Inside the portal, I was invisible.

I sped through the anime office depicted in the portal like an unseen missile, aimed at the sad-faced artist who drew me! Suddenly, I inhabited his being. I did not control him but I could explore his mind.

I hitched a ride on his train of thought as it careened through past and present. His name was Shintaro and he'd been drawing ever since he could pick up a pencil.

Why did he choose me to draw? He found my cartoon on a YouTube channel and related to my character. Not because I was heroic or anything: it was just one outsider responding to another.

That couldn't be the only reason. I looked deeper and saw that he was frustrated at work. He spent his days drawing animation cells for other people's designs. Reinterpreting me gave him a place to apply his passion to create.

Suddenly, he put my drawing away. He left a letter on his desk. Its envelope said "Letter of Resignation." If he gave up, my adventure would end before it started.

I went deeper into his mind, looking for a way to keep his passion - and myself - alive.

Please enjoy the next post #7 below in the Hekonai Journal:

Post Soundtrack: A World Without Heroes - Kiss

Into the author’s mind: This comes from the strangest album in the Kiss catalog, Music From The Elder. It was their stab at a concept album. It was a commercial failure and remains hotly debated by fans but has built its own cult following because it's so unique. This song explores the importance of having someone to look up to, making it perfect for that moment when Hekonai discovers the human he idealizes is struggling to hang on. It's got the gentlest vocal Gene Simmons ever recorded and his poignant tone, combined with elegant orchestration, just might give you serious feels when you hear it.

The Hekonai's Journal is an ongoing meta-narrative. If you want to learn how it came to be, check out the introduction post by clicking here. If you want to read the prior journal entry, click here.

Into the Hekonai Journal is a hub aggregating all the published entries for your convenience. You may access this hub by clicking here.

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