t know what to say. If anyone would know what to do, it would be him.
Suddenly the boy screamed loudly, covering his ears with his hands as he squeezed his eyes shut. He started to rock backward and forward in a panic, his screams rising in volume.
"Hey! Calm down!" Hercules exclaimed as he stepped toward him, but stopped when the boy flinched and cowered even further away from him. His gaze lowered to the ground, feeling ashamed.
Pegasus was surprised. It was the first time he had ever seen Hercules react that way. He had never witnessed such a strong reaction from his friend before. Normally he would try to get closer and reassure him, but he was unsure what to do.
"I'm sorry," Hercules muttered after a few seconds of hesitation. "I shouldn't have asked you to wake me up. I forgot." He sighed deeply, closing his eyes tightly. When he reopened them, a slight smile appeared on his face despite the fact that his eyes were teary. "It's just hard sometimes. Sometimes I wonder if you're really my friend. Sometimes I think you don't really care about me. You probably never cared about me." He shook his head, unable to believe it.
The woman remained completely still. She couldn't understand what his reaction meant, but she knew that she didn't like where the conversation was heading. "Hercules, you know that I love you. Nothing has changed."
He shook his head again. "But I'm nothing compared to you. My abilities are useless, my skills are average, and most of the time I just sit around doing nothing. I mean, what use is being powerful if all I do is sit around? I can barely defend myself. How can I protect anyone else? I- I'm just nobody!"
"Stop it!" the woman snapped angrily. "Don't talk like that. I've already told you that you matter so much. I wouldn't be able to live without you, Hercules. Please stop saying things like that. Stop talking about yourself like that."
"Well, why shouldn't I?!" Hercules shouted, stepping forward. "Everyone keeps telling me to forget about my past and move on, and then they start acting all weird once I bring it up again! I-I-"
"Because it hurts us!" the woman interrupted. "You don't need to keep mentioning your past! You're here to learn how to live, and to become stronger and stronger! To be able to protect your family, and to fight evil and bring glory to our kingdom! That's the goal! So just forget about everything that happened in your past!"
The other three boys froze in place, exchanging glances. Hercules' expression became blank. "You're right." His tone betrayed his sadness. "I should forget all that happened, but it doesn't seem very easy to forget about my past. Especially since all I see is darkness every night. Every day I wake up and remember my mother, father, brother... I even dream about them every night too."
His words sounded painful as he spoke them. But he had expected some kind of reaction from the woman, since he wasn't sure whether she understood what he had meant. He had expected a scolding, or maybe even a slap on the back, but instead she frowned. She hesitated for a moment before she opened her mouth and said softly: "I wish you didn't remember it, then. But I know you will. Someday, you will have to accept who you really are and how important you are. Even if you don'