5:00 am. The alarm clock was shouting that it was time to wake up. Hope opened his eyes and looked sadly out the window; it was raining as hard as if a hole had been torn in the sky.

"I don't want to get up... Sunshine, I need you vitally! Please make me happy with your presence soon!" - the boy lifted himself up, leaning on his straightened arms and resting his head on his right shoulder, and stared pleadingly at the gray, lightless sky outside the window.

"I know how you're lacking serotonin, but you gotta get moving in the weather like this too, kid! What's wrong with your face? It's probably not as bad as you think. It's been a while since you let those nasty birds go. Can we talk?! But! Only after the training! I've cleared a place for us in the living room. I'll see you in ten minutes!" - Troy came in without knocking, as per tradition, and spoke quickly and briskly, yet in a fatherly affectionate way.

Hope looked at him with such a sad look that the man couldn't help but add, "You got it, kitten! In fifteen."

When Grandpa left the room, Hope fell back on the bed with his hands behind his head.

Staring at the ceiling, he thought about nothing, but felt very tired, mostly mentally... the kind of tiredness that makes you want to run away into the jungle and wander for a week, away from people, problems, thoughts, and worries.

The barely visible shadows of plumeria leaves swayed chaotically on the ceiling and it did nothing to improve Hope's mood: "Even here it's a mess..."

The boy took a deep breath, slowly got out of bed and wandered with his head down to the bathroom.

"I'll just pull my shorts on more comfortably... What's wrong with me! Gods, hear me - let time stop! Every new day brings only new worries and fears. I don't even want to know what awaits me today..." - Turning on the water, the guy looked at his reflection in the mirror, and then turned it off without washing his face and went to his room.

Standing by the bed, Hope slowly changed his clothes and, realizing that this unfit state needed to be corrected urgently, went back to the mirror again.

"What was it Mom used to say?!! - "Smile at your reflection for a minute and your mood will improve." Oooh... I should try it," -  the boy pulled a wide smile on his face and started counting to himself. When he reached thirty, he realized the absurdity of what was happening and his smile became more sincere. And by sixty, Hope was laughing, patting himself on the cheeks and heading downstairs with a brisk step: "I think I got it! I didn't think it would work. Mommy, thank you, I can still feel your support."

Troy was already waiting for him in the living room, "Drink some water, son, and run to me! We're going to practice hand-to-hand combat techniques today."

"Yes sir!" - Hope reported with a smile.

"What's the matter with you? Your mood is drastically variable today. You're not pregnant by any chance?! Hahaha," Grandpa, already doing a warm-up, couldn't resist teasing the little guy.

"We don't live in the right universe for that to happen!" - shouted the kid, running over to the water carafe, and quietly added: "And even if we did, I still wouldn't be in a position..."

Then everything went on according to the grandpa's plan: straight and lateral blows with the hand, blows with the hands on the body, hook with the elbow, backfist, straight punch, lateral and oblique blows with the leg, blows with the knees, undercutting, breaking the opponent's legs technique "overlay" were remembered and practiced.

"Well done, darling! I'll teach you the reverse arm hook. Let's practice it properly! It helped me a lot in my work. Neck, jaw, temple, cheekbone... This technique has a lot of striking power, which is why it's not used in sporting events. Memorize it!" - Troy got into an attacking stance and quickly practiced what he said on Hope, stopping his hand just millimeters from his face, "Now you!"

Hope repeated the motions and was immediately met with the remark, "You should be hitting with your pelvis, not your shoulder! Again!"

If in life Troy was a sweetheart, in training and in "war" - as he called his battles with the scumbags and bounty hunters who attacked his former clients - he was stern and unyielding.

By 6.30 Hope was exhausted physically, but his mental state had stabilized completely, the sadness, and even anger, from everything that had happened, came out little by little with each completed punch.

Taking a shower, the guy was already humming one of his favorite songs:

«I'll smile, I know what it takes to fool this town

I'll do it 'til the sun goes down

And all through the night time, oh yeah

Oh yeah, I'll tell you what you wanna hear

Leave my sunglasses on while I shed a tear

It's never the right time, yeah

I put my armor on

Show you how strong I am

I put my armor on

I'll show you that I am

I'm unstoppable

I'm a Porsche with no brakes

I'm invincible

Yeah, I win every single game

I'm so powerful

I don't need batteries to play...

(From the author: Sia – "Unstoppable")

Hope jumped into the car with a firm conviction: "I can do this!"

As soon as Troy hit the highway, the boy began his interrogation: "Grandpa, tell me about the situation at the Club. What kind of guy is this Indigo? What happened to Yellow? He's such a nice kid...I hope he's okay. I'm also wondering what's going on with Anuman. And what did you talk to Green about?"

"Oh, so many questions! I'm already old, take pity on me, please! Let's take it one at a time!" - Troy decided to apparently mock the guy a bit and was stalling for time.

"Will you please be serious! I don't think this is all good. I wasn't laughing yesterday - scared the hell out of me. I don't know what it's all about, but this story's already gone over me, tangentially, but still... I've got to be ready, you know?" - Hope found everything that had happened to him at the very least a possible threat to his secret 'special' position in the Club, so he didn't want to mess with it.

Troy immediately changed his smile to a serious expression:

"I understand, kid! I haven't talked to Indigo yet, but I know him - he won't hurt anyone without a good reason, but he can hurt with a careless word."

His name is Chailai, or simply Soni. He is my apprentice, came through the Farm and then worked with me for the Wongsawat House, and is still a subordinate of Khun Nan. He had a hard time as he was very fond of Fiat, the youngest son of the family, who was killed four years ago... Oh... that's why I left - couldn't forgive myself for the death of the little one....

Soni is still trying to get revenge and is searching with all his might for the murderer of his beloved, he even agreed to do THAT job. Khun Nanfa is convinced that the legs are growing from Club Makoto, so Soni has now changed into blue and is trying to find proof.

I haven't quite figured it out yet, but it's all about the drug that accompanies people to the other world. I don't understand what's wrong with this substance, or rather - what's wrong with its producer and distributor! If it's still carefully hidden from the public, it means that money and power are behind this crap"

"Is there many casualties?" - Shocked by Grandpa's story Hope asked, wanting to know more about the story.

"We don't know the exact number just yet, and I don't think we'll ever find out. But, what is known for sure is that one of them is a client of Yellow's. Ooooh... he... passed away right on top of your coworker during the reception... Poor boy..." - Troy was obviously having a hard time talking about it - he felt sorry for Yellow, but he was even more worried that Hope's health was also at risk in this lousy job.

"Where's Yellow now? How is he?" - Worried Hope for his coworker.

"Norman said he's been in the hospital for a couple days and is now on home treatment. He's answering calls and texts in a monosyllabic and unemotional manner. His morale is below par - he's on antidepressants. As far as I understand, he is lonely and has no one to take care of him. Anyway, I don't have a clear picture of how Yellow is feeling right now. I guess I'll take the time to check on him. See if he knows where the client got the drug," Troy was already pulling onto the street where the school was.

"Eh, we're almost there... Can I go with you to Yellow?"

"You have a training today! And we don't want to scare him with too many people. He'll tell me everything, since I'm so kind and charming!" - Troy made an innocent, sweet grimace: he arched his eyebrows and pouted his lips.

"Ahahaha, Grandpa, you're unbeatable! Keep me posted on the situation with Yellow, please. And I'll try to talk to Indigo so he doesn't cling to me or suspect me anymore," Hope pulled his backpack out of the backseat as they had already pulled into the school parking lot.

Troy's face changed to serious and he touched the boy's shoulder with his hand, "I'll talk to him myself! We don't want to attract attention! There must be plenty of ears in the Club that relay everything they hear higher up. It's not in our best interest for Makoto to fly out of her dragon lair and poke her nose into the basement's affairs."

"Understood! Copy that!" - Hope had already opened the door when he suddenly slammed it back shut, "What's up with Anuman?"

"Will you forget about him already?!" - Troy wanted to evade his son's question, but seeing the boy's shaking head, he continued: "I don't think you want to hear this, but I've warned you before that by asking a person a question, you're taking responsibility - you might not like the answer.... So... I've assigned him a fancy suite for the next week. The last thing I saw was the first batch of five men walk into his room and he was squealing like a girl. Can you believe the guys had a basketball contest for the right to have the first night with that blond guy!"

Troy said the last phrase with a wicked grin and Hope, digesting the answer, thought, "I wouldn't want to get in the way of people like you, Grandpa," but muffled out loud: "I see. By and large his actions are worthy of such a punishment, but... I wouldn't wish that on anyone... I'm off. See you tonight! Love you!"

Hope got out of the car and headed toward the bench, but was stopped by a familiar voice: "Captain!" Turning around at the sound, the guy saw the coach getting out of the blue car and got really nervous.

As Jake approached him, Grandpa came out of the retro car still in the parking lot and said, "Son, you forgot your umbrella!"

Troy walked over to Hope, placed the umbrella in his sweaty palm and turned to the coach who stood silently by, "Good morning, I'm Troy, this boy's guardian, and you are, as I understand it, his gym teacher. Good to see you!"

Jake folded his arms in respect, "Khun Troy, nice to meet you! I'm Jake, Hope's teacher and coach."

A silence followed. Troy wasn't going to leave, standing there smiling sweetly, while the coach apparently didn't want to talk in front of him.

In the end, Grandpa won the silent battle - Jake politely said he wanted to talk to the captain about the game with School XY after training and quickly retreated.

Troy put his arm around his son's shoulders and said quietly in his ear: "I'm teaching you, but you have zero self-control - to blush in front of your teacher like that?!  Ay-yay-yay-yay! Something tells me that here smells of oxytocin..." and then stepped back and added: "At ease, soldier! See you tonight!" and danced off to the car.

(From the author: Oxytocin is called the "love hormone," and it affects the psycho-emotional state of people who show, among other things, falling in love.)

Hope was slowly getting over what had happened: "What did he want to talk to me about?! And why is he here so early again?! His classes don't start until 11:00."

Wiping his wet palms on his pants, he headed to his bench. He had a lot to think about, but... his place of reflection and reassurance was already taken.

"Friend, did you not sleep well again?" - Hope sidled up to the book Jean was reading.

"Oh, Hopie! You're up late today! Can I give you a hug?!" - The girl's thin arms were already reaching for the guy's neck, and of course he didn't pull away - it was his own Jean.

Hope responded with a mutual hug, stroking his friend's hair with his hand, and they sat like that for quite a while, and when Jean pulled away, the guy saw tears on her face: "Hey! Why are you crying, dummy?!"

"Thank you! Thank you! It's like I've been reborn... Your truth, I really am a fool, and you... you're my savior!" - Jean sobbed.

"Oh noooo! Baby, don't cry. Thought I'd never see you cry again..." - Hope wiped the clear droplets on the girl's cheeks with the palm of his hand and hugged her again.

After a couple minutes, Jean perked up and sat up, straightening her back and wiping away her tears, "I want to talk to you about something..."

"Weeell... don't scare me! I'm starting to get scared when I hear things like that out of your mouth. Did something else happen?" - Hope was visibly alarmed.

"No, calm down, buddy! Everything's all right. It's just that I've been thinking a lot this night..." - The girl faltered slightly.

"I'm afraid to imagine what interesting thoughts your bright head might have generated..." - Hope didn't have time to finish before Jean blurted out:

"Are you a virgin?"

"..."

"Look, after the whole Anuman thing, I've been thinking, what's the use of my principles about keeping 'my virginity' until I meet the one and only if it can be taken by some freak like that?! Take advantage of me and dump me. Maybe I should pick a decent, good-looking guy and give it up. All my friends have already crossed that line, and I'm the only one sitting here waiting for a fairy tale," Jean said quickly, rubbing the hem of her skirt as she waited for her friend's answer.

"Ahem...friend, do you really want to hear my answer? Things are different for girls and boys..." - Hope didn't know what to say, since this was a sore subject for him as well.

"I'm sorry to be blunt, but you're not about girls, aren't you?! And the result of my long observations is that you should probably be in the role of wifey because you're oh-so-cute," Jean giggled and covered her mouth with her hand.

"Well, well, well! Get a grip on yourself! You're so cocky!" - Though Hope doubted it was a good idea to discuss his sexual preferences and the 'bed' part of his life with anyone, he was glad that Jean wasn't depressed but was moving forward, albeit in such a strange direction.

"Come on! Say something! I'm pouring my heart out to you here, and you're prickly as a hedgehog!" - The girl began to shake Hope by the arm.

The guy looked around and, sighing, began to speak, "Let's get on with it. Ugh, I'm probably going to regret my words, but I'll answer honestly. Yes, I am a virgin, so to speak, if we take into account what you said earlier... You're right, but... we won't discuss it anymore! Next... I believe that sex should be for love - when you are ready to give all of yourself to another. I don't think you should be afraid of running into a bastard, you should try to choose wisely and check before you trust. I'm worried about you and I don't want you to go off the rails amidst this sordid history and start urgently looking for a target to do it with!"

"What a bore you are, honey! Right to the bone, but there's a grain of truth in your words that clings to me..." - Jean tapped her neat fingers on the wooden bench.

"What grain?"

"A target you say! That's interesting!" - The girl's gaze drilled the walls of the school building - she was clearly thinking about something.

Hope took a deep breath in and exhaled: "If you've already decided everything beforehand, why did you have to ask me?"

"А?" - Jean woke up from her dream and smilingly replied, "I wanted to make sure I was right about you, sweetie."

Hope covered his face with his hands and muttered through his palms, "I knew it! Are you going to tease me all the time now?"

"I love you, sweetie pie! Who's gonna get a wife like that? Let it be a brutal with soft warm hands, a pumped-up torso and an awesome-beautiful face. Oh! Like our coach!" - after these words of Jean, the guy choked on his saliva and, without stopping, coughed, from which the girl even got worried and started rubbing his back.

"Is everything alright? What's with this wild reaction?" - Wailed the girl.

"Everything... ahem... is fine! It's just a stupid thing you said."

"Was it stupid?" - Jean was winding up again, starting to laugh.

Hope's saving voice came from Pruit running towards them, "You're discussing something interesting without me again! Ugh!" - The guy was clearly out of breath, leaning his hands on his knees and trying to catch his breath.

"Did you run from the house itself or what, Pruitie? I'm gonna go now. I've got things to do, boys," Jean clapped the boy once on the back and walked toward the porch.

"Did you hear what she called me! Who's the one who melted our ice floe?" - Pruit took a seat on the bench next to Hope.

"Our ice floe is very fragile. Let's keep her safe, buddy! Are you all right? Why are you here so early?" - there was still time to enjoy the fresh air, and Hope didn't want to go to class just yet.

"I'm fine. I guess... Can you... honestly answer me one question?" - A confused and uncharacteristic Pruit voice alerted Hope.

"Go on!"

"Are you and Jean...dating?"

"Ahem, what? Are Jean and I dating? Did I hear that right?" - Hope was shocked at the question and almost choked again, but seeing the serious look on his silent friend's face, he added: "She and I are friends and that's what I hope we'll be for life. Pruit, why on earth would you ask such a question!"

"It's just that you've been together and alone a lot lately ... I saw you then in the park from the window when you 'overslept' ... Well, and thought ... But since you're not dating, then there are no more questions," the guy was clearly embarrassed.

"What's the interest?"

"Just don't want to lose friends. And when it's lovey-dovey, well, you know! There's nothing to care about anymore. Okay, I'm going to class! You probably want to sit alone some more," Pruit quickly rambled all this and ran off.

"What's wrong with them today? I don't understand anything. They're weird. Maybe they think I'm the same way sometimes," Hope closed his eyes, rested his head on the back of the bench, and pondered.

The sun never came out, but it was warm and fresh, the wind was strong enough, and the sound of the leaves delighted his ears. Hope was recharging. The sounds, the smells, the feel on his skin gave pleasure.

Slowly the boy's head began to fill with thoughts:

"Grandpa used to say that fear, anger, and sadness are perfectly normal emotions that everyone has, only not everyone is ready to recognize them in themselves and express them adequately.

These feelings are my faithful companions this week.

Am I scared right now? Yes, I am. Afraid of being exposed, afraid for my friends, afraid of every client in the Club, afraid... of losing Lion's attention.

Anger... I'm angry at myself... thought he showed interest in me, and now that he's not paying attention to me, I'm upset. What else? I'm angry at bastards like Anuman, at Indigo who suspects me of something, at customers who look at me like they want to eat me, at my father who got our family into this mess, and... Mom, I'm angry at you too - you left me and I miss you terribly. I'm sorry about that!

Sadness... That word describes my life perfectly. But still... there are many things around me that bring me joy: Grandpa, friends, school, basketball..... Training... I'll see Lion at training again... By the way, I wonder what he wanted to talk to me about?! Was it just about the game with XY?!"

"P'Hope, good morning!" - A thin voice snapped the lad out of the embrace of self-condemnation.

The boy opened his eyes and smiled: "Hello, Nong'Mali!"

"Sorry if I disturbed you... Classes start in ten minutes. Are you going to go to them?" - The girl looked back and forth at her elder, then at her feet, and was clearly embarrassed.

"Of course I'm going. Thanks for coming over, kiddo. I dozed off a little. It wouldn't be good for the school president to skip class like this stupidly. Come on, shall we go together?!" - Hope followed the girl with the ponytails and thought, "I wish I had a little sister like Mali."

The first four classes took forever for the headman, he kept looking at his watch.

"What's wrong with me today? I'm looking forward to starting a training... Why? Because of the Lion? Probably just missing the game. But as I think about the game, the image of Coach immediately comes to mind... standing very close, so close that I can feel his breath on my cheek, he reaches out his hand... for a towel? No! He gently touches my hair, kisses my cheek and moves to my lips... His hands on my waist, and now they are already diving under my shorts and boxers, pressing me hard against him... we are already merged in a passionate kiss... how sweet and hot!... Ouch! What was that?!" - Hope even jumped slightly in shock - he couldn't believe that he had plunged into sexual fantasies in class, and even with a teacher.

When Hope felt a strong enough pull on his pant leg, he squirmed in his desk and prayed to the heavens that no one would notice his condition.

But, as it happened, he heard Pruit, who was sitting at a neighboring desk, whisper: "Buddy, what's wrong with you? Are you sick? Your face is red."

"Shhhh. I'm fine. Just a little tired..." - Hope also answered in a whisper.

"What's going on in there? What's all the whispering about?" - Jean, sitting in front of Pruit, entered the conversation, and the headman became very nervous - now the chance of getting caught by the teacher had increased many times over, and the excitement had not yet left his body.

"Something's going on with Hope, look - red as a tomato!" - Pruit continued.

"Oh, Hope! Aren't you feeling well? Shouldn't we go to the infirmary?" - worried her friend.

"Weeell! I see someone wants to take my place and talk about the history of Thailand in the first half of the twentieth century?!" - the history teacher thundered, and Hope covered his face with his palms, "Oh nooo, please!"

The friends finally stopped talking and just stared at the headman with incomprehensible, concerned looks, and he blushed even more from the stares, but pretended not to notice them, in order to get through this awkward moment and not get caught. The teacher did not call them to the blackboard, thankfully.

By the end of the class, Hope had gotten himself back to normal by breathing exercises. After the bell rang, Jean immediately jumped up and ran over to his desk, touching his forehead and neck with the palm of her hand, "Temperature's normal. What was that with you?"

"It's fine. Next time, I really beg you, don't get distracted from class, especially because of me. We don't want any trouble! This is our last school year," Hope was slightly angry at his friends.

"Buddy, come on! We were just worried about you. You should see yourself! Sitting there like a tomato and breathing weird..." - Prut, who was already standing next to him, intervened.

"Whatever. Let's go to lunch! I didn't bring any food, so I'll have to visit the canteen today," Hope stood up and looked down just in case and followed his friends, making sure everything was okay.

"This isn't good at all. How could you screw up like that!!! No more weird thinking in class!" - silently scolded the headman as he walked down the hallway and looked under his feet, and suddenly......

*Bam*

Bumping into a person, Hope quickly looked up - it was the coach, who was now holding him by the shoulders. Images from a recent fantasy immediately popped into the boy's mind, and he swallowed saliva. The Lion was so close, and Hope couldn't take his eyes off his lips...a second...two...three...four...

"Honey, don't you look ahead at all when you walk? I'm sorry, P'Jake! Captain's a little out of sorts today," Jean jumped up to the frozen couple, folded her arms as a sign of respect to the coach, and pulled Hope's hand. Feeling the small fingers on his elbow, the boy finally woke up and, muttering something that sounded like "excuse me," followed his friend.

Turning around, Hope saw that Lion hadn't left yet, but was standing there looking at him with his eyebrows furrowed angrily.

"He's mad at me for such a small thing! And he didn't say anything..." - the boy did not understand the mood of the coach.

At lunch Mali joined the guys, looking sad, and Hope asked her how she was doing, but she smiled slightly and said she was fine.

Hope saw that the words did not fit the picture and, putting his arm around the little girl, said: "You can always consult with me - on absolutely anything. And if you need help from an elder of your gender, Jean is all yours. Understood?"

"Uh-huh. Thanks!" - the girl blushed a little and looked embarrassed, realizing that perhaps the president was hinting at 'girl stuff'.

The last two classes dragged as slowly as the first four. Hope couldn't fully concentrate on what the teacher was saying as his thoughts pulled him into a Lionized abyss.

To pull himself out of it, the boy would occasionally look out the window or at his friends, and that's when one interesting detail caught his eye - Pruit kept looking at Jean, sitting askew at the desk in front of him.

"Coming up with some kind of prank again! Oh, and I have to listen to their bickering again after this..." - thought Hope.

As soon as Hope's long-awaited bell rang, he stood up and walked briskly toward his locker.

"Now that's zeal for sports!" - Jean was already there as the headman picked up his backpack.

Hope began twirling her friend around and inspecting her uniform, "Everything seems to be in order."

"Are you looking for treasure, honey? Hahaha. Look right here! What's even going on?" - The girl was at first taken aback and then laughed, pointing a finger at her eyes and darting them as far as she could.

"Yeah, nothing. Just suddenly wanted to check your clothes for spiders and other nasty stuff..... But, it's all clear. Run home! I'm off to training. Bye!" - Hope wanted to be on the basketball court as soon as possible.

After changing, the captain was the first of the team to enter the gym and saw the coach sitting on the bench rubbing his temples with his fingers.

"P'Jake, hello again! I apologize for being inattentive and bumping into you. When do we discuss the game with XY?" - Hope walked over to the coach and smiled.

The Lion looked up and looked at the standing and sweetly smiling guy, then emotionlessly mouthed, "I've already thought out our tactics, I'll voice them in front of the whole team," then stood up and headed to the coach's room with a quick step.

"What's wrong with him! It's like he doesn't want to see me... and I... I want so badly... to look at him and hear his voice..."

The training was serious, Jake hounded the boys hard, and at the end of the second hour he went out to play with them on the court, against the opposing team of the main five, whose leader was the captain.

"Wow P'Jake is good!" - was heard from all sides.

At one point in the game, Hope came up with the ball to the opponent's area and the coach began to attack him, trying to take the ball away. The guy was spinning on one leg, looking for partners, but all were closed, then, deciding to try to throw the ball, Hope sharply turned to the ring with his elbows up and ... one of them hard hit the coach in the jaw.

Immediately the play stopped as Jake fell to the floor from the severely sharp pain.

"P'Jake! I'm sorry!" - Hope immediately rushed over to the man along with the rest of the players.

"It's alright! Carry on! C, take over for me!" - Lion stood up and walked towards the locker rooms, holding his face.

"Guys, replace me too! I'll see how he's doing," Hope ran after Jake who had already disappeared out the door.

The captain found the coach in the hallway, he was leaning back against the wall and rubbing his jaw.

"Can I see it? You need to put some cold on it. I can get some," Hope reached his hand toward Lion's face, but suddenly he was shoved away with force, the man's eyes throwing lightning bolts, "Don't touch me! I can handle myself!"

Shocked by this reaction, the boy backed away. Jake turned and walked away to the coach's room, and Hope's thoughts began to assault him:

"What did I do to deserve that unkind look? Does he hate me! For what reason? Unless...he recognized me...he doesn't want me touching him with my nasty little hands that I used to touch customers with. I make him really disgusted with me... That's right... He realized everything and now he's staying away from such a disgusting me... Aaaaaaah... How embarrassing and painful! It's unbearable! I want to disappear!"

Hope ran out into the street in what he was wearing, not even grabbing his belongings or letting anyone know he was leaving.

It was raining heavily, but he didn't care about that. Walking quickly through the puddles, he wanted to leave the place he used to call home - the school had been his personal happiness, but now it seemed to him that it was nothing but ruins.

The rain slapped Hope's face, washing away the salty tears that flowed unceasingly from his two bottomless oceans. He walked without realizing where he was going. Occasionally cars honked at him and he stepped aside, but his feet kept moving forward.

"What am I doing? Where am I going?

He felt no fear, anger, or resentment. His whole being was captivated by the pain of despair, helplessness and disappointment in himself and his life.

"Is there nothing good waiting for me in this life? I've never been fully happy...only in small snippets."

His heart was aching and his body was slightly shaking from the long walk in this "weeping" weather, but Hope felt at peace under that wall of water.

Slowly he began to think about life, his actions, places, events and people he loved or hated.

"Grandpa, I've fattened my birds so much that they, unfortunately, cannot leave me."

After about an hour and a half, the guy felt very faint and sat down on the sidewalk. When he looked up, he was shocked - his feet had led him to the Club - to the place he hated with all his heart.

"Sad as it may seem, this is where I belong!" - Hope laughed hysterically.