"Are you still mad at Johan, honey?"

I was cooking pancakes in the kitchen when Moira came in, giving me a hug out of the blue and asking me that question. Turning the heat to medium low, I sighed before contemplating what to tell her. My brother and I had a history of butting heads, that much Moira could tell, but this time it was less of a simple case of agreeing to disagree and more of my not understanding his reasoning for being forgiving. How could I when we knew he was not at his best mental state?

"Johan and I being unable to see eye to eye is nothing new." I finally said as I scooped more of the pancake mix and made another fresh batch of the breakfast classic. "And you're right that I'm mad at him. No, actually, scratch that. It's more like I'm mad at myself for not being able to figure out why he takes kindness to an absolute extreme. Does his patience know no limit?"

"Perhaps he sees himself in Linda." Moira replied as she took out a box of strawberries from the fridge and cut the fruits into halves. "It's not improbable, is it? Maybe he's an empath and puts himself in her shoes, although you're correct that his empathetic nature is too much. You know what, though? If you're this worried, why don't you go with him and Kenta?"

"I'm not sure if I could keep my emotions in check if I see Linda's face." I answered as I flipped the golden brown pancakes. "And what worries me is not so much her hurting Johan but him hurting himself by believing that he can fix her. Some people are beyond fixing. Take our dad, for instance. Dad has never come around and realized how wrong it was to resent his own son just for loving another man. He took that resentment to the grave, that's how resentful he was."

"It seems to me your brother has a savior complex or a need to feel needed." Moira responded while helping me plate the fluffy pancakes and drizzle maple syrup on top. "He probably thinks of his inability to change your dad's mind as a personal failure and is now trying to make up for it by making it his mission to show Linda the right path, you know what I mean?"

"I know exactly what you mean. He always takes care of others, that was why he signed up to be a resident assistant when we were younger, but who would take care of him? Yes, he has Kenta now, but he has to learn to take care of himself too in case something happens to that angel."

"Nardho, are you saying that Kenta has been spoiling him rotten?"

"Unfortunately, yes." I muttered as I cut my pancake into bite-sized chunks before stabbing a piece with my fork. "He rarely says no to Johan and you saw yourself how instead of putting his feet down in the court he decided to go along with this whole plan of visiting Linda in jail."

"I trust Kenta. He's smart, I'm sure he knows what he's doing." Moira reached out across the table to squeeze my hand. "It's possible he thinks Johan will never learn until he sees for himself how changing people's hearts is not his job. Experience is the best teacher, isn't that the saying?"

"Fair enough." I forced a smile. "We shall see how this prison visitation unfolds. Now that you've reassured me, I think I'm going to see Linda too. Not because I believe she's redeemable, but because I want to know what else she still has to say to us that was left unspoken at court."

---

I have always known that life behind bars must be glum, but nothing could have prepared me for this repugnant and dingy place. The cell Linda was held in had poor lighting and the tight space made me feel a little claustrophobic. Luckily, the guard escorted us to a slightly bigger room. This one was also grimy and shabby, but at least it didn't make me feel trapped like a caged hamster. There was a table with five chairs surrounding it. The table looked old and was covered in graffiti, mostly swear words but also drawings of hangman and some phallic sketches. Someone must have felt very bored out of their mind. That or they had no creativity at all. On a second thought, prison environment didn't exactly lend itself to the growth of creative minds.

"You have an hour," the guard announced. "Your time starts now, so don't waste it." He carefully closed the door behind him but not before pointing at the clock hanging at the wall.

"Why did you bother to come see me?" Linda spoke up, her long hair covering half of her face. "You guys got what you wanted, having me land in jail. What else do you want? Taunting me?"

"No, Linda, I'd never kick someone who's already figuratively on the ground!" Johan said while fidgeting with his palms on his lap. "I'm here to see how you're doing and ask if you need anything from the outside world, maybe a book to read or some magazines if you like."

"Do I seem like a reader to you?" Linda scoffed. "I'm fine, I don't need your fake pity."

"My husband isn't faking it!" Kenta slammed his palms on the table and rose from his seat. "If he is, he wouldn't speak so respectfully to you. Since he treats you with dignity, couldn't you at least be appreciative? He just wants to know if you're okay, is that so hard to wrap your head around? Why do you have to be so rude when he's been nothing but compassionate?"

"Tell me," Linda raised her chin up and stared at Kenta like a bull staring at a red cloth. "What do you have that my sister didn't? Why does Johannes think being with a queer man is better than being with Sherlyn? What did my late sister lack in? I hate you for existing. If you never existed, Sherlyn would have had a fairer chance at happiness. You ruined everything for her!"

"If you want to go on hating someone, hate me, not Kenta!" Johan pulled his partner closer and put his arm around his waist protectively. "There was nothing wrong with Sherlyn, Linda. She was a sweet girl and even as I broke up with her I still wished we could still be good friends in a totally platonic way. I just couldn't feel romantic and sexual arousal with her because no matter how hard I tried women never aroused me the same way men do. I wish one's gender doesn't play a part in whether or not I could fall in love with a person, but there's no denying that it does. It is what it is. I acknowledge, however, that losing your sister must be the hardest thing to endure in this world. I have a little sister too and I could have easily succumbed to madness if I lost Nardhia. But Sherlyn is gone, Linda, and we have to let her go."

"Let her go? Never! She could have lived to a ripe old age and you robbed it from her!"

"He didn't rob anything from Sherlyn, she did it to herself!" Moira interrupted. "And for you information, madam, letting go is a necessary step if you want to be at peace. Even if peace of mind is not your end goal, though, do you think Sherlyn would be proud of you if she could see what you have become? Do you think she would approve of her big sister resenting her ex-boyfriend and his partner? Let the dead rest, Linda. What's done is done, there's no use lingering over a sad past and dredging it up."

"You speak as if you could read the mind of a dead girl, but you can't!" Linda's handcuffed fists shook as her words dripped with pure disgust. "Now leave me be. I've had enough of this stupid conversation that goes nowhere. You won in court already, leave me alone with my thoughts."

"Alright, we'll leave you alone but I have one more question!" Johan chimed in. "If I recall correctly, you own two golden retriever puppies. Now that you're imprisoned, what's gonna happen with them? Are they gonna get re-homed or are your coworkers at the laboratory taking care of them? If there's no one taking the puppies off your hands, I can help find a new owner."

"Baxter and Roscoe..." Linda's stony expression turned softer. "I haven't had the time to think of re-homing the dogs. The people in the lab, they tolerate the dogs but only because I was their boss and they couldn't tell me not to bring animals to work. I bet they're happy now that they can get rid of my dogs. Oh, shit, I hope they don't plan on sending Baxter and Roscoe to a dog pound! A pound is where most dogs go die!" there was apparent panic in her voice.

"I'm not letting your golden retrievers die!" Moira stood up. "I can adopt them for you."

"Moira, our backyard isn't huge enough for the energetic puppies to run around in and those puppies deserve a better housing situation." I reminded her gently. "But you remember that Keith has a spacious backyard, right? We can ask if he and George would love to house the puppy."

"Why are you being nice after all the things I did to you?" Linda looked up with glistening eyes. Contrary to my expectation, there was no flash of mockery or derision in those wet eyes. "I'm an inmate and yet you talk to me as if I weren't incarcerated for shooting you in the chest."

"You're a vile woman but your puppies aren't vile creatures, so I'm doing this for their sake." I shrugged. "Besides, my wife wouldn't be happy if I turn a blind eye to the puppies."

"Thank you." Linda's voice was barely audible that at first I thought I only imagined it.

"Don't thank me, it's Johan you should be thanking. He was the one who brought up the subject. I was merely following his lead. Anyway, are you sorry now for hunting him down?"

Linda didn't answer. Instead, she stared at the floor and mumbled something indecipherable.

"I can't hear you if you're mumbling." I crossed my arms. "What are you saying?"

"I want to know if Kenta is happy marrying a man." She spoke a bit louder. "Because if he is, then maybe Johannes ditching Sherlyn for him is something I can come to accept after a while. I don't think it's gonna be easy for me to stop hating him but if he's happily married then it means the break up was worth it. It would be so horrible if on top of indirectly causing Sherlyn's death Johannes forced a man into an unhappy marriage."

"I'm happy being together with him." Kenta stated. "He treats me very well and makes me feel I'm the luckiest man alive. Linda, if I weren't happy I wouldn't have chosen to stay by his side."

"I see. Now that you've given me an answer I know what to say to Nardho." Linda turned her attention to me. "I never thought I would say this but... Yes, now I'm sorry that I brought terror upon your family. In the end I didn't gain anything from planning a retaliation."

"I'll pray for you, Linda." Johan's soft voice turned even softer. "And for Sherlyn's soul too."

"Do you think my sister is free from all kinds of pain now? I've heard people whispering during her funeral that those who committed suicide are being casted straight to purgatory."

"I'm afraid I can't answer that, Linda, but I believe God understands your sister sought a release from whatever negative emotions she battled with only because she was deeply disturbed." Johan murmured. "She was unhinged. I pray God has mercy on her. Hopefully eternity is kinder to her than this world ever was."

"Thank you." Linda once again lowered her gaze to the floor. "I'm undeserving of this niceness."

"Don't mention it!" Johan shook his head. "By the way, is your Somnodora project going to be terminated now that you're not spearheading it or is it now being handled by your subordinates?"

"I think the dream projector is valuable enough that the laboratory is keeping it. Also, I know that in my anger I stripped Moira and Nardho of their access to the dream chamber, but Keith still has access to it because his resignation from the company isn't finalized yet. I'm sure he can assist everyone with accessing the Somnodora and maybe modify it for home use."

"Do you think he has access to your decades of research about memory loss and human brain too?" Moira asked. "The team at the Orchidsboro Second Chance Pharmaceutical can't just erase your documents just because you're now a convicted criminal, right? Your research has value."

"Yeah, erasing years of precious hard labor would be foolish. I think they're shelving my work until they can find a young blood to carry on my legacy. Nevertheless, I don't see why George wouldn't be able to retrieve a copy of all my files." Linda's eyes shone with a glimmer of hope.

"Sweet. Linda, it looks like time is running out," I glanced at the clock. "But I'm glad that this meeting went way better than I initially expected. Do you still want us to leave you alone?"

"Y-You can visit again if you like, I don't care either way!" she stammered. "Whatever."

Johan laughed at her stammering. "Maybe if we can't come visit because we're busy we can still send you letters," he said after his laughter subsided. "And keep you in the loop about our progress with restoring Moira's forgotten memories, if that's alright with her, of course."

"I'm alright with keeping Linda in the loop!" Moira exclaimed. "She can give us feedback from a neuroscientist's perspective since she's well-educated on this area."

"If you wish." Linda returned to her expressionless way of speaking. "That's fine with me."

---

As I maneuvered my car through the busy intersections, my mind replayed the scene in the prison when Linda became tearful. Perhaps Johan's empathetic nature wasn't necessarily a disadvantage if used in the right circumstance. Maybe, unknowingly, he had a super power. Maybe redemption isn't just reserved for Jesus' disciples and other biblical heroes. Maybe even a deranged woman can be redeemed if she so chooses. I guessed Johan's ability to humanize everybody could turn out to be an asset rather than a liability as long as he doesn't let himself become a doormat or maybe he was just really, really lucky that Linda came to her senses.