The two thugs quickly throw the purse to the woman and scramble to their feet. They run down the alleyway not looking back for a second as they scamper away like frightened animals. Kevin glares at them for a moment before turning back to the two scared victims. He holsters his guns back into his pants. "Thank you sir.." The mother says shakily as she clutches her child close against her side. "Thanks mister..." The young boy adds. Kevin with a bit of hesitation mutters a simple, "Get home." Kevin then turns away to leave but the woman cuts him off. "Wait. You saved us. At least let me treat you to some dinner." she says as her son looks up at him with big hopeful eyes. "Alright." Kevin responds with a bit of hesitation.
The woman then leads him towards her home and as there walking, the young boy looks up at the strange man who saved him. "Mister. Who are you?' He asks looking up at Kevin. "Just a man trying to figure it out I guess." The cloaked man responds looking down at the little boy. "You must be some kind of superhero or something." The young boy continues and as Kevin goes to respond his mother interrupts by pulling her son close. "Stop bothering the nice man Derrick." she says as she fixes his jacket and they continue walking down the street. They arrive at the small family's home, a small apartment building with a bit of tear evident as they step inside.
"Were home dad." The mother says and Kevin's eyes land on an old man sinking into an old couch. "Hey sweetheart.. Who's that you got with you? I hope it isn't your mother.. hehe..." The old man mutters as he points his cane at Kevin's figure. "He saved us from getting mugged by some thugs out on 47..." The woman says with a smile as she walks over to the stove and starts cooking dinner. Derrick runs up to his grandpa and practically pounces onto the couch next to him. "Grandpa!" The young boy says as he hugs the old man.
A few hours pass and dinner concludes. "Thanks for everything again..." The woman says as she finishes washing the dishes. "It's no problem ma'am." Kevin says as he sits back in a chair in the small living room. "Lets play a game mister!" Derrick exclaims excitedly as he waves around a toy train. "No No No young man. You need to get to bed darling." The woman says as she leans down and kisses the child on his forehead. "Fine... goodnight mister.." Derrick says with exaggerated disappointment as he walks away into his bedroom. The woman laughs, "Alright. I'm going to hit the hay to, you can sleep here if you like." She says as she walks away into the same bedroom as her Derrick.
"She trusts me a lot huh?" Kevin says almost to himself. "Yeah she does." The old man says reminding him of his presence on the couch. "She shouldn't. I mean we just met. I could be a murderer for all she knows." Kevin says as he looks down at the floor. "Well, in a world like this, we got to try to think there's still some good out there." The old man says with a chuckle running a hand through his white beard. "I guess so." Kevin says as he lays back. "I just wish there as a way to fix all this. All the crime, the suffering..." He continues as he runs a hand through his hair. "Mm.. maybe we'll find one eventually..." The old man says as he lays back himself. "There's got to be a way... I just wish everyone would stop dying..." Kevin says quietly. "Hm... yes but death isn't all bad depending on how you look at it." The old man says with a smile as he looks up at the ceiling.
"And how's that? Losing everyone you care about it eventually.. Just seems like were alive to suffer.." Kevin says as he uses his robe as a blanket and looks over at the old man curiously. "Well have you ever considered how life would be if we were without death?" The old man says as he puts his cane aside. "Yes, It'd be better. We wouldn't be in fear for all whole lives, we wouldn't have to deal with regret or loss. The pain would stop." Kevin says as if it was an objective truth. "Hm. Yes. Those feelings are horrible and they can stab into us for our entire lives." The old man says as he recalls old memories. "Yes, what is the point of living if we are just here to be in pain and then work hard to die anyway? If someone could stop death then it would be fixed." Kevin says sitting up. "Well.. have you ever considered that it doesn't need fixing? That yes, life is in a way a cycle of pain after pain and when that final dagger stabs into you it may hurt the most. But.." The old man starts. "But what?" Kevin asks curious to what the old timer has to say.
"But lets think about it like a story. Every story has bad moments, there's always time where you feel like its all bad. But a story also has those good moments that effect you forever. Characters that are forever engraved in your head that leave a warmth in your mind. Just like a story, life comes to an end but that doesn't mean it was all for nothing. If you are on your last few breaths you may feel like your missing out on so much. How I think of it however is that its your last chapter. The final conclusion that emphasizes what you've done in your time. The ones you loved.. how you affected them not just how much you may miss them. After all, if life was infinite then there would be no real meaning in my opinion. No one would feel the need to anything, no one would ever accomplish anything truly meaningful if they have an eternity to do it. I think that's the beauty in it. The fact that life is finite is what gives it purpose." The old man says with a warm smile and Kevin freezes for a moment as if deep in thought. "Thanks sir." Kevin says simply as he stares intently into the floor.