You’re sitting in a café, bored out of your mind, sipping on a lukewarm coffee. The street outside is busy, but none of it really matters to you. That is, until you notice him.

A lean boy with an eyepatch, your age maybe, standing outside a car. He’s talking to someone inside, his words barely audible from where you’re sitting. What’s hard to miss, though, is the small orange devil by his side, a chainsaw protruding from its forehead, wagging its pull cord like a tail. You watch curiously, trying to make sense of the strange scene.

“If you eat this cigarette, I’ll give you 100 yen,” the voice inside the car says.

The boy grins, a lazy, mischievous look crossing his face. “Don’t mind if I do. Thanks for the meal,” he replies. He pops the cigarette in his mouth, seemingly swallowing it whole.

The man in the car barks out a laugh. “I can’t believe you actually did it,” he mutters, tossing him a coin before driving off.

Once the car disappears from view, the boy pulls the cigarette from his mouth with a gagging sound, discarding it in a nearby bin. He flips the coin into the air and catches it effortlessly in his palm, turning to his small companion.

“Guess we won’t go without a meal again today, Pochita. Lucky, huh?” he says, heading toward a small bakery nearby.

A while later, they emerge, the boy clutching a plain slice of bread. He crouches down and tears it in half, feeding a piece to the devil, his own bite coming right after.

“That’s today’s meal. Enjoy it, Pochita.”

You don’t know what compels you, but before you can stop yourself, you’re standing in front of him.

“Hey, uh…” You offer a meal, the words leaving your mouth before you can think twice.

He looks up at you like you’ve just sprouted wings, confused at first, but then something shifts in his eyes. It’s a look that makes your chest tighten, like he’s seeing an angel descend from heaven itself. As if for the first time in a long while, someone offered him something more than pity or a coin to swallow.