Chapter 7: Innocence

Jack swung himself into the air. He left the streets behind him, the houses, the city, flew over the clouds, dove back through them and finally arrived at the lake. Of course, the lake. Obviously. What a sappy type of person he could be. Always returning to this particular lake, like there was something special about it. Yes, this was the lake in which he had been transformed into a Spirit, and the lake on which he had saved his sister. But was there a point in always returning here? No. It was a lake like every other, and still, it just seemed to invite him every time he came near, to draw him towards it and let him want to sit down and let his thoughts drift. And it was no different this time. So he sat down and gazed into the void. So much had happened. He had taken the oath to become a Guardian, and he had won a battle in which he would have never thought he´d ever been drawn into. And somehow, the pain had ceased its existence. He was happy, he was satisfied with his life. It was fun, after all. And it was important. He had found a meaning in it, and even though he had still not forgiven the Man in the Moon for all the centuries of indifferent silence, he was feeling inner peace.

I remember a time

My frail, virgin mind

Watched the crimson sunrise

Imagined what it might find

Life was filled with wonder

And I felt the warm wind blow

I must explore the boundaries

Transcend the depth of winter's snow...

Oh, Innocence

Innocence caressing me

I've never felt so young before

There was so much life in me

Still I longed to search for more

Still I longed to search for more...

He realized that maybe, Riley never had been the one blame. It had been him who couldn´t have enough, who forgot what he had and stopped being grateful for the gifts life had had brought him. But if Riley wasn´t to blame, was he? Could one truly blame him for following his feelings, his heart? Wasn´t that what everyone kept saying - that you should follow your heart? Hadn´t it been his heart that had led him to these cruel, sadistic thoughts? He had no answer to these questions, and after realizing he likely wouldn´t find one, he just stopped bothering himself with them. Maybe it was human nature that was to blame. Maybe not. Maybe there were questions that could never be answered. But he knew one thing for sure: In the end, it didn´t matter. You had to live the moment, and so that´s what he did.

[Lyrics taken from 'Innocence' by Jan Hegenberg, original written by Dream Theater]