In the darkest times, dawn is around the corner, yet seems so far away.
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A steaming cup of tea sat in front of Doctor Wallace, although they paid it no mind. They had other things to think about.
Such as the spider that was crawling across the office flood.
They wondered what it was like, such a small creature with different worries then they had. A different view of the world, a different set of beliefs.
Maybe for the spider, its life was as complicated and as full as a human's. Maybe it dreamed and imagined of a better world with different wants and needs.
Doctor Wallace glanced at the clock. They still had a bit until their next client. Might as well do something about the spider.
They picked up a clear cup from the tea table and a piece of paper, and trapped the spider, carefully carrying it out of their office and changing the sign to "out."
Hopefully they would be back in time.
It wasn't exactly the first time a spider had wandered into their office, but it certainly was the first time they could take it somewhere other than unceremoniously dumping it out the door.
The park was only a couple of blocks away, and they supposed that they looked a bit odd, standing for the crosswalk whilst holding a spider in a cup. Then again, those who laughed would forget seventy percent of the day, and Doctor Wallace carrying a spider would most likely be one of those memories.
In all of their years on Earth, Doctor Wallace had noticed that humans, even through their ingenuity and skills of observation, were still remarkably self-centered.
And perhaps there was a reason for that. If any other mystical power existed, perhaps everyone was one and the same, on a journey to learn from all perspectives before creating something of their own.
If that was the case, then Doctor Wallace was glad that the blood on their hands wasn't as much as others.
Perhaps 'evil' didn't exist at all, but was the product of others opposing an idea so much that in their minds, that idea is hellfire itself.
Doctor Wallace finally got to the park, glancing around before kneeling near a shrub, tilting the cup so that the opening was facing a branch.
"Come on, little one," they murmured, trying to coax the spider out. "I'm not gonna hurt you, be free."
Out of the corner of their eye, they spotted a kid, maybe half their height, messy hair strewn all around their eyes. The kid was looking at them in curiosity, before starting to wander over.
"What are you doing?"
Doctor Wallace kept an eye on the spider as it finally got out of the cup, then looked up and smiled at the kid. "I'm letting it go."
"Why?"
"Well, why do we do anything? Because we want to, that's why."
"Wouldn't it just be easier to kill it?"
Doctor Wallace watched as the spider scuttled away. "Easy? Yes. Right? Not a chance. You see, it wasn't the spider's fault that it wandered into my office. It wasn't its fault that instead of the home it hoped for, it instead encountered a big, scary maze, with monsters that could kill it at every twist and turn. Why kill something when it wasn't even its fault in the first place?"
The kid seemed to be considering this. Then, "But... aren't they scary?"
Doctor Wallace laughed kindly. "To them, they might say that we're the scary ones. To you and me, we're normal, but to the spider, other spiders are what's normal to it. Think about a time where you were scared. How would you like it if you were going about your business and someone ki-stopped you?"
The kid was silent for a moment. "So... even if something's scary... don't kill it right away?"
"I mean, try not to, at least. Every living thing deserves a chance to live. Everyone deserves a chance to be happy."
"Even... even bad people? Like, villains?"
"I don't believe that there's really such a thing as a strict 'hero' or 'villain,'" Doctor Wallace said. "There's always a reasoning behind why people do what they do, and how can you possibly classify someone as a villain if they, let's say, robbed a bank because their family needed the money to put food on the table?"
"But there are still bad people out there, aren't there?"
"There are people who do bad things, but whether or not a person is actually bad depends on the circumstances in which they are doing the bad thing."
The kid seemed to understand. "Like, intentions?"
"Intentions and impact. Maybe I say something that hurts you, but I didn't intend for it to sound mean. If that was the only interaction that you had with me, you would probably say that I was a bad person, wouldn't you?"
"I guess..."
"But to me, I never intended to hurt you. So I would still view myself as a good person." Doctor Wallace shrugged. "In conclusion, people can't always be put into boxes of 'good' and 'bad.'"
"Like, not everything is in black and white?" The kid asked. "Like... most of us are just... gray?"
"Exactly." Doctor Wallace paused for a moment. "How old are you?"
The kid shifted. "Nine."
"You're very wise for that age," Doctor Wallace mused. "You know... I can't remember when I was nine. It was so long ago. But enjoy it while you can, kid. Trust me, it goes by faster than you can blink."
YOU ARE READING
Command: Past is Present
Fanfic"We've learned from our mistakes, Altera. Enough blood has already been shed." "That didn't stop the start of World War III, did it?" "No. It didn't. But it ended it." "Human minds are just sacs of salt interacting with proteins. Even now, you live...
