There's nothing more painful than loneliness.

They were sure of this, as they were that the accident that now appeared like a dream had been real, as it was the orphanage bed they woke up everyday. When the primary family disappears, its said that a second one must be found, like friends or partners. But what happens when, no matter how much one looks, this can't be found?

Then one finds themselves with the painful loneliness. They didn't know what to do anymore. Even though they weren't the only one at the orphanage, everyone else seemed like aliens imposible to understand. How did they know what to say all the time, or when and how to say it? People from school where the same. Why when they copied their expressions they received weird looks and painful silence? The rest of the world seemed far away. Everyone had a place except they... Or maybe they did had one once, and had lost it with that memory that was disappearing like a dream. Like their parents' faces did.

Soon they'd have to abandon the orphanage and go into the world, and the thought didn't let them sleep at night. Once that happened and they took a step outside that building, the doors would close behind them and then they'd be alone both in body and soul. And there wasn't anything that scared them more.

It was on a new moon night when they found the little shadow. From the open window of their room, they hold their hands together and threw a prayer to the starry sky: they needed someone. It didn't matter who they were: a friend, a lover, even a pet. They just wanted someone that'd stay by his side, always. Then their fingers touched the little shadow that fell from the sky like a black feather, and they shook. The shadow stocked to their fingers and slipped through their skin until reaching the palm of their hand, feeling cold against their skin.

The shadow got up and shape-shifted. It obtained feet and head, arms and torso, and became a small creature with human form that fit in their hand. They, extremely surprised, touched the being with a finger, and immediately the little one hug it tightly. They weren't sure how, but they could've sworn they were seeing the shadow creature smiling, and smiled back. Thus they met their first friend.

They named the creature Noir. Crude name, perhaps, but the little one seemed to like it. Since he was the size of a doll, they took him with them everywhere on their pocket, on their backpack and even hidden in their cap. Noir learned to talk like them by imitating their voice, and they chatted together when nobody was looking. He learned to eat when they offered candy, though he didn't need to; and he learned to play when they tossed at him a small ball, though he didn't understood the rules. They placed him to their side on the pillow when sleeping, and so Noir learned to dream.

But on a bad day, someone tried to hurt them. A stranger, way older than them, threw them to a car's interior and tried to take off their clothes. They screamed, but their voice was silenced, and kicked, but their legs were stopped. Noir then transformed. Went from being small to being a human-size creature, and confronted the person who attacked them, throwing the stranger through the front glass of the car. They ran away one free, not before holding Noir's hand to take him with them.

Authorities were called and the stranger arrested. They caught their breath back and, through tears, thanked Noir and hugged him. However, there was nothing to thank for, after all, Noir was their friend, and it was normal between friends to help each other.

Others treated them differently after that. A little more gentle, a little less rough. They found there a place between others that, if not enough yet to make them feel welcomed, did decrease a little the loneliness they felt. Maybe, among that people, they could find another friend. Noir, on another hand, didn't go back to his original size since, according to him, he needed to be big to protect them better.

Because of this, they didn't took him with them anymore, but hid him in their room until they were back. Noir always asked questions when they did; where had they been? With who? What had they done? How? Where would they go tomorrow? What hour were they planning to come back? Couldn't they stay? Couldn't he go with them? They thought cute how attached their friend was, and gave him pats on the shoulder to convince him to stay hidden and that they'd be back the same hour next day without a doubt.

One day, however, they didn't. They came out of school too late, accompanied by some classmates, worried that something would happen d to them again. When hey entered their room, Noir was outside his hiding spot and, shaking, did more questions than usual to figure out why they weren't on time. Though they tried to calm him down, it's seemed like he was about to cry, so they promised him to never do it again. But it's not wise to promise something that's outside oneself's power, and on several occasions, they broke that pact. Every time they did, Noir got more anxious. He started to try and stop them from going out every morning and came to cry seas of translucent tears to convince them. When he achieved it, they ended up spending the day with him and skipping class. And when they couldn't allow themselves to skip more, Noir was always upset when they came back, even if it was on time, and had to work very hard to making him feel better again.

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It was tiring. However, they dealt with it. Noir wasn't just their friend; he was their best friend. The only one they had. Besides, it's normal for friends to fight, right? And as long as they made up with him in the end, everything was fine, right? And it was true that they'd broken their word with him. It was normal for him to become moody after failing him so much. So it was their responsibility to be the one apologizing every time, the one changing to avoid losing their shared friendship. Because Noir could leave one day and be without them, but they couldn't.

However, that thought changed when they birthday came. They received gifts from both the people in the orphanage and some people from school who remembered the date. It was nice to know there were others who cares for them, or that, be it by obligation or true kindness, had them on their mind enough to gift them something. They wanted to celebrate alongside Noir and unwrap together the gifts, but it wasn't possible.

Noir destroyed all gifts once he saw them. Not one, not even hose they tried to save, survived. Noir was angry. Why did they have friends he didn't know about? It wasn't fair. He was their best friend. He existed to fulfill their dream of never being alone. But Noir was willing to forgive them for their mistake. They just had to forget about everyone else... Though, maybe, it wasn't them who didn't get it. Maybe it was everyone else who didn't understand they didn't need anyone else, and that's kept bothering. If that was the case... should Noir take care of the others?

Something in the shadow's face changed, and for the first time, scared them. They took his hands and said again and again that he was right. They'd do what he wanted and forget about everyone, so there was no reason for him to go after others. Hearing them, Noir smiled, and hugged them with the same joy he'd done many times before. They shook feeling his touch, and from one day to the other, came back to being a social recluse. They distanced, stopped talking with others and looking them in the face. Loneliness waved at him again saying it had missed them. This time it seemed colder han before, as much as Noir's skin, in front of who they tried not to mention anyone's name or talk about anyone's for too long.

But not even all their precautions were enough. One night, when they came home late once more and their heart beats strongly thinking of what they'd do to calm down Noir, someone called them out. A classmate had followed them since they'd forgotten something at school, but they could barely pay attention to her. Noir was waiting outside the orphanage. In his face they could see wrath.

They took their classmate by the hand and ran. They couldn't let her get hurt, but Noir was faster and didn't get tired, like how he also didn't eat, or sleep, or felt pain, or cold, or fear. He wasn't human. For the first time they asked themselves: what was he? No time to answer. They reached a park but tripped and fell, their hands getting scratched by the ground, so they yelled their classmate to keep running a don't look back while they took care of Noir. As they stood up, their friend was already there, and lost it after seeing their bloody hands. Who had hurt them like that? Was it that human that was running away screaming? She'd pay for it. She'd pay for it.

Noir turned into a giant. He wasn't gonna lose time running after her. Took a size equal to his fury, his dark figure shadowing the sky's stars, and was about to take a step that'd crunch her under his foot, but they yelled at him to stop. In the middle of panic, a thought crossed there mind. Noir existed to fulfill their wish. And right now, what he wished was to be able to stop him.

A chain appeared from Noir's neck that they took with both hands. Their blood spiled from the strength the took it, trying to stop him. It wasn't enough, the couldn't stop with jus with that, so they made another wish. If Noir wanted to be their best friend forever, then the right thing would be for him to become human's best friend.

Noir turned into a wolf. It was huge, almost as tall as them in his four legs, with pupil-less eyes. He fought against them, who was barely capable of stopping him from advancing. But even that wasn't enough. Even in that state, he could rebel against them. He could disappear one day and use his nose to trace down anyone he considered a nuisance. They had to make sure he'd be always on sight, always close, and always near enough to stop him. Once more, they made a wish.

Noir turned into a ring. Hugged their right index and stayed quiet, as if he was a normal ring. They fell on their knees, exhausted. They hold their hands together, as if praying, and breathe again. Blood stained their fingers and wounds beat from the pain. They'd won the battle, but entered an endless war.

Their wish had been fulfilled. They'd never be alone ever again.

They stood up slowly, fearing the time of going back to the orphanage with the ring on their hand. When they turned, they found themselves face to face with a tall dark figure that looked at them from above.