The ImagiNation, Project Sekai || HOPE FOR A BRIGHTER FUTURE

CHAPTER 14 - I Can't Do Anything!

I opened my eyes, both me and the stranger had survied by the grace of God. 

He got up and angrily kicked me in the leg, staring me down with those tired eyes of his. 

"We're alive!" I screamed for joy, throwing my arms up. "Sir, are you okay?" I got up and looked him up and down. Assuming he was fine on the outside I grinned, nearly overflowing with emotions. "It was Jesus that saved you, not me." I said proudly. 

Honoka was frozen in place, she was very obviously shocked. 

The man let out a laugh that sounded more like a sob. "I don't give a **** about Jesus, and he doesn't give a **** about me. I was right, you really are a silly little girl." He started to walk away.

"Hey! Stop that, get back here Mr..." I stopped running after him, awaiting an answer.

He slowly and reluctantly spun around, "Naoya Ito." He replied in an annoyed tone of voice. 

Using my tiny brain, I connected the strange coincidences. "Ito is my last name too! Maybe we're related." I joked. I was going to try to help this random stranger, not mess around. 

"Maybe, if your dad is a horrible person and your mom is American. Maybe..." He kept on walking while he talked. 

I followed Naoya, forgetting all about Honoka. I just really wanted to help him even though I couldn't, I felt like I had to for some reason. "Well... my father isn't a horrible person but my mother is American." I was silent for a moment. "Why do you want to die?" I asked, tilting my head as I looked up at him, he was so stupidly tall. 

Naoya started walking faster. "Why do I need to tell you?" I hated it so much when people answered my questions with another question. 

I sped up to stand in front of Naoya and put my hands on my hips, making my little angry face at him. "Look, Mr. Grumpy! I don't know why you have such a bad attitude but trying to kill yourself won't make your problems go away." I probably looked silly yelling at him on the sidewalk. 

Naoya stared at me blankly for a minute or two. "Maybe I have a bad attitude because my whole life has been a pile of ****. If I was never born a whole lot of bad things wouldn't have happened. I'm trying to do everybody a big favor by killing myself, it's a shame they won't accept that gift. Besides, I'm tired of going in circles every day." 

I thought for a moment. Maybe I could use all of my advice that I needed to follow on him. "Well maybe you're going in circles because you don't care to change! Try doing something different for once, then you won't feel so terrible." Sometimes my own life felt like an endless loop, just like my nightmares. 

Mr. Grumpy seemed surprised at me for saying something so logical. "Perceptive silly little girl..." I wondered if he was just going to keep adding things onto that title. "You're probably right, I would feel better if I did that. But like you said, I don't care to change." 

I was beginning to feel frustrated, this guy couldn't possibly be more stubborn. Actually, he was kinda like me... perhaps I had finally found out how bad I made my father feel. "If you know you'd feel better then why don't you do the thing?!!" I screamed in confusion. My thoughts seemed to be racing, they were all over the place and wouldn't stop. "What went wrong in your life?! Did you have parents that fought? I'm stubborn just like you!!" I was so stupid, telling some random stranger everything about me. 

The man's face went from blank and tired to angry. "You're lucky you have parents so that they can fight! You've got it really good, little girl. I never met my dad, Mom was never even around, and when she was she was always in her room... sleeping." I guess he was a lot like me. Overflowing with hurt, wanting so bad to tell someone of it.