Two days had passed since the fight between the creature and Mat. The child Andrew had saved died. Nicole's sisters... One died because she didn't resist, and the other lost the mobility of her limbs... Well, not all mobility. Mr. Crowell also died.
Sam found out about the boy when he went to his house to check on him but... Well, when she got there, she asked his mother if her son was all right, and when she went to see him (he was in his room)... You know what she found. It was a horrible, really...
Something similar happened with Erin and Andrew. They had arrived at Nicole's house. She was alone with her sister, and her sister was sleeping at the time. Andrew and Erin talked to her for a while, until her sister started screaming in desperation from her room.
They all went to the room of... On the door it said "Reina"... They all went to the room of Reina, Nicole's sister... Yes, I forgot her name, don't say anything.
When they entered, they saw that Reina, lying in the same pose she was sleeping in, was screaming that she couldn't move. She couldn't feel her limbs, specifically her left arm and right leg. The other two were similar, but not as bad as those two.
While the three of them were trying to get her to move, the phone, which was in the second floor living room, started ringing.
- You guys stay here, I'll answer it!
Erin quickly went to answer the phone.
- Nicole, it's your parents, come here! - Erin shouted from downstairs.
Neither Nicole nor Andrew knew what to do with Reina, who was crying right now... And so, Nicole went to answer the phone, even though she was extremely worried about her little sister.
...
The caller was her father and he was in the hospital. He told her he was going to come home to tell her something important, although... I think you know what he was going to tell her, I mentioned it earlier... I think... I think I killed the excitement of it, didn't I? S-sorry...
Aside from what has already been told, Mat, since the fight, had disappeared. His friends went that same day to check on him, but he was nowhere to be found.
- Mat? I don't know where he is, but I don't think he'll be long in coming. - his mother told the group. - So why don't you stay until he comes back?
He didn't come back. It was ten o'clock and everyone had already left, except Sam. Mat's mother was worried.
"What happened to Mat?" thought Sam, worried.
The next day they also went looking for him, but he wasn't there either. It was the first time he had ever done that.
Back to the present, it was nighttime. Sam had found Mat sitting, in the place Mat had shown him some time ago (they went there from time to time,). Sam was carrying a small bag in which there were loaves of bread.
"The Hero? That... No, that doesn't matter... I just found Mat and I have to take him home... Wait..."
- Hey, Mat... I... I don't know... But... You haven't eaten in two days, have you? - Sam said, and tossed him the bag of bread. It was closed. - Here, eat. Please...
Mat turned away and said nothing. He kept looking at the sky.
- Hey, at least say something...
- I don't need to...
- W-what? No, you need to eat... - Sam told him, somewhat sadly, and went to his side, bent down, picked up a loaf of bread, and gave it to him and... Well, Mat didn't want to receive it. - Hey...
- Sam... What should I do? I, uh... I don't even know who I am anymore. What's my purpose? I'm the Hero, but... Why? I couldn't save anyone... Agh, I don't even know why I know I'm the Hero... I've had several strange dreams lately, where I talk to someone, but... I don't remember what about... Agh!
He fell silent for a few seconds.
- I also feel like I'm guilty of something worse than those people's deaths, but I don't know what it is... I... I also feel that... I feel like everything I'm going through isn't real.
- N-not even me? - Sam asked.
"What is he talking about?"
- Even you aren't real... This all feels like a very long dream... (One that I can't wake up from...)
- M-Mat... - Sam said to him, but she didn't really know what to say to him. She put the bread back in the bag.
- I don't even know what I'm saying anymore... But... I'm glad you came...
- And I'm glad I found you... Isn't it great to tell others how you feel? - Sam said, this talking about people you trust and that they trust you too.
“Although... You didn’t tell me much...”
- Yes it is... But it doesn't really matter if I feel good... There are people who can't smile anymore, can't feel sad... Or feel... Because of me. I really am useless...
He fell silent for another few seconds.
- I tried everything to fit in... Anywhere. - Mat said, and looked toward the horizon. - I don't know if you noticed, but I always tried to be friends with everyone, be nice to everyone, smile all the time, study... To be normal (and not achieve it) and... That... I don't think it was worth it after all... I was born with the power to create things with my thoughts... That... That's not normal, no matter how you look at it. A normal person is not able to do that... That's impossible, but... I can do it... Why is that? At first it was fun, but... Gradually I realized that, if I got caught... I'd be in big trouble, to say the least... I also have this weird mark that shines sometimes, and because it shines a little, almost always, covering it up with my sleeve comes easy and so, but... Why? Why do I have these two things? That there's such a gift... And to waste it... To waste it on someone useless...
At that, Sam slapped him.
- Huh?!?
- But Mat... You... You're not useless... Stop saying such things! You... You always gave your all... For everything. Even if you failed, you never gave up (according to what you said and...) According to what I realized (a little bit at least). You always tried to help anyone who needed it. You even made friends with people who were socially isolated (or so it is said...) You even tried to save others! You never gave up, not even when we were up against the specter! You never gave up and always kept going! Or so I thought... But seeing you like this, I don't know what to think now... You, right now... You're not the person I used to know... The person I admired, nor the person I fell in love with... You are someone... Different and that makes me... Disappoints me... Ah, s-sorry for saying that...
- That's okay... It's me who should apologize... To everyone. This... - Mat realized something. He said then, blushing. - Wait, what did you say?
- N-nothing...
- ...You really don't know how to read the atmosphere. - Mat told her, and seemed to be wanting to... Laugh. - That felt out of place, you know? But... I didn't know you had those kinds of feelings.
- I... I'm sorry, I didn't mean that. Well, actually... Forget about it.
- It's okay, but... No, we'll talk about that later, I have something to say about that too, although... You know, I came here after seeing Mr. and Mrs. Crowell.
At that moment, Mat began to tell her briefly what happened to them.
Mrs. Crowell told Mat that in the last moments of her husband's life, he could see him. For some reason, he recognized her and spoke to her. His wife wanted to cry at that moment, but... It was impossible. She was not able to convey that emotion when she was in that state. Anyway, she thanked him for everything he did, and apologized. He, for his part, did the same... For the things he had not been able to tell her, and for the things he realized in moments when he could no longer say anything about these.
After that, Mr. Crowell breathed his last breath. Mat arrived at those moments and saw both of them, in those horrible forms. They both said goodbye to him, and... Despite not having managed to save him, Mrs. Crowell thanked him. They disappeared after that and... Mat realized what had happened to the others and... He ran away, not knowing what to do.
- This brings us back to the beginning, what are we going to do? I don't know... - said Mat. - They were like my grandparents... And yet I...
- Mat... This may sound very pessimistic, but... - Sam said to him, almost in tears, and went over to hug him. - But there's nothing we can do about it anymore...
- You are right... But... One question. - Mat said, seeming to want to change the subject now, before getting to the subject he wanted to know more about, or at least have a conclusion to it. - Y-you have a dream?
- Why do you ask? - Sam replied. - Sorry, you don't answer a question with a question, do you? Well, the thing is... I do have one, although... I-I think it's very childish. You're gonna make fun.
The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
- Tell me anyway. Besides, why would I laugh?
- I get it. W-well... I-I want to be a writer, a famous one. - she said nervously.
- I see. It's good to have a dream. Setting a goal to reach is a good thing. I didn't set a goal for myself. I never had a dream per se. It's like... It's like my life doesn't have a purpose.
- Ah, so that's why you got into various things. You did everything in order to discover your "purpose".
- Exactly... - Mat told her. - But I didn't succeed, though... Living day to day is fine too. Having a normal life is fine.
- That's... That's living without a purpose, you know? We're similar in a way, the two of us. We don't have a real purpose, but... That's... It's not right, in my opinion... It's very sad. - Sam replied. - But, the truth is... Living a normal life is hard too.
- Yes... Who was I kidding? It's sad to think like that. And... It's true, life is hard for everyone.
- It really is... But... Humans always try to move on, or at least think about doing so, to overcome their adversities and... Now that I realize, the death of those people... That was our fault too, since we didn't do anything, we just watched you...
- ...You're right, but I was the one who got you guys involved because I supposedly needed help, so it's my fault, and mine alone, that they died... Agh! We always end up in the same thing...
- Mat, no more... We don't have to do this anymore...
She was silent for a moment, and continued... A lot of unnecessary drama these two are making, I think. I'm already too lazy to narrate it, it helps.
- Mat... I... I never thought the day would come when I'd see you... like this. And I don't even know what to say. This all feels so unreal. I can't comprehend everything that's going on... Spectres, ghosts, spiritual sensitivity, even you... Ten years ago, when I first met you, I thought it was my imagination. You, an apparently normal person, had powers... That was amazing, wonderful for a child. But now... Now I know that it was real. And I accepted it, just like that... And... About that... When you were fighting that thing, we were all very scared... No, terrified, we didn't think you could do... That with your powers... But, at the same time, we were kind of... Calm because you didn't use them to harm others, but to protect them. You really seemed to be a hero in those moments... At least to me...
- Do you really think so? - said Mathias Donovan, who... already seemed to be feeling better.
- I do. - Samantha replied. - But I also know that heroes can't save everyone. Even if they are fictional, mostly, they are still human like you and me, and they make mistakes. You have powers, but you're not omnipotent, you're not God, you're just a normal person who has a gift that others don't have. The thing is that you defeated it, and thanks to that, things like that won't happen again. Besides that... The relatives of the people you tried to save don't know what really happened. They only know, in the case of Nicole's family, that... You saved the two girls in that fire... And so...
- ... - he was just listening.
- Also... Even if you didn't manage to save them, at least there won't be any more victims, which... Is a good result, don't you think? - she told him. "Did I say it right?"
- I guess you're right... - that was the only thing he answered her.
- W-well, I guess it's too late now, I'll take my leave.
Sam was about to get up, but Mat stopped her, holding her hand.
- Please stay a little longer. After this, I'm coming home with you. There's something we need to talk about, remember?
- Yes, but... I don't think we should do it now.
- You really think so? Come on! - Mat told him, he didn't seem depressed anymore, not at all. - You're the one who said, "That's why I fell in love with you"!
- Yeah, I'm leaving. Agh! How can you be so... That's not how you should be acting right now, let alone on that subject! You said earlier that my comment like that was out of line, but you're the same way, and worse. That attitude is out of line too!
- Yeah... Sorry about that... It's just that... You see... After talking to you, I feel better now. I feel much calmer and my thoughts are more ordered, so to speak. Thank you for that.
- I-I'm glad you're okay now, but... You... Why did you want to talk about it?
- You see, I said that everything I see is like a dream, something unreal and stuff... And because of that, I was never really attracted to anyone and so...
"What?" Samantha was confused. Someone like him should be popular. He has a lot of friends and positive qualities, so that's why it surprised her.
- I wasn't attracted to Erin either, even though we started a...
- WHAT?! - Samantha exclaimed. - Th-that's... WHAT?
- She didn't tell you? H-hey, don't be like that. - Sam was furious, but she was blushing... I don't know how to interpret this. - I-it's not like I cheated on you or anything.
"Why am I saying that?" thought Mat, and continued. Sam looked uncomfortable now.
- And so... With you... I don't know, I feel something different about you... It's like... I don't know, but I've felt it since the day I met you and... H-hey, what's wrong with you?
She was really blushing.
- I-I... Mat... Th-that was... I-I don't know what to say.
- I know, I know! That sounded so stupid, even I was embarrassed to say it out loud, hahaha. Err... - he laughed unwillingly, apparently. - But the thing is, it's true. It's like... I don't know. Is it love?
- Saying that out loud was so cheesy? - she was embarrassed to hear that.
- I'm sorry... Now that I think about it, we were very young, so I don't think that's what it was, but... I feel the same way now, so I don't know. There are so many things going on in my head right now... Agh! But... What matters most to me right now is you, Sam.
- H-hey, you...
"Is he really doing it?" thought Samantha. "This is so... No way! I'm really, really, really... No, I need to calm down and not rush to say something out of line."
- Sam, would you like to be my girlfriend?
- I...
There was an awkward silence after Mat said those words. And so... This conversation was like this because these two are so dramatic, excuse them...
"Wait, Mat was all depressed and made us worry too much, and now he's telling me this... I'm not going to be, not the way he is now. But... How do I tell him this?" This was the first time someone had said that to her and Sam didn't know what to do, but she thought of a response in those moments.
- M-Mat, maybe we should wait a little while for that. - Sam said nervously.
- Y-yes, I'm sorry... You're right. - Mat said, nervous too. He was embarrassed to realize what he said.
- We should get to know each other better... - she told him.
- That's... That's right.
- I'm serious. We're friends, but... We still don't know each other very well. Everything you told me, I didn't know.
- And I didn't either, I didn't know you had plans for the future... - Mat told her. - I'm sorry I didn't ask...
- Huh? But... That's not something you should apologize for... - she replied. - Besides, I was the one who didn't tell you anything either...
And after that she added.
- And so... If you want, from today on we should get to know each other more...
"I don't know how this is going to end..." She thought.
- Besides, we shouldn't be talking about this now.
- ...
She was right, they shouldn't. Although... Talking about Mathias right now, he ... He didn't know why, but he felt differently about Samantha... And Andrew, though more so for Samantha. He felt something familiar, and nostalgic, being around those two, and he liked their company. But, the thing is, because of this, he didn't really know what his feelings were for her.
- And Mat, well... You should go home now, everyone is worried now.
- I know, but... Well, let's stay a little longer. - Mat told her.
- Why? It's already late!
- Is it really? Let's see... - said Mat, and created a PSI clock.
- ...Wow, what time is it? - asked Sam.
- I don't know what time it is.
- But why?
- I just created a clock, but it doesn't... It doesn't work like a clock, it's just shaped like one. Hehe... Sorry, Sorry.
- You idiot... W-well, let's just stay for a while, okay?
- Yes, thank you... - he said this last thing in confusion. It was the first time she called him an idiot, but it didn't sound like an insult.
They stayed for a while, just like Samantha said... She was still a bit confused, because of what Mat said at the beginning, and about being the Hero.
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- ...This was awkward. - Eliah said to me. - Really awkward...