Raising Cain

The moon shimmered between the clouds as Cain Igarashi walked through the quiet streets. The occasional chime of a traffic signal changing the next street over broke up the monotony of his footsteps on the concrete of the sidewalk, and a car alarm a few blocks away muffled the sound of his breathing. The bite of the cool October air made him shove his hands a little deeper in the pockets of his sweatpants. Pumpkins adorned the doorsteps of each residence he passed, some of them were even carved this year. Cain noticed a flash out of the corner of his eye and glanced over to see the house with the most extravagant decorations in the neighborhood, the Allen’s house, a welcome distraction.

Cain’s phone dinged in his pocket as he looked over the Halloween display in front of him. Flashing lights and Halloween props covered every inch of their lawn, as Cain had come to expect from the Allens. Every holiday since his family had moved here, the Allens had the most over-the-top decorations. Ding. They were eccentric and kind of snobby, but Cain had always thought they were good people. After all, they were some of the first people to greet the Igarashis when they first moved to this town. Ding. He admired the spacing between each of the props. Especially a pair of vampire statues over in the corner of the yard that almost reminded him of- Ding. Cain looked away from the gaudy display so that his eyes would stop hurting, but pulled his hands from his pockets as he remembered the warmth of the last plate of cookies Mrs. Allen had brought over. Ding. Cain sighed as his hand brushed his phone on the way out of his pocket.

Cain meandered onwards, taking his time with each step and trying to delay the inevitable scolding from his parents for breaking curfew. He had made the stupid, yet satisfying decision to go out to a restaurant with some friends after their kickboxing class. Cain was still mulling it over in his head whether or not it was the right call. On one hand, he got to spend some well-earned free time with people that he cared about and share some good food and laughs with them. On the other hand, he was about to have to contend with the combined wrath of Kyotaro and Maya Igarashi—a force of nature that toppled the neighborhood’s cookout hierarchy overnight. Cain shook his head, ultimately deciding that it was pointless to debate the worth of his choice when it had already been made. What’s done was done, and all that he could do now was prepare himself for the storm he was about to walk straight into.

Cain loved his parents and he was appreciative of everything they did for him, but sometimes they could be a little…intense. They were always pushing him to try and be the best he could possibly be, even during times where he couldn’t figure out how to better himself. It was frankly a bit frustrating—the way they were constantly on his case. He knew they did it out of love, but the amount of pressure they put on him daily could turn coal into diamond. Curfew felt to Cain like one such pressure. They wanted him home early so he could eat, study, and go to bed, all so he could be prepared to do it all again the next day. But the constancy of it all left him hardly any time to enjoy himself, leading to his impromptu decision tonight. Almost on cue, Cain heard his phone’s muffled ringtone from his pocket. He only took his phone out about halfway to look at the caller—his mother. Cain froze for a few moments before deciding he’d rather save the chewing-out for when he was face-to-face with the raging inferno, and he dropped his phone back into its place in his pocket. He smirked to himself nervously, applauding his perceived bravery.

As streetlights passed and the sidewalk came to an end, Cain glanced ahead to see that he had reached the intersection before the block his house was on. In two swift motions with opposite hands, like he had done so many times before, he took out his phone and hit the cross button on the traffic signal. A steady stream of cars passed like an army of huge, metal ants as he scrolled through his news feed, their road noise breaking up the silence of the still night air. Cain’s finger stopped scrolling and froze, hovering over a particularly gruesome news story.

“Serial Killer on the Loose in Rural Alabama!”

Cain scowled as he stared daggers at the screen in front of him. It seemed like a new evil appeared in the world every week. Last week, a robbery. This week, a serial killer. Next week? Who knows, maybe there’d be a new war somewhere. Cain continued scrolling to try to justify his frustrations, as unhealthy as it was.

He sighed, lamenting his own inability to do anything about it. So much suffering in the world and not a thing he could do to alleviate it. Cain had always had a strong sense of justice, but unfortunately, it seemed like it only ever caused him grief. After all, how could an 18 year old kickboxing high school student possibly right all the injustices in the world? He continued scrolling as he waited for the traffic signal to change, his eyes drifting past words on a webpage that so nonchalantly conveyed tragedies.

“Homeless Population in America Surges by 15%!”

A notification appeared. It seemed like some of the science books his mom had convinced him to read finally finished downloading. He quickly dismissed the notice, condemning the books to a prison of procrastination for the time being.

“New Bill Introduced to Reduce Personal Freedoms!”

He sighed, lamenting his own inability to do anything about all of these problems. So much suffering in the world and not a thing he could do to alleviate it. Cain had always had a strong sense of justice, but unfortunately, it seemed like it only ever caused him grief. After all, how could an 18 year old kickboxing high school student possibly right all the injustices in the world? He continued scrolling as he waited for the traffic signal to change, his eyes drifting past words on a webpage that so nonchalantly conveyed tragedies.

A few more seconds of scrolling passed, and Cain’s frustration boiled over, causing him to forcefully pocket his phone to avoid having to look at any more depressing articles. He scoffed at the state of the world before looking back at the road to try to get his mind off of it all.

Traffic seemed to finally be lightening up, indicating that he’d be able to cross soon. At last, the final vehicle passed through the intersection, a bus full of office workers coming from the city. Cain pitied them. He couldn’t stand to see how their eyes had lost all sense of wonder and hope. He hated to have to watch how the injustices of the world had drained the joy from their lives. But most of all, he hated how much he saw himself in them. Someone lost, tired, and stuck in place.

A chirp from the traffic signal as the bus roared a ways down the street told Cain he was finally allowed to cross the street and enter the last leg of his journey home, and to his inevitable demise at the hands of his loving parents. He glanced both ways and took a half-hearted step forward, then another, then another. Cain’s foot touched the center line of the crosswalk and time decided to take a breather. He stood there, frozen in place as fog began to cover the street, the sidewalks, and even the sky above. He was surrounded on all sides by a delicate, flowing mist that seemed to balk at time’s unyielding authority. The fog swirled, lights flashing just beyond the misty curtain and arcs of electricity crackling and dancing between the few gaps in it. Cain’s eyes darted back and forth, trying to make sense of the eldritch event taking place before him. Voices spoke up from every direction at once, chanting in a language Cain had never heard. The cacophonous choir echoed from the fog, unfamiliar voices assaulting Cain’s ears. So many unintelligible words, until…they began to become understandable. Slowly, Cain began to understand the words, catching one or two every other sentence. The voices grew louder and louder, reaching a crescendo of unfamiliarity, lights flashing blindingly and the air buzzing with electricity. Until, for a few fleeting moments, the fog grew silent. And then—he fell. The asphalt beneath Cain’s feet crumbled away like ash. The last thing he heard before tumbling into endless nothingness was “Welcome Home.”

Cain fell for what felt like an eternity, soaring past blank space in all directions. The only indication he had that he was even moving was the roaring wind rushing past his ears. At first, it was a flicker, but moments later, Cain’s mind became flooded with unfamiliar sights, sounds, and feelings. Memories that didn’t belong to him assaulted his psyche. Rage, joy, sorrow, excitement, anxiety, and many other emotions washed over him with each new scene he was shown. Each and every one of them felt familiar, like Cain was experiencing deja vu thousands of times per second. It was maddening.

Whose memories are these? Are these memories mine? When did they happen? Have they even happened yet? What led to these events? Who are these people? Where are these places? How did it come to this? Why is this happening?

Cain’s mind was being pushed by winds of the unknown on a cliff of incoherence, his sanity teetering on the edge. And just when he had nearly consigned himself to a fate of falling for eternity, his eyes caught a glimpse of something. Something impossibly far away, an infinite distance below him, yet somehow approaching rapidly. Just as he could comprehend what it was, Cain hit the ground—or at least it was the closest thing to solid ground that he had felt in a relative eternity. He landed solidly on a bed of fog, giving way as if it were almost never there to a hard stone floor. The last thing Cain remembered before losing consciousness was five unfamiliar figures staring at him like they’d just seen a ghost.