Kris sat on the quaint wooden bench that sat along a sidewalk in one of Chicago's parks. He sat back and closed his eyes, listening to the sounds of kids playing and birds singing, despite the fresh morning. He took a deep breath and let out a long sigh.

He had seen so much happen since his arrival just  a short two months ago. He had watched as the family that had taken him in first was gunned down and their home defiled. He then had to found a new home and friends. Now he had just witnessed horror and pain on such a scale he could feel it through the air and his bones when it happened. He felt as hundreds died across the entire country, the sorrow and anguish of those who lost loved ones was unfathomable. 

He had felt this world slowly changing him. Making him into what he needed to be to push forward. He recalled the incident with the two boys who had assaulted him when he was at a low point. He recalled how he went to their home that night and how he gave in to himself. How he had done something he never imagined he would, and yet, he felt little remorse. 

He took another deep breath before opening his eyes. Now Kris sat here in this quiet peaceful park.. thinking. He sat pondering his original purpose for coming to this world. Everything that had happened had shifted his perception and he now saw things under a new light, yet he did not yet know where his path would take him. He reached up and stroked his long white beard as a pair of kids scurried past him along the sidewalk. He smiled at them and watched as they giggled at his red and white outfit before scampering away and out of sight. 

Kris smiled as his mind wandered and raced for answers. Answers he knew that would shape his future. A future he wasn't sure he wanted. His mind drifted back to his original mission for his presence in what he now deemed a rich vibrant adventurous world filled with pain horror and death. He saw the ever increasing difficulty in completing his mission given the circumstances.

He knew he had to take a different approach..