The wind rustled through the leaves of the tree under which Ruigh stood, brushing through his hair. Yet he showed no reaction. Ten days had passed since he had woken up in Uhra's apartment and received the offer. Since then, Ruigh hadn't left the house.
A message popped up on his phone. It read: "Are you coming, finally?"
Ruigh sighed and began to move. He left the park and walked along the sidewalk. Cars sped past him, but he didn't react. He was deep in thought. Most of the fear and despair were gone. The only thing that remained was anger—but even that had started to fade. Yet the hatred stayed. The hatred for the person who had destroyed his life.
Some children ran past him, playing carefree with a ball. They were so innocent. They still had their entire lives ahead of them.
He stopped at a traffic light. It would soon turn green, but cars were still passing. The children were also at the light, tossing the ball back and forth. Suddenly, the ball rolled onto the street. One of the boys, a blond one, ran after it, grabbed the ball, and proudly held it up for his friends. But a car approached. The boy didn't even notice it. Only at the last moment did he see it—the headlights shining at him. His eyes widened, his body froze—
At the very last second, Ruigh yanked him back. The boy fell painfully to the ground. The driver jumped out of the car, rushed over to them, and called out, "Kid, are you okay?" He seemed frightened.
Ruigh had already walked on. The light was now green. He had just saved the boy's life—and maybe even the driver's, who otherwise might have gone to prison.
Why had no one saved him like that?
He stopped in front of a shop window and looked at his reflection. His brown hair was messy—like always. Everything looked the same. Except for one thing: there was indifference in his eyes. It had always been there, but never this strong.
He kept walking. His old life had given him security, but it had also shackled him. All the rules, the school, his parents with their worries—that was over now. And it had been replaced by indifference. Indifference toward life.
He entered the cemetery. Uhra was waiting by the wall. He nodded to Ruigh and simply said, "Follow me."
Ruigh did. They strolled past the graves until Uhra stopped at one. Ruigh looked at him questioningly.
"So? Why did I have to come here?"
Uhra silently pointed at the grave. Ruigh followed his finger with his eyes, looked at the inscription—and took a step back.
It was his parents' grave.
Ruigh stepped closer, went down on one knee. Tears ran down his face. He tried to wipe them away, but more followed. Through the veil of tears, he looked at the grave. Here lay his past. His life.
Uhra stood beside him in silence. He did nothing. He simply let it happen.
After a while, Ruigh stood up. The tears had dried—completely. He opened his mouth.
"Yes."
That was all he needed to say. It was enough.
Uhra patted him on the shoulder.
"Welcome to your new reality Kid
as Killer. "