When I woke up, the sky had darkened. Disoriented, I sat up. There was something heavy lingering in the air. My head throbbed as I looked around. It was as though someone had taken a sledgehammer and let it loose over my head.

Something was missing.

I switched on the light to find my place completely empty. Yellowed pearls lay scattered on the floor.

That was when everything returned. Shame and guilt ate me away. I looked down at my arm where Flabby had struck me. I wished I could dismiss it by merely calling it a nightmare. It was a waste to spare any time wondering why I did it. My priority was to find them. A cat and a girl, all alone at night. It was a recipe for disaster.

I could barely stand without support, and my body ached, but that was hardly anything compared to the worries gnawing on my heart.

Like a madman, I went around, describing Flabby and Child to whoever I could meet. Some simply ignored me, others listened for a while, only to leave, stating that there was some business they had to tend to.

Nobody cared.

I went to the bakery, and I went to the corner where I'd found Child.

It seemed to me that the two of them had vanished without a trace.

I screamed, calling them out. I guess the people around thought that I was a miscreant. Soon, the police sirens sounded. I let them come. If they arrested me, then that would be the end of it all, but that was fine as long as they found both of them.

They told me to stop being a menace and to let people sleep. I wailed as I grabbed an officer's hand. He only stared at me, addled. It was so obvious that I lost the ability to connect with other people. Why? Why now? The timing was all wrong! My words were broken, and my tongue felt abnormally heavy, so whichever words managed to leave my mouth were reduced to gibberish.

Seeing my intense reaction, they brought out the cuffs.

Realizing their intention, I fled.

'Hey! Come back!'

I ran as fast as my feet could take me.

After a long time, I hid myself in a dark alleyway. Out of breath and my mind in shambles over my loss of coherent speech, I squatted down, covering my head with my hands as I sobbed quietly.

Why did I have to yell at them? It was just a pearl necklace!

They weren't even real pearls!

A fool like me, who spurned all the joy away, for a fake was certainly hard to come by.

Why did I lash out? Why didn't I deal with it properly?

Had I asked, Child would have explained. I would have managed to worm my way into her heart and made her talk. Why did I have to go ahead and ruin everything?

My reaction was out of proportion to the crime.

I was bone weary, and my self-flagellation was hardly helping. Still, I continued to look for them. I was a man who believed in willpower over the divine... over the Universe's plan; this time, I did the opposite. With my shoulders hunched and a drag on my feet, I prayed to whatever was out there. I pleaded for their safety.

I could withstand a severe fate if they were returned to me.

Let me be the wind. Let me be nothing. I would hardly mind as long as I knew that they were well. Just as long as I could watch over them.

The images of Child's brilliant smile flashed in my mind, moving me to tears.

And here I'd thought that I was out of tears.

Then I saw the images of Black Slime, dripping all over me. I wanted to flay my skin and scrub it clean. Black Slime had always been a part of me. I had always known; but that it would erupt and destroy everything I cared for? That was an unpleasant shock. A bolt of lightening striking the ground, reducing everything to ashes.

In the far distance, under a streetlamp, I thought I saw two figures. Suddenly, I stilled.

My heart thumped wildly as I drew on the last reserves of my strength to reach them. If they would accept me, if they would accept my apology, I'd take care of them forever. I'd love them forever.

My feet moved on their own. The rest of my body was barely able to catch up.

As I reached them, they disappeared. Again.

I stood under the warm light, feeling like I was in the frigid zones.

Stupid pearls. Stupid me.

I recollected Child's fierce eyes bearing into mine. I was blinded by my emotions. Like an idiot, I ignored the fact that she was trying to reach out to me. She was telling me something. It was as though she knew something about me that I was unaware of.

We meet such people in our lives. Some people see the beauty in us, even if we are covered in filth, while some see the worst in us, even if we are resplendent. Everyone else is in between. The former pushes us back and forth between the pinnacle of life and the wretched abyss of undeservingness. The latter, undisputedly, compels us to rise and fight.

Nobody's that bad, you might say, to always see the worst in us.

Yes. That's right. I am that bad. I am the worst. I see the worst in everyone, and everyone sees the worst in me.

Flabby and Child were the only exceptions. They were my treasured beings. The ones I would always want to protect and cherish.

I'd do that.

I promise, I'd do that.

I keep my promises, remember?

If only they'd return to me safe and sound.

If it's too much, then keep them away from me, but let them be safe, let them be loved somewhere else, let them be cherished somewhere else.

I'll remember the wonderful times the three of us had together. It's enough as long as they are safe.