Michael’s feet dangled back and forth, just like any other child would when their legs couldn’t touch the floor due to being seated too high.

"Hey, Dad... sorry for not coming for a while. Things haven’t exactly been easy, you know?"

Gabriel’s chest rose and fell steadily with the assistance of the machinery, continuously pumping air into his lungs.

The only answer Michael got was the steady beeping of the heart monitor stationed at the opposite side.

Nevertheless, Michael wasn’t disheartened, continuing.

"Especially Mom... she doesn’t realize that since the walls are too thin, I can still hear her crying from the other side. She also tends to cover the wounds on her hands since she doesn’t want to worry us. Thankfully, Scarlett is still too little to realize that Isabella is always overworked."

Michael glanced down in shame.

"I remember that before you got sick you always told me how we must be strong to protect what we love by beating up bad guys. To be the good guys and do the right thing!"

The child sulked visibly.

"But... because I never actually got the chance to ask you what the right thing is and who the bad guys are supposed to be, I wasn’t sure what to do. Was I just too young and stupid to get it? I mean... Why are there people that have nothing and people that have more than they could ever need? Isn’t it the right thing to help those that need help? Does that make them the bad guys?"

Suddenly, the eyes of little Michael sparkled in newfound light.

"However, I think I got it! Not entirely, of course..." He added with a bashful expression, scratching the back of his head. "But I think I can now finally see the difference!"

He smiled warmly, clearly proud of himself.

"It was when Mom had too much work, so I had to escort Scarlett from school. You know, even if my sister is very cute, she is still too young to move alone..."

Michael sighed softly, with visible annoyance. Such was both the curse and blessing of the older sibling, being destined to take care of the younger ones.

"Well, along the way, we were stopped by an older man. His eyes looked kind of empty, and he was mumbling something about showing us some good time... Suddenly I got this feeling that if we went with him, we would never see you and Mom again. So I was about to act... yet before I could, he flung me to the side and rendered Scarlett unconscious!"

Michael frowned, massaging the top of his head. The spot where he had collided with the hard wall still ached to this day. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

"I was so scared, you know!" He admitted, his voice cracking momentarily.

"But then I realized it! That was the bad guy I needed to beat up, and Scarlett was the one who had to be protected! It was just like you told me! The grown-ups really do know their stuff!"

Little Michael puffed his chest out, his small hands curling into fists.

"While the man was still looking at my sister, I attacked! Using my rusty keys, I drove them into his neck. He was taken by surprise, but he didn’t fall immediately, so I pulled them out and drove them in again and again until he went limp! And then I started to cry... Blood is sticky and warm. It felt really gross!"

Michael shuddered, remembering the sensation.

"I killed the bad guy... but I didn’t want to end up in prison! No matter how much I tried to cover my tracks, there’d always be evidence leading back to me. And if everyone’s a bad guy, no one’s going to listen! They’ll just lock me up. At the time, it felt like I’d never get to see you again, no matter what I did..."

He paused momentarily.

"And then, guess what? I saw him! The good guy!"

Little Michael jumped off the chair enthusiastically.

"The entire place was empty, not a soul in sight... except for one man, leaning over the edge of a rooftop high above. He looked like he was considering jumping... yet the moment our eyes met, he hesitated, stepped back from the parapet, and dashed down the stairs, rushing to our aid!"

Michael gestured upward with his hands in awe.

"He was so incredibly tall! Almost like he could touch the sky! Not only that, there were these strange scars running along his forearms, like he’d been through something brutal and never quite healed... He looked like a person who wasn’t scared of anything anymore. So I was sure he must be a soldier! The kind that fights against the aliens to keep us safe!"

Noting he had gotten too loud, little Michael sat back in his seat, his excitement palpable.

"He got rid of the body, cleaned the blood off me, and told me not to worry. Unfortunately, he wouldn’t share his name, saying it didn’t matter. To make things even stranger, he refused my thanks, saying he was the thankful one... not that I understood what he meant."

Michael waited for a reaction from his father. There wasn’t one, so he continued.

"When Scarlett woke up, she didn’t remember a thing... Which, honestly, was a relief! No need to traumatize her or make our mom worry more. So, I kept it all a secret. To this day, no police ever came, so the good man kept his word!"

Little Michael grinned, his white teeth gleaming.

"I did the right thing, just like you taught me! ...Did I make you proud?"

"..."

"I knew I did!"

Michael chuckled, taking out his child-sized guitar.

"Since I am here, might as well play a bit and show you my progress!" His face blushed red with embarrassment. "B—but I’m not that good yet, so don’t make fun of me, okay?! If I hear that you’ve been speaking behind my back, you can kiss your private concerts goodbye!"

Taking the usual silence as a form of agreement, Michael began. His melody was off-tune, yet oddly captivating.

With the memory over, Nicole found herself back in the hollow valley.

Battled and exhausted, but alive, Michael lay face-flat against the ground, reverted back to his normal self.