THE DAY TOMORROW BECOME TOO HEAVY
The first time Lena Alonso saw death, she was eight years old.
She didn’t know it was death.
At that age, death was only a word adults whispered when they thought children weren’t listening.
For Lena, the world was still simple.
Her mother woke her up for school.
Her father complained about traffic.
Her mother packed too much food in her lunchbox.
And every evening, the three of them sat together at the dinner table.
It was an ordinary life.
Until the headaches started.
At first, Lena said nothing.
She thought they would disappear.
But they didn’t.
One morning, while she was getting ready for school, the room suddenly spun.
The walls moved.
The floor seemed to disappear beneath her feet.
“Mom…”
Her mother’s voice came from somewhere far away.
“Lena?”
Lena tried to answer.
She couldn’t.
Her vision blurred.
The last thing she remembered was her mother’s frightened face rushing toward her.
Then everything went black.
Four Hours Earlier
“Mom, I don’t feel good.”
Her mother immediately turned around.
Lena was sitting at the kitchen table, one hand pressed against her head.
“Headache again?”
Lena nodded.
Her father looked up from his coffee.
“How bad?”
Lena shrugged.
“Not that bad.”
Her mother exchanged a worried glance with her father.
They had heard that answer too many times.
Lena had been complaining about headaches for weeks.
Sometimes she felt dizzy.
Sometimes she couldn’t see properly.
And sometimes she simply became exhausted for no reason.
Her mother crouched beside her.
“Look at me.”
Lena slowly lifted her eyes.
Her mother placed a hand against her forehead.
“You’re coming with us to the hospital.”
“But school—”
“No school today.”
Her father grabbed his keys.
“Your mother is right.”
Lena sighed.
“Fine.”
She stood.
One step.
Two.
Then the room tilted.
“Lena!”
Her mother’s voice was the last thing she heard.
Her body went limp.
Hospital
When Lena opened her eyes again, the ceiling above her was white.
A machine was beeping beside her.
Her mother was sitting beside the bed.
Her eyes were red.
“Mom?”
Her mother immediately leaned forward.
“Lena!”
She hugged her carefully.
“You scared me.”
Lena blinked.
“What happened?”
Her father stood near the window.
He looked unusually serious.
“The doctors ran some tests.”
Lena looked between her parents.
“What’s wrong with me?”
Neither answered.
A doctor entered the room.
He carried a folder.
He sat beside Lena’s bed.
“Lena, we found something.”
She stared at him.
“What?”
The doctor opened the folder.
“You have a tumor.”
Lena frowned.
“What does that mean?”
Her father immediately asked,
“Is it dangerous?”
The doctor shook his head.
“It’s small. We caught it early.”
Her mother let out a shaky breath.
“So she’ll be okay?”
“We’ll treat it,” the doctor said. “But she will need regular monitoring.”
Lena looked at her parents.
Her father smiled at her.
“See?”
He gently touched her hair.
“You’re going to be fine.”
Lena believed him.
Because she was eight.
Because her parents were there.
Because she didn’t know yet that life could change without asking permission.
Four Years Later
Lena was twelve when everything disappeared.
Her parents died suddenly.
And just like that—
the home she’d known all her life became a place she could never return to.
She was sent to an orphanage.
The tumor was treated again, and doctors continued monitoring her condition.
They told her she could still live a normal life.
So Lena tried.
She went to school.
She made a few friends.
She studied.
She smiled.
But she never stopped missing her parents.
Every birthday felt wrong.
Every holiday felt empty.
Every time another child was picked up by their parents, Lena looked away.
Years passed.
And Lena learned how to live without expecting anyone to stay.
Age Seventeen
Her condition worsened.
The headaches became stronger.
Her body became weaker.
She started missing school.
Then she started missing weeks.
Eventually, she couldn’t continue.
Lena left school at seventeen.
No graduation.
No final celebration.
Just another goodbye.
After that, hospitals became her second home.
Doctors.
Tests.
Scans.
Medication.
Waiting.
She grew older while sitting beneath fluorescent lights.
And eventually—
she stopped hoping.
Age Nineteen
The hospital corridor was almost empty.
Rain struck the windows.
Lena sat alone outside the doctor’s office.
Her fingers were intertwined.
She already knew something was wrong.
The doctor had called her in urgently.
Finally, the door opened.
“Lena?”
She stood.
“Come in.”
She entered.
The doctor closed the door.
“Please sit.”
Lena sat down.
The doctor looked at her medical report for several seconds.
Then he looked at her.
“Your tumor has progressed.”
Lena didn’t react.
“How long?”
The doctor hesitated.
“…Around one hundred days.”
Silence.
Lena stared at him.
“One hundred?”
He nodded.
She laughed softly.
Not because it was funny.
Because she didn’t know what else to do.
“That’s it?”
The doctor looked down.
“Lena, I’m sorry.”
She stood.
“Don’t be.”
She picked up her bag.
“I’ve heard worse.”
But her voice broke on the last word.
She left the room.
Outside
Rain poured over the city.
Lena stood beneath the hospital entrance.
She watched people walking past.
Families.
Friends.
Couples.
Everyone seemed to have somewhere to go.
Everyone seemed to belong somewhere.
Lena didn’t.
She looked up at the sky.
Her eyes burned.
“I don’t want tomorrow.”
Her voice was barely audible.
“I don’t want another hospital.”
She swallowed.
“I don’t want another day of pretending I’m okay.”
The rain continued falling.
Lena closed her eyes.
“I wish…”
Her voice trembled.
“…the whole world would just disappear.”
Nothing happened.
She opened her eyes.
Then—
the streetlights went out.
One by one.
The city fell silent.
Lena slowly turned around.
A man was standing across the street.
Tall.
Dressed entirely in black.
His expression was calm.
Too calm.
He crossed the empty street toward her.
Lena stepped backward.
“Who are you?”
The man stopped in front of her.
“You called me.”
“I didn’t call anyone.”
“Yes.”
His eyes met hers.
“You did.”
Lena’s heart pounded.
“What are you talking about?”
He looked toward the city.
“You wished for destruction.”
Lena froze.
The stranger looked back at her.
“My name is Klaus.”
A pause.
“And I am Destruction.”
Lena stared at him.
She should have run.
She should have screamed.
Instead, she whispered—
“Then why are you here?”
Klaus looked at her for a long moment.
“Because you asked me to end the world.”
He stepped closer.
“But before I destroy it…”
His eyes softened almost imperceptibly.
“I want to understand why you want it gone.”
Lena said nothing.
The rain began falling harder.
And neither of them knew it yet—
but this was the beginning of the final one hundred days of Lena Alonso’s life.
The doctor closed Lena’s file and looked at her seriously.
“You need to rest.”
Lena gave him a tired look.
“I’ve been resting for years.”
“I mean it, Lena. Your condition has progressed. You need to stay here for observation.”
Her expression immediately changed.
“Stay here?”
“Yes.”
“For how long?”
The doctor hesitated.
“As long as necessary.”
Lena shook her head.
“No.”
“Lena—”
“I don’t want to spend my last hundred days staring at hospital walls.”
The doctor went silent.
She looked toward the window.
Rain slid slowly down the glass.
“I want to enjoy them,” she whispered. “Even if I only have a hundred.”
The doctor sighed.
“I understand.”
He wrote something on a prescription sheet and handed it to her.
“Take these exactly as instructed. And please, if you feel worse, come back immediately.”
Lena folded the paper and placed it inside her bag.
“I promise.”
The doctor watched her leave.
He knew that promise probably wouldn’t last.
The Next Morning
Sunlight slipped through the curtains.
Lena slowly opened her eyes.
For a few seconds, she didn’t remember where she was.
Then she noticed something.
Someone was sitting on the sofa.
A man.
Tall.
Dressed in a black turtleneck.
His dark, tousled hair fell slightly over his forehead.
He sat completely still, one arm resting against the back of the sofa.
Lena stared.
Her sleepy mind struggled to process what she was seeing.
Then her eyes widened.
“AHHH!”
She shot upright.
“WHO ARE YOU?!”
The man calmly looked at her.
Lena grabbed the nearest pillow and held it in front of herself.
“How did you get in here?!”
The stranger didn’t answer.
“Get out!”
Still nothing.
Lena’s voice rose.
“I’M CALLING THE POLICE!”
The man finally spoke.
“You won’t.”
Lena froze.
“What?”
He looked at her with an almost emotionless expression.
“You’re Lena Alonso.”
Her grip tightened around the pillow.
“How do you know my name?”
The man stood.
Lena immediately backed toward the headboard.
“Don’t come closer!”
He stopped.
“I didn’t come here to hurt you.”
“Then why are you in my room?!”
A brief silence.
The man looked at her.
“My name is Klaus.”
Lena stared at him.
She had never seen him before.
Then Klaus said quietly,
“You asked for me.”
Lena’s face went pale.
“What?”
“Last night.”
Her heart began pounding.
“You wished for destruction.”
Lena remembered.
The rain.
The empty street.
Her anger.
Her words.
But that couldn’t have been real.
“You…”
She swallowed.
“You’re the man from last night.”
Klaus nodded.
“And I came to answer your wish.”
Lena slowly pushed herself out of bed.
She kept her eyes on Klaus.
He didn’t move.
His expression remained completely blank, almost as if her panic had nothing to do with him.
Lena reached for her phone on the bedside table.
Klaus tilted his head slightly.
“What are you doing?”
Lena ignored him.
She unlocked her phone and immediately dialed a number.
Klaus watched her silently.
Lena lifted the phone to her ear.
“Hello? Officer?”
She glanced at Klaus.
“There is a foolish man who has entered my house.”
Klaus blinked once.
Lena pointed at him.
“He’s sitting in my bedroom like he owns the place!”
Klaus stared at her.
Then, in the same emotionless voice, he said,
“I don’t think I’m foolish.”
Lena covered the phone’s microphone.
“Shut up!”
Klaus nodded.
“Okay.”
Lena turned back to the phone.
“Yes, officer. He’s still here.”
She looked at Klaus again.
He was now staring at her with the same unreadable expression.
Lena lowered her voice.
“And he’s extremely weird.”
Klaus calmly corrected her.
“I’m Destruction.”
Lena slowly looked at him.
“…That doesn’t make you less weird.”
Klaus said nothing.
For some reason, Lena had a feeling this was going to be the longest hundred days of her life.
A few minutes later, there was a loud knock at the door.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Lena immediately looked at Klaus.
“That’s them.”
Klaus remained seated on the sofa.
Then, without warning—
he disappeared.
Lena’s eyes widened.
“What the—?”
She rushed to the door and opened it.
Two police officers stood outside.
“Ma’am, we received a call about someone entering your home.”
Lena quickly stepped aside.
“Yes! He’s inside.”
The officers entered and looked around.
Lena pointed toward the sofa.
“He was sitting right there!”
But the sofa was empty.
Her expression dropped.
“What?”
She looked around the room.
“Klaus?”
Nothing.
One of the officers looked at her.
“Ma’am, are you sure someone was here?”
“Yes!”
She walked around the room.
“He was right there! Tall, black shirt, messy hair—he was talking to me!”
The officers exchanged a glance.
One of them spoke gently.
“There’s no one here.”
Lena stared at them.
“But I saw him!”
The other officer glanced at the medication on her bedside table.
“Have you been sleeping properly?”
Lena frowned.
“Yes!”
The officer gave her a sympathetic look.
“You may have imagined it, ma’am.”
“I am not imagining this!”
“We understand.”
“No, you don’t!”
The officers checked the apartment one more time.
Nothing.
Finally, they left.
“Please get some sleep, ma’am.”
The door closed.
Lena stood completely still.
Silence filled the room.
She slowly turned around.
The sofa was empty.
She let out a frustrated breath.
“Maybe I’m actually losing my mind.”
A voice suddenly came from behind her.
“You’re not.”
Lena froze.
Her eyes widened.
She slowly turned.
Klaus was sitting on the sofa again.
Exactly where he had been before.
Lena’s mouth fell open.
“You—!”
Klaus looked at her calmly.
“What?”
“You tricked me!”
“Yes.”
Lena stared at him in disbelief.
“You admit it?!”
“You wanted the police to find me.”
“And?”
“So I made myself invisible.”
Lena put both hands on her head.
“You can’t just become invisible!”
“I can.”
“That’s not normal!”
Klaus looked at her.
“I’m Destruction.”
Lena glared at him.
“I seriously regret making that wish.”
Klaus remained expressionless.
“You have ninety-nine days and several hours left.”
Lena’s face fell.
“…Don’t remind me.”
Klaus nodded.
“Okay.”
A pause.
“Eighty-nine days.”
Lena threw a pillow at him.
“KLAUS!”
For the first time, the corner of his mouth almost moved.
Almost.
Klaus slowly stood from the sofa.
He straightened the sleeves of his black turtleneck and looked at Lena with the same unreadable expression.
“Now,” he said, “tell me your wish.”
Lena stared at him.
“My wish?”
“Yes.”
She folded her arms.
“You already know it.”
“I know what you said last night.”
Klaus took a step closer.
“I want to know what you actually want.”
Lena went quiet.
Then an idea suddenly flashed through her mind.
Her eyes widened.
She looked at Klaus from head to toe.
“Wait.”
Klaus stopped.
Lena walked toward him.
“You really can grant wishes?”
“Yes.”
“Any wish?”
“Yes.”
“Anything?”
Klaus nodded once.
“Within reason.”
Lena immediately frowned.
“That’s not what you said.”
“I said I can grant wishes.”
“You didn’t say there were rules.”
“There are always rules.”
Lena stared at him suspiciously.
Then a small smile appeared on her face.
“So…”
She stepped closer.
“If I ask you for something impossible…”
Klaus looked down at her.
“I’ll tell you whether it is possible.”
Lena’s smile grew.
For the first time since hearing the words one hundred days, something inside her sparked.
Maybe—
just maybe—
there was another way.
She looked directly into Klaus’s eyes.
“Then I have a wish.”
Klaus waited.
“What is it?”
Lena smiled.
“I’ll tell you…”
She paused dramatically.
“…after I decide exactly what I want.”
Klaus remained completely expressionless.
“That’s not a wish.”
Lena shrugged.
“It’s a work in progress.”
Klaus stared at her for a moment.
Then he simply said,
“Fine.”
Lena smiled to herself.
For the first time in a long while, tomorrow didn’t feel quite so heavy.
The List
Later that afternoon, Lena sat at her small table with a notebook in front of her.
Klaus stood behind her.
“What are you doing?”
“Making a list.”
“Of?”
“My wishes.”
Klaus looked at the blank page.
“You need one hundred?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I have one hundred days.”
Klaus said nothing.
Lena began writing.
1. Eat at the best restaurant in the city.
2. Go to the beach.
3. Watch the sunrise.
4. Ride a roller coaster.
5. Buy something ridiculously expensive.
6. Go shopping without checking the price tag.
7. Visit a city I’ve never seen.
8. Stay in a fancy hotel.
9. Eat an entire cake by myself.
Klaus stared at the list.
“You’re going to eat an entire cake?”
“Obviously.”
“That seems unnecessary.”
Lena looked over her shoulder.
“You’re Destruction. You don’t get to judge cake.”
Klaus paused.
“Fair.”
Lena continued writing.
The list grew.
Some wishes were ridiculous.
Some were childish.
Some were things she had always wanted to do.
And some were so small that Klaus wondered why she had bothered writing them down.
Drink coffee while watching the rain.
Buy a pair of shoes she didn’t need.
Visit a bookstore.
Feed ducks at a park.
Take a picture in a photo booth.
Stay awake until sunrise.
Laugh until her stomach hurt.
Dance in the middle of the street.
Watch every movie she had missed.
And eventually—
Lena reached the final number.
Her pen stopped.
She stared at the blank space for a long time.
Klaus watched her silently.
Finally, Lena wrote:
100. I want to live.
She stared at the words.
Her fingers tightened around the pen.
Klaus slowly approached.
His eyes fell upon the final page.
For once, his expressionless face began to change.
His brows drew together slightly.
His gaze softened.
He looked at Lena as if he were seeing her for the first time—not as a dying human who had wished for destruction, but as someone who desperately wanted to keep living.
Klaus looked back at the list.
Ninety-nine wishes filled with food, travel, shopping, adventures, and small moments of happiness.
But beneath all of them was one simple desire.
She wanted more time.
She wanted a future.
She wanted to live.
Klaus slowly lowered the papers.
Lena noticed his silence and gave an awkward chuckle.
“I know it probably can’t come true.”
Klaus looked at her.
Lena reached for the list and folded it carefully.
“I just wanted to write it down.”
“Why?” Klaus asked.
She shrugged, trying to sound casual.
“Because I wanted to.”
Her smile was small, but her eyes were sad.
“Sometimes you write down things even when you know they won’t happen.”
Klaus stared at her.
Lena quickly stood before the silence could become too heavy.
“Okay.”
She picked up her bag from the chair.
“That’s enough sadness for today.”
Klaus watched her.
“What are you doing?”
Lena looked at him as if the answer were obvious.
“We’re going.”
“Where?”
She held up the list.
“To start completing my wishes.”
“Which one?”
Lena glanced at the first page.
“Food.”
Klaus said nothing.
Lena walked toward the door, then turned back to him.
“Well?”
He remained still.
She sighed.
“Come on, Destruction. You said you’d grant them.”
Klaus looked once more at the final wish.
Then he followed her.
Lena smiled as she opened the door.
“Let’s go now.”
Klaus stepped outside behind her.
Neither of them noticed the faint change in his eyes.
But something inside him had already begun to shift.
For the first time in his existence, Klaus didn’t want to destroy something.
He wanted to save it.
