If there is one thing Kris would never do, it is to hope. Being an orphan all his life, he had convinced himself that there is nothing in store for him. Although he had lived in an orphanage and was sent to school until he finished senior high, he had never exerted even just the tiniest effort to figure out what his purpose in life is.

So, it was a very huge challenge when he moved out of the orphanage. He never wanted to leave, of course; but he had to. That’s the policy there and his pleadings and begging weren’t able to break through it. So with a heavy heart and a life filled with uncertainty, he brought himself to the real world.

He found light in his darkness. He worked three to four different jobs everyday just to support his life. Eventually, he got into a public college where he discovered the world he’s in. He gave himself a chance to see the beauty of life which he had refused to lay eyes on during his past. He learned how to be human. He learned how to live. He learned how to be happy.

He learned how to hope.

But fate has its own plans. Just when Kris was finally starting to learn how to appreciate the world, a fateful incident occurred that burnt everything he had worked for. The Kris he was trying to mold collapsed right in front of his very eyes because of the news he had never expected to hear.

He’s dying.

A stage 4 cancer in the liver was discovered. If he didn’t fall off the stairs in his school because of an intense pain in his stomach, he wouldn’t have known that he has the disease. He didn’t know how he got it, but according to the physical, it could be hereditary.

It was suggested that he undergo medications, at least to prolong his life, but Kris refused.

Hope is clearly non-existent.

The world seemed to have blackened out again before his eyes. The colorful mural of the ‘beautiful world’ he was trying to draw suddenly lost its meaning. In an instant, he threw everything away. The smiles that had learned its way to his godly beautiful face were lost.

Without hesitation, Kris cut his connection to the life he thought he’s worthy enough to live. The moment he discovered that he has the disease, he knew there was no way out.

He had given up.