Bad News

"Just one more smoke..." the man said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a cigarette pack. He observed the pack for a little bit, taking in every detail.

The pack was half white and half blue, and on the front of it was written the brand name, which had an attractive look to it. The box felt smooth to the touch. The man didn't notice it until now but... the box was quite well made.

'Do you have any family members?'

'No, I don't.'

The man opened the box, making a sliding sound as the top slided from the front to the back, revealing the contents within...

There were two cigarettes left in total, the front of the cigarettes showing the brown burnable material which looked quite inviting to the eye.

'Is that so? What about close relatives, like cousins and such?'

'I have lived alone for fifteen years, doctor. I mean what I say... I have no one.' He pulled one cigarette out of the cigarette pack and put it back in his pocket. He then reached for his other pocket and pulled out a matchbox.

Before he put the cigarette between his lips, he observed it with detail, as if he had never seen such an object before. From top to bottom, from side to side, flipping it around between his fingers, he finally lets the cigarette take its place between his lips.

'No living relatives, huh... fine. Usually, we advise the person in question to bring a loved one with them in this kind of situation but... I see... nothing we can do about it, then...'

'Is it bad, doctor?'

'Unfortunately, yes. It's bad.'

He slided the matchbox open and took out a matchstick. After closing the box and a flick of the matchstick, he lights the cigarette, covering the lighted matchstick with his hands as to not let the wind blow the fire out.

'Mr. Light... you have stage-four carcinoma. The last stage of lung cancer.'

The man took in the nicotine heavy smoke with a long deep inhale. Dopamine started rushing into his brain, relieving some of the stress and anxiety from today's endeavor.

As he exhaled, he immediately started coughing loudly, phlegm being coughed out of his lungs and into his throat. As soon as the viscous green fluid reached his mouth, he immediately spat it out.

After clearing his throat, he took his second puff.

'We believe that consistent chain-smoking is what materialized your lung cancer.'

'...How much time do I have?'

'Based on all the data we collected so far... three months at most. I'm sorry but, there is nothing we can do.'

'Shit.' The man said as he exhaled the smoke and finally left the hospital premises.