The Innocent Killer

"You...something is wrong with you", that gentle face he believed in, was distorted with fear, "You can never be loved."

  *****************

The toys sprawled before him were all in blocks. They always seemed to break apart like this. Toys were no fun for him. 

He felt a gaze on him. As he turned his head to look at the door, his mother who had been peering from behind the door, hid behind the wall. She didn't want to be seen by him at any cost. His beautiful eyes that had only grown even prettier, were no longer something she loved gazing into. 

But he had never called her mother. He was a silent boy, perhaps because he was always alone. The only thing that made him think of his mother as family was her white hair, much like his own.

His childhood was hazy, he didn't remember what his mother's face looked like. He'd never had a father. And he didn't remember how long he'd been around. His hands had grown bigger, and his hair grew long and he didn't need a stool to reach anything anymore. Everything else got lost somewhere he didn't even know. 

Where was the woman with white hair just like his own? He didn't know. All his toys were gone. The home he lived in, he didn't know where it was anymore. He knew he'd been walking for a while, and he'd seen new things, but whatever happened to it all didn't stay with him. 

"He only appears at night", a voice came from outside his window one dark night, "It's dark so he can't see a lot."

"Wait, Lady, why are we looking for a killer again?", a male voice followed.

"Enough with your jealousy Chopper, he sounds interesting, doesn't he?", Lady replied.

"Jealousy? You don't understand, you hag! He isn't an intelligent killer. That kind is...", the voices passed by and he couldn't hear them anymore. 

He was in a ruin of a building, something that was bound to be scraped. But October had rolled in and the abandoned building was cozy. He thought those two that just passed by must be detectives, looking for a killer. And he thought it was a dangerous world, but he wasn't scared.

Even though he'd always been alone, he'd found someone that made him remember things. She was an opera singer. And every night he waited in the abandoned building till her show was over so he could meet with her. 

He'd seen her picture outside the theater, with "Czarna Dalia" written in bold. He liked her name. And he liked her face. Her hair were exactly the opposite of his own, they were pure black and he felt they never missed his eye. 

"Wladys!", she would run to him, when she noticed him outside the theater.

She had many stories to tell him.

"Why won't you come and watch me in the theater?", she'd asked once.

He just smiled.

"There's a murderer on the prowl, have you heard? It's not safe, Wladys. You shouldn't lurk outside this late", she said that night.

"Don't worry, there are detectives here. They'll catch the murderer, Dalia."

"Really? How'd you know?"

"Yes, I saw them", he said, even though he'd only overheard them.

"Is that so? Well, thank goodness they're here. If the war wasn't enough, we now have to deal with those monsters. I really hate people like that. They don't value life at all. If they're so fond of killing, they should go to the battlefield", Dalia said, sitting atop the boxes backstage.

Wladys nodded, as always, agreeing with her. 

"Oh that reminds me!", she jumped up, "They have a spot at the theater you could have. You aren't working anywhere, are you? Why don't you join the theater?"

"The theater? That wouldn't be...really..."

"Oh come on, you'll be famous in no time! Wladyslaw might become a big name, you know", she insisted.

"Czarna!", a heavy voice pervaded their peaceful time.

Dalia turned quickly, knowing she was in trouble.

"Ah, Mr. Hodel", her voice was shaky, "This...err, this is the man I told you about. He could be a help at-"

"Who? Oh, the 'Mr. MazurKeyWitch' or whatever?", Hodel spouted.

"Yes, he's Wladyslaw M-", she was interrupted again.

"Wlad is law or whatever is law. Enough of your kind in the theater Czarna. I don't want anymore runts like you to take care of!"

It was ironic that he should say it, considering he was a short, stout man while Wladyslaw easily towered over him, more than double his size. Even Dalia towered over him, but her petite form perhaps didn't give him the right idea.

"Now then Czarna, get the hell back inside before I twist yer pretty little neck. You work here, this isn't your playground!", Hodel thundered, grabbing Dalia's arm to drag her back in.

But Wladys caught him by his shoulder. 

"Huh? The hell d'you want?"

"Can you let her go, sir?", Wladys said in a grave voice.

"Eh? What have we got here? You better leave here lover boy, I've seen 'nough of yer kind."

"Mr. Hodel, let me talk to him", Dalia realized that things were getting worse.

"Get yer ass back in, didn't ya hear?!", Hodel yelled. 

Dalia spared a worried look at Wladys but found that she had no choice but to retreat. She trusted that Wladys would be able to handle himself somehow and nervously walked back to the theater, disappearing inside before long.

  *****************

"We'll never find him, Lady", Chopper complained, lying on a garbage container, his hands pillowing his head as he gazed at the starry sky.

A full moon lit up those abandoned streets.

"You could find him easily if you wanted to", Lady poked his cheek with a stick.

"What're we gonna do with him, anyway? He's like a kid. Doesn't even realize what he's doing", Chopper said.

"How come he doesn't realize? A split personality?", she asked.

"I considered that too. But his murders are way too random. There's no motive behind it. He's like...locusts. Killing things in his way as he passes by. He doesn't realize the weight of his actions at all. It's like, he isn't even conscious of what he's doing."

"So a split personality?", Lady paused before asking again.

"No, think of it this way. There's only one side to his personality. No side that regrets or questions anything. This is his natural way of living. Nothing more to him than that. So quite the contrary of a split personality. He's way too single minded", Chopper sat up as he explained.

"Eh? That's gonna be hard to deal with", she murmured.

"What'd I tell you?", Chopper went back to lying down again. 

This was another wasted night of looking for the killer.