He coughed. Scarlet droplets spotted the ground. The long shadow circled around him. A ceiling fan slashed the sunlight, the blades cutting the light, periodically engulfing the environment in darkness.

The shadow glared at him with a long, hard scowl, its nose upturned, eyebrow silhouette arched, and mouth in an angry sneer. "Who do you think you are?" Its coarse voice echoed throughout the empty, tin warehouse. It kicked him in the gut, causing him to roll over with a groan of pain. The shadow bent down and grabbed a fistful of his clothes around the neck, lifting and shaking his upper body closer to its head. "You're not a saint."

He coughed again and looked at the shadow's eyes. He could see a dark circle of pupils hovering inside the hollow sockets. Those were his brown eyes.

"You claim you have good intentions." He let go of him, throwing him back down. His body landed with a rough thud. The shadow paced around him. "Yet you continue to act without logical reason. Without explanation." It kicked him again, rolling his body over with his stomach clutched within his hands. He gasped from the force.

The shadow clenched his hair, lifting his face to meet its again. "People don't want a saint. They don't need one." Its voice growled from inside its intangible, transparent body. Thin white mist traveled out from its darkly silhouetted mouth; it reminded him of his past regrets. "Don't you think you're hurting the people you associate with...simply by being there? By existing?"

A sudden backhand flashed across his face; the force stung his face with a burning pain. "People don't trust you. They ask for others to know you. They don't want to talk to you." The voice rose in volume. The white mist darkened and slowly gathered a hue of black in it. The shadow spoke with a dark haze releasing from its mouth.

"Yet..." it let go of his head. He lifted up his body with his right hand and supported himself on his left arm, gasping in deep breaths from the pain. Crimson streamed from his cut lip, peppering the concrete floor. "You know that. Yet you continue to talk to them - attempting to gain their trust. And what happens?" The shadow swung its leg right under his chin. He flew backwards and crashed onto the ground.

"YOU BETRAY THEIR TRUST!" The shadow roared, smoke exploding from its head. It clenched its fist tightly, as though unimaginable anger coursed through its black transparent body. "You lie. And you lie some more to cover them up. You are a sinner." It walked over slowly, watching his feeble attempts to get on his feet. Streaks of red already smeared his trench coat, his black tie loose, and his white shirt sporting a rip. The shadow lifted its leg and stomped on his chest, looking down at him with cold fury. "People don't see your intentions. People judge you by your actions. You try hard to be 'good'. Clearly, you are not. Clearly, you do not know what 'good' means. Clearly...you do not deserve a second chance."

He coughed. "I...do..." He wrapped his hands around the shadow's leg. It raised an eyebrow in surprise, then increased pressure on his feet. "No."

He groaned from the force, but pushed against its leg with more vigor. "I...DO!" He pushed the shadow off of him. It toppled off of him and recovered in a crouch.

He slowly got to his feet, weak, but steady. Each time he gasped, a drop of crimson shook and fell. The shadow stood up slowly, matching his height, meeting his eyes. They stared at one another. "If you do..." The shadow conjured three threads from the air. Threads labeled "Friendship", "Trust", and "Love". Its fingers cut them in an imitation of scissors; the threads severed in two. He felt each slice like a slash in his heart. "...Mend these threads then. This is your second chance." He stared at the shadow again. The shadow dropped the threads...and disappeared after a stroke of the fan's blades.

A growl escaped his throat... the same growl from the shadow. He staggered over, his left arm holding his right, and scooped up the thread pieces. "I will...try." He left the warehouse. His shadow lingered on the open door, long after he left... before disappearing after the illumination of darkness.