Isao was in a river, floating downwards. He sees lots of dead people coming from behind and passes him.
"What the?" More and more piles of bodies pass him. He feels the water moving from it emerges himself?
"You killed all these people, Isao. Even though it was an accident. You always hurt people, even when you fight the kraken you hurt Kalistas feelings. You are nothing but a loser and a monster. No wonder you don't have many friends, who would want to be your friend knowing what you are?"
Isao wakes up. He was all covered in sweat.
"Another nightmare, or is it a morning mare? I don't know how you humans name things…"
"What are you doing in my bed? You angels don't sleep… Right?"
Sophia gets off his bed and looks at him.
"Yes we don't, but I didn't want you to wake up!"
"Thanks!"
Isao gets to the bathroom and looks in the mirror.
"Why do I feel this bad?"
Isao's question made him flustered.
He does his bathroom routine and gets out on the balcony.
"The city is nice today… I might get out."
Lucy appeared out of nowhere, with fire around her.
"Hey kid! How are you?"
"Bad… I feel kinda depressed."
"You do? Wanna do shopping therapy?"
"I wanna take a walk, probably later."
Isao walks in the living room and then through the door.
"What has gotten into him? He looked like he was dead inside."
"He regrets of doing bad things and mistakes. He has some nightmares, all night waking up from his sleep. Saying he was talking to a version of himself that judged him and piles of bodies around him. Or the fight with Kraken…"
"How do you know all this Sophie"
"He told me. Everytime he woke up. The same dream."
Isao was different. He had a darkness within him that she had never seen before, a sense of self-doubt and self-loathing that threatened to consume him if left unchecked. She knew that he needed help, and she was determined to be there for him in any way she could.
As she watched him disappear down the street, Lucy turned to Sophia. "We need to help him," she said, her voice filled with urgency.
Sophia nodded, her expression serious.
Isao got out of the building and goes to a park near the building. He sits on a bench and watch the people in the park with their families. An old lady appears next to him.
"Can I sit here little boy?"
"Sure."
The lady sat next to him.
"I never thought I'd see so many young people out today. It's like their phones are dead and happiness grew because of it, but then you look on the street outside, and you still see people looking more on their phones than their life."
Isao nods in approval.
"Can't argue with that…"
"You look a little younger than I was when I got married. How old are you?"
"17, I don't look younger do I?"
"Oh that's the same age I got engaged, haha. Old times, now people don't love anymore."
"I can't argue with that either. People now are teached to love life less objects like money and power more than the ones around them…"
"You speak like you have experience. You've gotten through a lot recently?"
"Yeah, I dropped out of highschool, my real family hates me, a lot of people hate me and I've done literally nothing."
"You see, that's the problem, you are a good kid, but the world made them rotten. When you'll get your success, and you will, I believe everyone that saw you as a black sheep will now see you as a white sheep, and yes that's kinda racist, so don't think anything else alright!"
The old woman spoken truths.
"What is your name kid?"
"Isao, Tyson. My mother wanted me to have 2 names both Japanese Isao Hanzo Tyson. They scraped that fast."
"Japanese huh? My ancestors are from Nipon too. My great great great great great great grandfather built a school of martial arts, of deadly assassins. The school still lives in northern Japan waiting for a new successor for my ancestors Katana."
Isao's eyes widened in surprise. "Wow, that's amazing! Do you know how to use a katana?" he asked excitedly.
The old woman chuckled. "No, no, I'm far too old for that now. But I did learn a few things when I was younger. It's a shame that the younger generations don't seem to appreciate the value of tradition and history anymore."
Isao nodded in agreement. "Yeah, it seems like everyone is so focused on what's new and trendy, they forget about the importance of the past."
The old woman smiled warmly at him. "You're a wise young man, Isao. You have a good head on your shoulders."
Isao blushed slightly at the compliment. "Thank you. I try my best."
They sat in silence for a few moments, enjoying the peacefulness of the park.
"I've made many mistakes in life… How can I redeem myself?" Isao asked the old lady.
"You can't, mistakes make you learn. Einstein said this 'If you do not make mistakes it means you did nothing.' It's just a learning process, you might not treat it now as it is but the more you'll work the more you'll learn and mistakes are lessons given by life."
Isao nodded, taking in the old woman's words of wisdom. "Thank you for talking with me. You've given me a lot to think about."
"It was my pleasure, Isao. Remember, no one is perfect. It's how we learn from our mistakes that shapes us into who we are."
With that, the old woman got up from the bench and began to walk away. Isao watched her go, feeling a sense of gratitude for the unexpected conversation. He sat there for a few more minutes, lost in thought. Isao grins, he believes more in himself. He pulls out the phone and puts it to his ear.
"Kalista, I am sorry for being an ass."
"Finally you realize you're fine, got me worried, and nearly hired a doctor."
"I don't have medical insurance!"
"Psychiatrists don't accept money from insurance companies. Atleast most of them do, because the government fucks them up a lot alongside the company.
"Have you seen the old lady?"
"What lady?"
Isao realizes something. He didn't talk to a human! He talked to someone else.
He gets off the bench.
"Yeah I'm going head home!"
Isao heads home in fear of who was that old lady that talked with him.