The Mystic Adventures of Noho and her Companions

Noho's Thoughts

Have you ever wondered why the world is so evil? I wonder too. Everywhere I look, there's so much darkness—so much despair. But then I also wondered, where does this evil even come from?

Obviously, it has to come from humans, right? Because in the beginning, everything was good. The world was good. Then humans started doing evil things, and now it's like the whole planet is drowning in it.

But what if humans could just… coexist? If people could just be kind to each other, there wouldn't be any need for murder, robbery, racism, hatred, or violence. One person does something horrible, and that act leaves a mark on someone else's life, like a scar they carry forever, and no amount of scar laser surgery will get rid of it. Soon, that scar is going to start affecting their life. They look at that scar, and wonder why they have to be the one to suffer with that scar. The pain is unbearable. But notice how I said scar, right? It means the wound is already healed. Even if a person has "fully healed" from a traumatic event, it still lingers in their mind, becoming a parasite that takes over their brain and controls every aspect and action of their life. That parasite—It's evil. People take their pain and anger and take it out on others, and now the world is one big lake of fire. It's like no one has empathy anymore—like no one even cares about anyone but themselves.

But you know who I think is the most evil man in the world? My father.

I'll never forgive him for leaving me when I was so young—for walking out and leaving my mom to raise me alone. Not even my mom knows why he left—or maybe she does and just won't tell me. Either way, it's probably some stupid, selfish reason, like all the excuses deadbeat dads come up with. Evil. Just pure evil.

Even though my dad did this horrible, selfish thing 13 years ago, my mom doesn't seem like it affects her. She never lets the evil in the world get to her. We've been doing just fine without him. I mean, I can't see inside her thoughts, so I don't really know how she's holding up. But she always tells me that as long as she has me, that's all she needs.

She's so strong.

She tells me I shouldn't let the evil in the world distract me or push me down. She's right—but sometimes, it's just so hard. So much of the evil I see doesn't even make sense.

Why are countries at war? Fighting over land, sure, but can't they just share? People tell me, "But Noho, it's much more complicated than that!" But is it really? There's always an answer to everything, right? War and violence can't be the only solutions to land disputes. It doesn't make sense.

Why do people kill? I guess if it's revenge for a loved one, or self-defense, that's… understandable. But what about the people who kill for no reason? The ones who kill for fun or for the thrill of it? Why? There's no reason to end someone's life just because you feel like it. Living in New York, I hear about murders all the time—gang fights, drug deals gone wrong—but why?

Do we humans hate each other that much? Why can't we all just be friends?

If there's some true source of pure evil lurking out there in the world, I want to find it. I want to look it in the eyes and ask one simple question:

"Why is the world so evil?"