On a cold winter day when the light outside was obscured by the clouds, Seth was sitting on a hospital bed holding a frail hand who could barely manage to clasp his hand back.
"How could they do this, it is not fair" Said Seth as he put on a face of anger to hide his sorrow.
"My dear it is okay" Replied Jasmine as she held his hand tightly.
"How can you say that"
"The pain is gone for the first time in a long time" Replied Jasmine, his wife, his world.The pain had become unbearable for her in the last few months, with her being unable to walk and even struggling to talk at times from the pain.
"Those fucking Druin" Seethed Seth with all his being.
"Please, my love. Don't look at me with that hate in your eyes" she knew the hate was not aimed at her but she was still hurt when she saw Seth like this as this was for her. He hated them for what they had done to her.
"I cannot stand it. Why did they have to take you away? It should have been me, you were on a medical outpost" Seth said trying to repress the anger he felt and failing.
"You cannot hold onto this anger, it will only hurt you, not them"
"I will make sure I hurt them as much as they hurt me"
"How dare you Sebastian, if you do that I will never be able to look at you again" said Jasmine, tears welling in her eyes.
"Why?... Why do you not hate them when they caused you so much pain"
"I do hate them" replied Jasmine as her tears began to fall. "I hate the Druin who was not strong enough to defy orders and the generals who ordered it, and even the scientist who made that disgusting gas. I wish they had died a horrible death before they did this so you would not have to face this cruel world alone, but I do not hate the women and children or the random person who through some random chance got born a Druin. Those people will be the ones hurt if you let into your anger and allow hate to blind you"
"How can I not hate them?" Asked Seth, hoping his wife would not ask something so cruel of him as to not hate the people who did this to her.
"You can hate them my love. I would not ask you to do something as impossible as not hating them but hate individually for what they have done not for who they were born as, Druin or Human alike" Replied Jasmine as she held his face the tears falling like rain in the spring onto her dried skin that had been shriveled from the gas she has been exposed to.
They held each other all day until the hospital's visiting hours were over. As Seth was walking out of his wife's room he stopped and turned around one last time.
"I'll see you soon okay" said Seth.
"It was a pleasure having this journey with you my love" replied Jasmine before Seth left the room. That was the last time he spoke to her as she died in the morning before Seth could ever visit her again.
Slowly Seth's mind returned to the present with the time around him seeming to move again around Seth, he was back in the present in the room with the old man he knew so well.
As he looked around the room, bright and white with a tube of yellow liquid that held a man, only his face visible. Wrinkled and old, the marching forward of time evident on his face.
'Albert, please live so I can say goodbye' Seth thought to himself as a tear broke from his eyes. He held his hands to his face to wipe away the tears that had started to fall from his eyes.
Seth began to walk from the room he wanted to stay in, but he knew it would make no difference right now.
"Hi, Ma'am the patient in room 206, Albert, can you tell me when he would be out of the stasis pod?" he asked a nurse who was brushing past him, making her way to another room.
"I don't know I am busy" she stopped mid way through her sentence.Looking into Seth's eyes she paused and changed her tune. It may have been his intense eyes that said he would not let this go or the sadness hidden within them.
"I'll take a look for you" she finally said after her long pause.
"Thank you" is all Seth said in reply.
Checking through the electronic chart the light falling on her face as she scrolled to the bottom of the chart.
"Six months and he will be awoken. He is still in good health so it is unlikely this time will change for now but if he takes a turn for the worse it will be longer"
"Thank you"
"They can hear you, you know" replied the nurse.
"Why don't you say what you need to before you leave today...." The nurse said to no reply "It is just a thought" she said before moving on down the hallway.
After thinking about her words, Seth walked back into the room. Slowly shutting the door, he let out the breath he did not know he was holding in and relaxed. He turned on the TV. If what the nurse was saying was true, he wanted to make sure he was not bored for too long. He knew Albert would get bored so he set the tv to the cooking channel. The old man always liked to cook. He knew he would cook for hours when he could make time for it.
"Hey old man, how are you? Sleeping well?" He laughed at himself at how stupid that question was. He moved closer to the pod and set up a seat for himself.
"I am doing well, I am having to go on a dangerous mission soon old man, I know you worry about me, but I want you to know I had to do this to help a friend. I promise I will come back and see you when you wake up.... I cannot thank you enough for everything you have done for me, thank you old man" Seth said as his voice trailed off.
"I love you" he said, almost a whisper.
"I'm going to have to get going. The sword was perfect, I have to ask next time I am here how you always know what I need"
Seth said before getting up and heading out the room.
He knew not of what he would do what he needed to do what would calm his mind but nothing came to him he was aimless the dark sky loomed over him heavy in the sky blocking out any light the sun wished to give.