"What are you doing, Kurt!", yells Randel as he slams the door open. "Oh my God, just drop the gun Kurt. It's okay, everything's fine. Whatever you're going through, we can work through it. Just drop the gun! KURT!"
Still sobbing, Kurt lets the pistil drop to the ground and collapses into a pile of worthlessness with no concerns, no love, no feeling, just utter discontentment inside himself hoping to escape through the hole the bullet would create. Randel hurries to Kurt's aid, with concern in his eyes for the little blue devil he had grown to care for over the last few days. "Help! Somebody help us! Kurt's in trouble, a doctor, someone! Some…one…" He huddles over the boy, as though protecting him from the world.
His eyes slowly open as he becomes conscious after his coma that seemed to last forever. His vision is still quite blurred; the light swarmed into his pupils causing a head rush comparable to a tidal wave. As his eyes adjust, he discovers that he is in a hospital bed in a room made of stone bricks. He hardly remembers what happened before his awakening, only pain and overwhelming emotions. Why has this happened to him? What has he done to deserve his skin, hands, tail?
Then, he notices the newcomer, Randel, sleeping in a bedside chair, probably since the night before. Slowly, he stirs in his sleep and arrives in reality, waking up to find Kurt awake sitting up in his bed.
"Why, hello, my young friend! Feeling better, I hope?"
"Uh, yeah. What happened to me? I feel dead."
"Don't say that. You nearly committed suicide. I caught you with the gun pointed to your head. Your lucky day."
"Why? What happened?"
"I don't really know. You were muttering something about a girl under your breath. Rita, or something like that."
"Eva, now I remember. She asked me out, but when she found out that this is how I actually look, she ran. I stood there with a blank look on my face until I black out and can't remember a thing. What's going to happen to me?"
"Honestly, I don't know. God has put a lot on your plate and there's nothing you can do about it. But, you can change your outlook on it. You have really been blessed, you know. You have something no one else has. Cherish it. Your can disappear from sight in the shadows. You are the best acrobat in Germany, probably the world. Your tail and feet help you in your daily life. Don't you see… you are unique, Kurt. These things you have problems with are not a necessarily bad thing."
"But, everyone is scared of me and nobody loves me…"
"Nonsense! Your family loves you dearly and…"
"You know they're not my real family, right? My real mom hated me. She put me in a blanket on the river. Margali found me."
"Oh. Why, then, do you think she brought you home with her? She could have left you there to die but she saw that you were only different on the outside. So, yes, they do love you. So does God."
"Yeah, God really loves me. I'm a freak, Randel! I'm covered in blue fur! Do you know what it's like for people to think that you are the devil! Huh? God hates me, he never loved me or he wouldn't have made me this way! Look, I have three fingers! Three! I should have killed myself while I had the chance." A tear slowly runs down his face as he continues to explain himself inaudibly through sobs and gasps. Randel leans over and give Kurt a big hug, giving him a shoulder to cry on.
"Shhh, shhh. It's gonna be okay. If it helps, I love you. What can I do to help? Let it all out. Shhh, shhh."
After Kurt is done weeping, he asks "You… you l-love me? R-really?".
"Of course I do. I wouldn't have said it if it wasn't true."
"Thank you. I'm sorry for being such a jerk to you earlier this week. I should have gotten to know you too."
"No need to apologize to me. You were right to be mad. I would be. This is a little off subject, but would you like to go with me to mass on Sunday, Kurt? Maybe you can feel better and learn that God really does love you."
"Okay." A knock on the door suddenly broke the silence of the solemn room. "Come on in", say Kurt as he wipes he face and straightens up. The door opens as Eva steps into the room. "Go away. I don't want to talk to you right now."
"Then you can just listen. Please, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings and certainly lead you to… kill yourself, but you must understand that I didn't understand. I know that you must hate me right now but give me a second chance. The shock of discovering that you were … different … made me say things that I normally would not. Please."
"I'll have to think about it, but thanks for coming. It means a lot to me."
Eva headed for the door slowly. Then she turned and said, "Oh yeah, I still think you're cute."
