The air fills my lungs aggressively. I wake up. Everything is back to normal.

I have changed places with the killer. Where I should be, dead, is the man. In his place is me, holding his gun. The wound he caused me with the knife is gone, the shot in my other leg too. None of the blows he gave me, nor do the wounds in my neck remain. But, running towards Melpomene, I realize that my original wounds – my other leg and my side – have not disappeared. I am back to how I was when I met that man. “Mel! Wake up! Wake up…”

I kneel down to the side. Ignoring the sudden pain in my calf, I brush her hair out of her face and pat her cheek. She slowly opens her eyes and looks at me. She immediately straightens up and turns in all directions. Her breathing is labored, she is shaking. “Hey! Hey!” I try to get her attention, Melpomene is still scared. She doesn’t listen to me. “Calm down!” I take her hand and shake it a little. “It’s all over now, we’re safe”.

Her hand goes to the gun I still hold in my hand. He looks me straight in the eyes. “You did it,” she says. I hadn’t realized I was still holding it. I immediately throw it into the distant brush. “I stopped him…” Mel looks over my shoulder at where the guy is lying. “You reached for the gun”

“You… that world… Was it you?

Mel just nods, now it’s her turn to squeeze my hand. She starts to cry slowly, then to sob completely. “I don’t know what happened! I told you I couldn’t control it!

“Mel! MEL!”

The scream shakes her a little.

“You saved us… You saved us!

Mel continues to cry. When I turn around, the guy is still there. You can never be too sure… but, I didn’t want to hold it any longer. When I let go of the gun, it was like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. But I think I’ve acquired a new one, it’s impossible to see my eyes, but I’m sure they look different than they’ve looked all my life.

…

Red and blue lights illuminate the place in an instant. Footsteps. When I release Melpomene, there are uniformed men everywhere. Two of them point guns at us. Police. “Hands up!” I’ve had enough of being pointed at with a gun for this life. I raise my arms and follow the officers’ instructions. But even as I’m being searched and handcuffed, a strange calmness overtakes me. I think Melpomene feels the same, because the instant he does what the police ordered us to do, he stops crying and shaking. The long face is the only thing he keeps. Around the guy, a dozen paramedics work to bring him back to life. I wonder if he’ll make it, when a hand grabs my head and bends it down to put me in the police car. There are four officers inside, two in front, two behind on each side of me. Calm down, it’s not like I can escape. Even if I wanted to.

The car starts, the park starts to fall behind me. I wonder if they're taking Mel to the same place. Then I remember what that man said. About the dream, and his hunch… If he dies, then he was right. But it's not worth thinking about too much, almost instantly I fall asleep in the seat. One of the policemen shakes my shoulder, I don't know if he does it gently or if he hit me, but there's no point in worrying about it either.

…

A lot has happened in my life lately. After the day I lost Rodrigo, everything felt like free fall. When I got the job in Dongxi, I imagined I had finished falling, but that had been just a cloud. Ignoring it, I continued to fall. How far will I fall until I finally find the ground?

Another horrible story ended for me, but it seems it did for others affected as well, since Hernandez Valley had become a monster. That was the killer’s name. He was 29 years old. He looked much younger than that. Orphaned since birth. A high school math teacher for three years. His acquaintances described him as a nice person, and very intelligent. But very shy. The police had a different description of him. They called him the “Midnight Killer,” and he was wanted for killing eleven people between the year before last and this one. According to them, he killed someone else before he met us, and the total number of people he killed is unknown. He liked to stalk people in lonely places, like parks, or the nearby woods. It is not known if he did it all at night, but he signed his victims with that name, “Midnight”. It was 9:42 when the police arrived at the scene. Witnesses say a single shot was heard. I had never been to the place where he died… I wonder if it was his hunch.

Did he mean for me to kill him? If so… Why? Just for a dream? I guess I’ll never know. Things happen for a reason, and even though it makes my heart ache, I don’t regret killing him. I wish everyone had gotten away unscathed, but he made me choose. I chose to make a choice this time.

The police questioned us for a while, in separate rooms. I wonder what they thought at first. If I was the murderer and he was the innocent. About how Melpomene had anything to do with all this. They questioned me about who I was, what I was doing there, if I knew Hernandez, what had happened. I said he had tried to attack me, we struggled, I took his gun, and I shot him. They investigated my background, they asked me about the other incident, about Rodrigo… about Ashley. It seemed like I had a tendency to get into these kinds of situations. They asked more questions. About mom, about dad, about Blue. I know it wasn’t any of their business, but I didn’t want any more trouble. After a few minutes they left for another place. I heard them talking, and then they let me go.

They told me about Hernandez, about how they were looking for him. More cops joined in, asking me the same questions again. Eventually, another guy came along. He was the only one who asked me if I was okay, and he told me what I needed to know: Hernandez was a killer. I wasn't in trouble because it had all been self-defense. And what's more, the Midnight Killer had been a pain in the ass for the police. Because I had done them a favor, he was now dead. My heart still weighs on me. I shouldn't think about it, but I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Hernandez.

Leaving the interrogation room, I was led down a hallway. I heard Mom's voice, I heard Blue's voice, I heard other unknown people. A crowd of people. I was almost to the end of the hallway, but I felt so tired. I didn't want to, but I ended up throwing myself on the floor. Well, it's not like I threw myself down. I just passed out. In my defense, it had been a lot for one day.

I wake up and see the white tiles. I’m in a hospital bed, separated from the rest of the room by a light blue curtain. The room is completely silent, it’s almost uncomfortable. It’s like going back to… that day. I feel fine though. Rested, it’s a state I’ve been missing for a while. I get up. I still have my pants from the day before, but my shoes and socks are gone. The floor is cold. Pushing the curtain aside, I notice that the rest of the room is full of empty beds. Where am I? Melpomene must be nearby… The door opens. A nurse enters and looks at me in surprise. Behind her, a series of figures appear. Several, and they seem to be wrestling with each other. They all carry devices that emit powerful flashes of light. Cameras. In the end, only two manage to break through, and the nurse returns to the battle behind her, calming the screams that filled the room by closing her door.

Her hair has grown a little, I hadn't noticed. I think I've gotten used to ignoring her stares. But something inspires me to see my family again. "Sam!" Blue screams and starts running towards me. Before she can hug me, Mom pushes her and reaches me first. "My love! My child!" Mom almost sobs the things she says while she continues giving me kisses on the cheek and squeezes me with her hug. For just a second, I stay still while she does that. I had forgotten how it felt. Mom's face, her voice, the fact that she's talking to me. I fight back the tears and start laughing. "Mom, calm down! My wound still hurts! Mom!" I try to loosen her grip, but nothing works. When I realize, Blue is hugging me too. I sigh. How long has it been since we looked like a family? I had almost forgotten. Closing my eyes, I think I could stay like that for a while.