meeting and also first handshake. She extended her hand to him and with that hand, she pulled him out of the darkness he was swallowed by. that bright smile lit the path to his recovery and the warmth in her hand whispered life into his drained self. Dan left the cinema with more answers than questions, as if he was born again. The movie just woke up his passion, as if Mia took that role to wake him up. Her acting was so excellent he felt all the emotions, maybe it's because he had been clouded with terror and fear or it could just be because Mia breathed life into the character. All in all, something had changed that day, Dan had changed and he slept every night counting the days to when he'll finally meet Mia again.
The hot news of Mia's new play reached the media and so the whole of the entertainment industry found out. Fans some drew petition to stop the collaboration, they claimed that she was too good for a rookie like Dan. Some dug out Dan's past and laid it all open for other fans and passer's by to gobble over. Dan was getting his name mopped over the floor with Mia's fans were furious and beasts to him. His manager, managed to pull him away from all social media, he made sure his precious Dan would not see not even one of the hate comments towards him. As they got nastier by the day. He was determined to see him return to showbiz no matter what.
Finally, they day had come... Dan and Mia were meant to meet. They had to have dinner with the director, producer and scriptwriter to plan on the way forward. Although Dan felt nervous, he wanted to stay as composed as ever. He made sure he calmed his nerves before heading out. Apart from meeting Mia formally, he was excited to finally get his first script in his hands after so long. It's that moment that he'll feel like he really back, like he's really overcame everything he went through. Tim came to pick him up, in the car he could see Dan's face glowing from excitement. Such a pretty sight yet he hadn't seen it for so long. At last, Dan was back and he would finally also be able to see him on TV once again.
"Hey Dan... how are you feeling?" Tim asked.
"I hope I'll do good Tim, I want to do good..." Dan replied in a worried tone.
"You will... I know you will Dan. You are the most hardworking person I've seen and you know how much I love your acting... you already have a fan what's there to fear..." Tim chuckles as he continues driving. Maybe that was what Dan wanted to hear all along, just one person who honestly believes in him. Just one person, who has his back no matter how many times he falls down or feels down, that person will always help him back up.
He never had ventured into acting because he wanted a huge fanbase or anything, Dan only wanted to do what he loved. Although it took him two years to get back up on his feet, this ride at the moment was the only push he needed. He planned to make the most of it, so that he doesn't let down his manager, Tim and even more so, himself.
The meeting was being held at the Crescent hotel, it was a five-star hotel and also the hotel rumored to be owned by their sponsor. The entrance was grand, deserved to be labeled five-star, it felt like an entry to a different world. Classy furniture and design, luxurious style with hundreds of employees, guests and several executives. Everything was glowing in either gold or silver, the employees all looked extremely well trained with their etiquette and manners in check. It was a chain of fancy, glamor and luxury from the entrance. Tim went on ahead to the inquiry to confirm their reservation and they were ushered to the meeting room.
Dan took his seat, the director and script writer had already arrived. He introduced himself politely and extended his thanks to their choosing him for their work. the director explained that he remembered seeing his debut work and thought he would really suit the main lead of the play. He also added how hard he worked to find him and even how much harder it was to convince his manager to agree to the job. As they were continuing on catching up, that's when the door opened and in entered Mia. Her entrance alone just immediately changed the whole vibe of the room. She was after all, the epitome of elegance itself.
The moment Dan saw her, he stood up with his eyes wandering all over the place. He couldn't bring himself to look her in the eyes yet.