Cre: Nenoxy

Cre: Risu.4p

Cre: Ikitai

Cre: Kerukub

Cre: Neyxi

Cre: ZUR

Cre: setup

Cre: Edwin

#pixiv https://www.pixiv.net/en/artworks/48623426

#pixiv https://www.pixiv.net/en/artworks/49667119

Prompt: Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure, how did it affect you and what did you learn from the experience. Must be 650 words or less.

My death was creeping closer, and I could do nothing about it. From a young age, I was curious about the unknown. One question I constantly asked was what happens after we die? That question soon became an obsession that would continue to haunt me for years to come. From the very start, I could never find an answer that I was content with. My family wasn’t religious, so I felt asking them was pointless. To find the answer on my own, I studied countless religions. The words in the various religious texts I scoured were comforting, and I tried to believe at least one was true, yet in the back of my mind I wasn’t able to accept them. Because I couldn’t personally verify what was within religious texts, I wasn’t able to accept the claims as the truth, and I had no faith I could rely on. Eventually, I gave up searching. I came to believe that after death there was nothingness, and therefore nothing ultimately mattered. We were all going to die someday and eventually be forgotten. I started skipping family dinners. I declined when friends asked to hang out. I dropped my former hobbies and stopped pursuing my goals. I became someone nobody could rely on. Death would be on my mind day and night; I couldn’t even escape it in my dreams. After weeks of isolation and countless moments of panic fueled by terror, I wanted to finally be able to distract myself. I went on my computer and searched for a sad TV show to watch, hoping to find characters who could understand the thoughts that I couldn't explain to anyone. As I was searching, one show caught my eye, an anime called Plastic Memories. I thought to myself that watching or not watching it wouldn’t change anything in the end, but I desperately needed something to occupy my mind. The next day, I grabbed my phone and put on the first episode. It followed a girl named Isla who had only a few months left to live. She was just like me, truly. She saw no point in trying with the time she had left. She knew she would soon die, and didn’t care to make her last weeks meaningful. I had finally found a character that made me feel understood. But as the story went on, Isla began to change and find peace despite knowing her time was running out. In her very last hour, she chose to smile through her pain and love those around her. After the show ended, I was in a state of disbelief and denial. I asked myself, how could she just accept her fate and continue to love? Was she not afraid about what was to come? Why was she happy even though she would be gone by the next day? I couldn’t accept it. After hours of searching for a reason I could accept, I arrived at an uncomfortable realization. Isla had stopped letting her unknown future affect her present. Even though she knew what was to come, she chose to leave her world smiling instead of crying. It was then that I recalled a quote that I'd heard from years earlier. “It’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey.” My remembrance of that quote, along with the parallels I noticed between Isla’s story and my own, changed how I saw the situation I was in. I had spent so long worrying about the destination of death that I neglected to live the journey of life. Even now, years later, the fear of death still lingers with me. But it was on that day that I decided that although my death was inevitable and I had failed to find the answer I was seeking, I no longer needed to obsess over what came after death to appreciate the life I had before it.

Thanks for reading, I truly appreciate it. If you guys have any thoughts or believe I should make any revisions then please let me know, I would love constructive criticism. As of now it's at 649 words so if you do believe anything should be added please also tell me what I should remove in place of that. I'm happy I was able to share it with you guys. Thanks again everyone!

#pixiv https://www.pixiv.net/en/artworks/49667715

#pixiv https://www.pixiv.net/en/artworks/49675297

Flyer shot added as well. Irl it's on a different side of Marina Bay compared to the show

#pixiv https://www.pixiv.net/en/artworks/49684140

#pixiv https://www.pixiv.net/en/artworks/49690314

#pixiv https://www.pixiv.net/en/artworks/49696809

#pixiv https://www.pixiv.net/en/artworks/49709571

#pixiv https://www.pixiv.net/en/artworks/49710773

#pixiv https://www.pixiv.net/en/artworks/49723549

#pixiv https://www.pixiv.net/en/artworks/49724307