Banner awoke in his bed. Last night he might’ve stayed up a bit too long, but admittedly it had been worth it. But today, he buttoned up his shirt and opened the door to find the sky a bit emptier than it usually is.

The small town wasn’t as loud as he usually found it in the middle of the morning. No hustle and bustle, just the rhythmic clopping of feet that pulled on carriages. Even the animals didn’t seem to be much for noise today, which confused Banner. He decided to skip breakfast, as he was already going to be late without it.

He decided that he would compensate later with a large lunch. Walking through the doors, he felt as though his appetite had dropped. It instead gave way to a rush of fear that crawled through every vein, every inch of his skin.

The news left his legs unsteady, and he had to find support somewhere to hold himself up. Isabella Baroque, found dead this morning, passed away in her sleep. Banner couldn’t believe the news even if the receptionist repeated it. He heard steps approaching closer to the hospital and looked out to notice that Listeny and her father were arriving.

They can’t see me like this. He ran. He ran in whatever direction he could find. Finding an exit out of the hospital, he took it. Anything to be as far away from it as he could be. As far away from her as he could be.

Was it his fault? Was the book not properly disinfected? Did she not have the will to go on after reading that book? In all honesty, he knew he wouldn’t be able to find out the exact reason unless he searched for it. But now, now was a time where he could absolutely not. Never show his face around Listeny. Never show his face around Mr. Baroque. Oh, they probably even blamed him for this, thinking him some twisted man who takes enjoyment in the pain of others.

This and a million other thoughts crawled and covered every inch of his brain, stopping him from formulating an idea of what to do on that day. He couldn’t work obviously, but he had to find a nearby place to sit down and clear his head. Spotting the diner from far away, he picked it. He must have unconsciously been heading here, being that it was what he considered a second home.

Walking in, he ignored the white noise of the bell ringing and sat down in front of the counter. He waited for a few moments for Lin to walk up to him and take his order or something so that he could strike up a conversation and forget what he had heard that morning. When she failed to show up, he instead looked up and saw that she was stressed in the kitchen, the dark bags under her eyes getting worse.

He said her name to get her attention, which worked. Lin walked up and asked for his order in a manner of fact sort of sense.

“Lin, listen, I need to talk to you-“

“Not now, Banner.”

“But it’s really important!”

“You can tell me later, Banner, I swear. But I really do have too much work to sort through.”

“Just a minute, Lin, that’s all I ask.”

“I’m really sorry, Banner, but if you could do this any other time, I’d be glad.”

Banner sat there with no rebuttal. All the fight had been bled out of him. “A-alright, I will.” He stood up and turned towards the door, but heard a yelp from behind him and watched a cup slip out of Lin’s grasp.

Something happened inside him at that moment. He felt a pool of sorts in his stomach, waiting to be utilized, hoping to burst free from any crevice of his body that it could. He reached out a hand and a greenish light appeared on the ground, expanding instantly into an oval shaped see through surface. At the same moment, another one appeared over the counter. Both of the small portals looked as if they led into each other and that proved to be true as the same glass appeared from the second portal and shattered on the counter.

The rest of the customers looked over at the sight. Banner stared at his hand, but looked behind it to see Lin fuming.

“You…You were a hallowmancer this entire time?” She let the towel she was holding drop onto the counter and stormed out of the back entrance.

Banner left and rounded the entrance, hearing her talk.

“Of course, OF COURSE he’s a hallowmancer. No wonder he does so well in his life. No wonder,” she started kicking the dumpster hard, “he has such a perfect damned life!” Banner walked up to her.

“Lin, listen, I didn’t kn-“

“NO, shut up! I do not want to hear your pitiful story!” She stormed off, exploding on anyone and anything that she could see in front of her.

****

Banner stalked back to the hospital, his feet trailing on the path. He looked to make sure he didn’t run into any of the Baroques, finding Koy there instead. She was standing in front of the building, smoking as she usually did. Banner almost wondered if she would let him have one of those.

“I heard of what happened,” she said.

“I…” Banner sat down next to her, “I just want to know what I could have done.”

“You can’t bring back the dead, not on this world. That’s something someone used to tell me.”

“Would that I could.”

“You’re doing the best you can with what you’ve been given, Banner. Most people in the world can’t even say that.”

“And yet, it isn’t enough. It never is. And then a huge tide comes along, sweeping you along, making everything you’ve done up till that point meaningless.”

Koy offered him a puff. Though it was tempting, Banner ultimately refused it and stood up to leave. He looked at his hands and clenched them. Never again, I’ll never use them again.