It had only been a few seconds since I became homeless. I was a homeless man.

I am a homeless man.

It was still sinking in. At twenty two years of age, I now had no place to return to, not to mention a job or savings. You're probably wondering how this all happened. I was as well, and it was pretty obvious with how I simply stood there in thought.

No more. I suddenly gave myself a slap on the cheek.

Back to the present, damn it!

There's no need to worry about things that are already over with. And besides, I don't want to bore you with the details. What's important is the drive to move forward.

Whatever happened before no longer matters. It's in the past. As far as I know, my life starts here.

With that in mind, I walked through the cluttered street with pride, eyeing the shops and buildings around me.

That's right! I'm free!

What you should know is that my name is Adriel. I do have a last name, but that's irrelevant. As I said before, I was twenty two years old and unemployed. I was also single…at the moment. The town I lived in was sort of uncivilized, and you could tell as much while simply walking down the street. We didn't use much technology and did honest work to make a living. A lot of labor and small businesses. That type of stuff.

This should've worked in my favor. It's not like there were super extreme qualifications I needed to meet in order to get a job here. You wouldn't need schooling or a degree to clean shoes, right? Finding work would be a piece of cake.

Free samples…

My eyes locked in on a little stall that had a sign up with the words "FREE SAMPLES" written on it.

Free…

It had only been a few minutes since I became homeless, but I was still a homeless man. Poverty had forced me into a mindset of frugality and desperation. As such, I couldn't turn down anything that didn't require pay. It's like they always say: when you see an opportunity, take it. There was a golden opportunity right here in front of me.

FREE!

I immediately rushed over to the stall. It didn't matter what they were selling. I was so desperate that I was willing to take anything as long as I wouldn't be charged for it.

"What do you want, boy?"

There was a rather rude old lady behind the stall. She had off-putting wrinkles all over her face and hands and hair that was fully gray. I wasn't too happy about being addressed so disrespectfully by her, but I was willing to overlook it if she gave me something.

"Can I try your product, ma'am?" I asked.

I examined what she was selling. It was a type of fried food, but I didn't know what exactly it consisted of. It didn't look too unappetizing.

"Do you have the money for it?"

Does she think I'm poor?

Okay, I was poor. There's no way you could tell just by looking at me, though. This old hag just had no manners.

"What makes you think I don't, lady?"

She looked offended. "I don't like your attitude. If you're going to buy something, do it. If not, leave."

I was actually getting somewhat angry. I began to raise my voice a bit.

"Let me try it first!" I said as I pointed to her sign. "It says free samples!"

She furrowed her brow. "Will you buy it?"

All I wanted were free samples, and here she was trying to coerce me into buying her product. I figured I could say yes, though. Was I going to buy it? Hell no! But I could certainly lie and say that I was.

"Yes. If it's good, I'll buy it."

The witch put one of the fried things onto a napkin and handed it to me. "Here. Try it."

Finally! Let's give this a taste.

I bit into it and chewed. Then the flavor hit.

"Agh! Blegh!"

Immediate disgust. Pure rage. I wanted to kick her stall down. I spit out the food and took a second to stop myself from vomiting.

"...So how is it?" the fossil so innocently asked as if my reaction didn't already answer her question.

I gritted my teeth. "What did you put in here? Feces?"

"How rude! This is a family recipe that has been passed down for generations! It's the finest fried salmon in the country!"

Fried salmon?

Fried salmon? What I'd put into my mouth didn't even taste like food, let alone fish!

"Family recipe, my ass! You couldn't make a starving dog eat this garbage!"

It was then that I realized how much of her "fried salmon" she had. There were piles upon piles of it sitting there inside her stall. It was a clear red flag in the street food world. There was a justifiable reason as to why nobody was buying it, that's for sure.

"You have the taste buds of a child! Kids these days are too used to the poisonous foods they get at convenience stores! Poor boy! You don't even know what real food tastes like!"

What in the world was she talking about? Anyone in their right mind would say that her food tasted like manure. I hated dense, irascible old people like her more than anything else.

"You're saying all that, but look how much of your fried salmon you still have left! Nobody in town wants to eat it! Keep lying to yourself, old hag!"

She was getting even more furious. I could tell. And then all of a sudden…

Smack!

She had slapped me across the face. I couldn't believe it. She was laying her hands on me! Didn't this mean I had the right to fight back?

"You have such a slappable face, young man! With the way you treat your elders, I'm sure this isn't the first time something like this has happened."

I could defend myself, right? It would be considered self-defense.

I placed my hand on my cheek. It still stung a little.

You were raised better than this, Adriel. Calm down.

It was tough, but I managed to hold myself back. But that didn't mean I wouldn't attack her verbally. I didn't want to go to jail, so the best thing I could do was express my rage through my words.

"You shouldn't be commenting on other people's faces! Yours looks like a crinkled paper ball with all those wrinkles! You look like you could evaporate any second now! And you know what's funny? I've never met anyone with cooking as bad as yours! You've had your whole life to perfect this family recipe, and this is the result? It's disgusting! It's worse than trash! I'd rather eat animal dung! It's probably more edible than what you have here! Just give up and retire! A hag like you shouldn't be working anyway!"

There. That should've been enough. Her ego must've been shattered. She even looked speechless, at least until she spoke.

"...You're dirt poor, aren't you? Only a man with no job would have this much free time."

This woman…she was hitting me where it still hurt. Even after my barrage of insults, she was able to deliver a strategic counterattack.

That's it. I would get the last word, then I'd leave. I wanted to finish her off.

"Even if I had money…" I began. "Even if I had money, I wouldn't spend it on your filthy fried salmon!"

I didn't even look at her. I simply began to walk away. I should've been pleased with myself. I just wanted the satisfaction of knowing that I won that fight. My self-satisfied grin practically broadcasted my victory to the bystanders around me. Look, everyone! I just won an argument!

My strides became smaller and smaller as I looked back on what I'd just done, and eventually I stopped in my tracks. The grin had long since faded away. I bit my lip.

I won…so why do I feel so bad?

I pondered over it. A new life meant a new me. Being impulsive and irate wasn't like that new me at all. The new me was supposed to be my ideal. The perfect me.

Did I really just argue with a frail old lady? For what? When did I get so petty? And what the hell am I even wandering around for? I should go—

Damn it. Remember, Adriel. You no longer have a place to belong.

You know what? It doesn't even matter. My life starts here. This is my second chance.

I smiled. It was a tense one.

…Yeah, right.

Like I could forget the past so easily.

I was about to continue walking, but there was a sudden tap on my shoulder. It caught me by surprise and I promptly turned around.

It was a weak, but gentle touch. And it was from the brittle hand of that same old woman.

I didn't know why. Why did I feel remorseful? I didn't want to see her face again. I didn't want to face her!

"You hate my fried salmon that much, do you?" she asked.

I had no choice but to meet her eyes with mine.

"I…"

What could I say? Why did she have to come back?

Why did I have to go and make yet another mistake?

She spoke again.

"If it's really that bad…then maybe you should help make it better."

There was a long moment of stillness.

Is she…trying to help me?

"I-I can't," I said, averting my gaze.

Not after what I said to her.

She looked concerned. "But I need someone to help me perfect the recipe. Won't you do it?"

I didn't know how to respond. What are you supposed to do when remnants of your previous life come to haunt you? The whole reason you moved on was so you could escape from them. It was your last resort. Now you're standing here, your head turned away and face colored with distress. The image of how pathetic you probably look lingers at the front of your mind. It's the culmination of your efforts to better your character. Your nature has been revealed for everyone to bear witness to. No more lies, and no more half-truths. Here we have the real, genuine you.

Behold. A coward.

Stop.

A spineless little rodent.

Stop it.

A self-proclaimed victim of fate.

Shut up! Just shut up! I know myself better than anyone else!

If you were ever conscious of it, a willful ignorance would eventually veil your wrongdoings and absolve you of them. But alas, that veil has vanished along with the ignorance. Everything has now been laid bare. Look, observe, and decide for yourself what you truly see.

I know…I know!

I'm guilty of it all!

Indeed.

The guilt would pile up so high until I couldn't take it anymore. There were just too many irreparable mistakes. In that situation, there was nothing else I could do but run away!

It was my own faults that pushed me to escape. Such a sad, sad story!

There's only one word for people like me—the ones who flee from the problems they've created. I know it all too well. I always have.

My mouth opened, and I felt an inclination to utter the truth.

I know…and that is why I hate myself.

"…Coward!" I yelled. "I'm a coward!"

A pause followed, the length being that of an unsteady exhale. I mustered up the courage to catch a glimpse of the old lady's expression. I was sure that she'd be taken aback by disgust. At least she would finally leave me alone.

No. I was wrong. To my surprise, she looked so incredibly calm and understanding.

"That's quite all right," she said. It was like she'd seen such a mortifying rendition before. As if she'd already once dealt with someone in such a state of humiliation. "I don't mind cowards, so long as they're self-aware."

At this point, her invite quite literally had no drawbacks. It was just my reluctance to accept that was preventing me from saying yes. I was scared. I truly was. I didn't think people like her even existed before that moment. She was offering to scoop me up out of the very bottom of society's garbage can even after the way I treated her only a few minutes ago. There had to be an ulterior motive.

I eyed her for some time. A feeble old woman…accepting someone like me? It didn't even seem like she could take care of herself, and now she wanted to help someone else?

I suppose I had no choice but to accept her offer. You'd have to be heartless to leave someone like her all alone, especially with a business so foul that it would only end up leading her to bankruptcy.

Yeah. I could help her.

"About your offer…I'll take you up on it." A little grin managed to break its way out. "We'll turn your friend salmon into something actually edible."

The lady looked pleased. "Excellent!" she exclaimed, grabbing my arm and pulling me along. "My name is Lyra. You can call me that instead of 'old hag' now."

I chuckled. "Okay, Lyra. My name's Adriel. It's nice to meet you."

We talked and trudged. I still wasn't sure if I'd made the right decision, but it didn't matter to me anymore. This wasn't so bad. For a coward, it was a large step, and, unbeknownst to me, would change practically everything in this messed up life of mine. 

I learned something new today.

I didn't think it was possible, but it looks like I've been proven wrong.

People as kind as her…really do exist.