Sera – Midnight
Sera lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling with a vacant gaze, her three cats purring blissfully around her. One stretched at her neck, the second at her feet, and the third spun in a circle before falling asleep.
A moment of silence.
Then a voice in her memory... the last words that Arin had murmured.
She was staring into Becky's clear blue eyes, like a winter sky. A silent moment that seemed to stop time, her gaze lost in the depths of his, as if gentle waves were striking the shores of her memory, waking something dormant within her... or perhaps burying it once more.
A few steps away, Aiden sat quietly beside the recumbent Arin. Arin's hand finally moved, slowly, as if he was trying to remember how to move his limbs. His eyelids lifted slowly, his eyes hazy, covered by a thick fog. His voice came out hoarse, barely audible:
– "A... Aiden..."
Aiden froze in place, a moment of bewilderment etched on his face. He stared at him for a long time, then bent down slightly, his voice low and carrying a confusion no one was used to from him:
– "Finally... you're awake, Arin."
He paused for a second, then continued in a more serious tone:
– "I have a lot of questions for you."
But as soon as his words ended, the ringing of a phone broke the silence. It was Arin's phone vibrating on the nearby table, its light glowing in the shadows.
Aiden reached for it, hesitated for a moment, then looked at the screen and said in a hushed tone:
– "It's your mother... she must be worried about you. I'll answer."
He pressed the answer button and put the phone to his ear, but as soon as the voice came from the other end, time stopped for a second:
– "Arin... I'm standing in front of the orphanage."
The mother was talking without knowing that the listener was not her son.
Aiden frowned, and in a voice closer to a whisper, he repeated as if he couldn't believe what he heard:
– "The orphanage?"
And before he could utter another word, Arin got up with difficulty, as if the words had awakened a mysterious fire within him. He stretched out his trembling hand, snatched the phone from Aiden without looking at him, and ended the call with a quick press. He didn't say anything.
Aiden stood stunned, his eyes following Arin who had regained his silence, but his face hid a storm.
Aiden stared at Arin for a long moment, crossing his arms over his chest, before saying with a faint sarcasm:
– "Shouldn't you tell her about your condition, you clever doctor?"
Arin didn't answer, he just held his aching side, pressing on it slowly while his face contorted in pain. He leaned his head back, took a deep breath, and his voice came out faint but decisive:
– "No... there's no need for them to know."
Aiden's eyebrows rose, then he said in a more serious tone:
– "So... do you have anyone? I mean, is there anyone who will stay with you?"
Arin shook his head casually, and smiled with a mix of sarcasm and loneliness:
– "No! No one... I'm alone."
Silence reigned for a moment, then was broken by Aiden's voice, low as if he was trying not to face a truth he didn't want to hear:
– "Then why did you choose me? Why did you call me? Why did you tell me all that?"
Arin stammered, his lips moving in an attempt to reply, but he couldn't find the words immediately. He finally smiled, a light, shaky smile, and said:
– "Didn't you say you didn't want to see me anymore?"
He paused for a moment, then added in a trembling voice:
– "When I was about to die... I thought of you. No one but you."
On the other side of the city, Sera had finally succumbed to her dreams, a pale light from the absent moon covering her calm face.
A few hours later, the first warm rays of sun broke over the city of "Izora", threads of light creeping in through the windows, to awaken the smell of coffee in the small kitchen.
The mother was preparing coffee, her voice calling softly with a touch of repetition:
– "Sera, wake up, you're late for work!"
"Ellen" raised an eyebrow as she sat at the table:
– "Did Sera find a job?"
"Rena" replied from behind the newspaper:
– "Last time she said she would only work for one year. She doesn't like having a boss."
Ellen laughed derisively:
– "I think she has a mental disorder!"
Sera opened the room door and quietly pulled her chair. She grabbed her coffee cup and answered with a mature coolness:
– "Not a disorder. Nine hours of work for minimum wage... you two wouldn't handle this. Let's be realistic."
The mother said with a tenderness mixed with worry:
– "But Sera, isn't all work like that?"
Sera lifted her bag, turned at the door, and said in a confident tone:
– "Twelve months... no more, no less. Promise."
She pressed the elevator button, and as she was on her way out, she made a call to "Aiden."
At that time, Aiden was finishing some paperwork in the hospital office, looking at Arin's discharge file.
The phone rang, and he answered immediately:
– "Good morning, Sera."
Her voice came softly through the earpiece:
– "Good morning, how are you today? Did Arin wake up?"
– "I'm fine... yes, he woke up."
He paused for a moment then added:
– "I'll be home soon. Did you leave? Right, today is your first day at work. By the way... I decided to take Arin home with me."
– "Wise decision."
Then she said quickly:
– "Listen, after you're done, come to the pharmacy."
– "Hmm... okay. Goodbye."
He hung up the phone, but his voice continued to ring in Sera's ear. She carried something she couldn't reveal yet, that secret that only she knew, and that weighed on her with every step.
Meanwhile, Aiden looked at Arin, who sat silently near the bed, a tired smile covering his face. Aiden said in a low but sincere voice:
– "You'll stay with me for a while, Arin, if you want, of course. I don't know why... but I can't leave you. Even though you haven't even told your family. This will be nice... but you have to give him back to me in the future."
Arin smiled gently, and raised his eyes towards him:
– "I promise... I'll return your favor."
Then he whispered in a voice barely audible:
– "I owe a lot... only to you."
Arin (with a faint smile, and a look directed towards the ground):
"Aiden... you know I'm a doctor, right? I'm used to taking care of others, and I'm fine too... no need for you to worry about me."
Aiden (suddenly stops, giving him a long look, his tone confused between disapproval and fear):
"Alone?... were you always... like this? Without anyone?"
Arin (looks at him calmly, then averts his gaze, his voice dropping like a heavy cloud):
"Actually... I had an older brother, if he were still here... he'd be your age. I think... no, I'm sure he would have been scared for me, hugged me, asked me if I'd eaten, if I'd slept well... but he disappeared."
Aiden (his voice softens, his steps slow down, as if he began to touch the end of a missing thread):
"Disappeared? You mean you... were in the orphanage?"
Arin (shakes his head, with a vacant look towards the gray sky):
"Yes. I learned he was there, and I searched for him... in the streets, in hospitals, in every face that looked like his. And I found nothing."
Aiden (with a sudden seriousness, taking half a step forward, his eyes glowing with genuine determination):
"Tell me his name. Just his name, and I'll search with you, in every possible way. I promise."
Arin (looks at him, his features change, as if his heart broke and wanted to mend again in a low voice closer to a whisper):
"His name... is exactly like yours."
Aiden (his lips move without a sound, his eyebrows slowly rise, as if he felt something inside him move):
"...What?"
Arin (with a sad smile, and his eyes glistening as if they held two clouds):
"His name... was Aiden."
Silence saturated with a thousand possibilities. The air around them seemed heavier, as if time had stopped for a moment.
Arin (stares at him for a long time, his tone calmer than before):
"Strange, isn't it? Arin and Aiden... even the names are close, as if we are... two versions of the same story, but with different pages."
He sighed, then took a step back and pointed to the car waiting under the pale light:
"At least, let me take you home. It's the least I can do."
Arin (gives him a long look, one that holds a deep gratitude that needs no words):
"Thank you... Aiden."
Inside the pharmacy...
Sera and Haya were busy arranging medicine bottles, the sounds of clinking glass piercing the stillness, and the scent of disinfectants filling the place. The sun crept in through the windows, flooding the shelves with golden threads. The atmosphere was calm... until the door was pushed open forcefully, and the owner of the pharmacy entered, a man in his mid-fifties, broad-shouldered, walking with a confidence that suggested he would not tolerate leniency, his eyes sharp with strict observation and the sound of his footsteps echoing on the walls of the place.
He stood for a moment looking at everyone as if he was sorting them, then his eyes fell on Sera, who was busy arranging cough syrup bottles, and hadn't noticed his entry.
He said in his harsh, rough voice:
"You... don't you know how to say good morning?"
Sera's eyelids fluttered, she turned quickly, her eyes wide with surprise, she stumbled, words failing her for a second, then she muttered in a low, flustered voice:
"I... I didn't notice... good morning."
His silence was harsher than his rebuke, and he didn't answer her, but turned towards his desk, leaving behind a cloud of tension.
At that moment, Sera's eyes filled with tears... a light fog blocked the details of the place from her, but she closed her eyelids tightly, as if to prevent those tears from falling, from witnessing her weakness.
She whispered to herself:
"Damn it... why am I here?! I always thought I deserved better... I always thought I was different... but now? I'm at the bottom... this is not my place."
Somewhere else...
Aiden had dropped Arin off at his doorstep. Before he left, he turned to Arin and said:
"Arin... call me anytime, I'll stop by tonight to check on you, and I'll have Sera with me. You have to meet her, my girlfriend."
Arin turned to him, and didn't answer with a word... but his gaze was long, silent, carrying what couldn't be said. He smiled, a faint smile to hide an unhealed wound.
As soon as Aiden left, Arin sat on the stairs, rested his head against the wall, and said with brokenness:
"Brother... you are burning my heart... how do I tell you what will shatter you? Oh God... what do I do?"
The pharmacy again...
Aiden opened the door, his steps confident, his body moving as if he knew his way among the walls without hesitation. He saw Sera... she smiled at him, but his eyes were fixed on hers... a quick glance revealed what she couldn't hide.
He saw the silent sparkle in her eyes, the tears that had not found their way, but were still there, stuck, testifying to a silent pain.
His colleague's voice was heard whispering indignantly to her:
"This is our work... we are like slaves here, we have a lot more to do."
As soon as Aiden crossed the inner door, everyone stopped moving. Breaths were held, gazes followed him as he entered with a strange confidence, as if he owned the place.
"Aiden?" Sera uttered his name, her voice trembling between astonishment and shame.
He approached her, raised his hand gently and a tender touch settled on her cheek. His fingers were warm, reassuring, unlike the coldness of the world around her.
"I hate to see tears in your eyes... those eyes are hope for me, so I won't allow anyone to make a single tear fall on your cheek."
He came closer... then kissed her lightly on her cheeks, a kiss full of reassurance, with no pretense. He took her hand, squeezed it gently, then stepped back and took her with him.
Sera, her cheeks flushed, held his hand as if holding on to her lifeline:
"Aiden... what are you going to do?"
He didn't answer, but continued walking until he reached the office door. Without knocking, he opened the door forcefully and entered.
He sat firmly on the chair in front of the pharmacy owner, and the gazes of those outside the room followed the scene with indescribable astonishment.
Aiden said with confidence and calmness that hid a volcano of anger behind it:
"There is one thing I cannot stand in this world... to see her cry. Insulting her, messing with her... this is not acceptable. She is my treasure, my hope, not a toy in your hands."
The pharmacy owner frowned and said sharply:
"But she works for me."
Aiden raised his eyebrow slightly, and said in a tone more dangerous than the man expected:
"She works for you? That's right. But there are limits. This time has passed... but next time, I'll hold you legally accountable. And I won't have mercy."
The room fell silent, the sound of the air dropped, as if it was a suspended moment in time... everyone was astonished, and as for Sera, she was looking at Aiden with a heart that was about to melt between gratitude and astonishment.
Then he smiled, but his smile was not warm, but cold as a knife's edge, carrying a veiled threat behind the mask of his calmness. He leaned forward slightly, and in a low tone as if it were the sigh of a demon who knew exactly what he was saying, he said:
"If the owner of the pharmacy is present, consider this conversation just a preliminary acquaintance. Sera is a trust in your hands, and if I see her crying again, I swear I will be the first to shackle your hands and close your mouth. And you won't need the police then."
He took a step back, stood up straight, and gave one last sharp look at the flustered man, then turned to Sera who stood bewildered, pale-faced, staring at him as if she was seeing a phantom that had descended from the sky to take her hand.
"Sera, my dear... finish your work, and good luck." He said it while giving her a fleeting smile, a resemblance of a passing tenderness in the middle of a storm.
He then turned, his steps confident, as if the ground was clearing the way for him, and with every step, the echoes of his words resonated in the air:
"You look like a broken chessboard, my man..." Then he paused for a moment, and raised his arm slightly as if addressing a hidden audience, and continued in a playful tone that carried a terrifying challenge:
"Oh! That's right... the owner of the pharmacy and I, we love to move the pieces. But, next time, there will be only one manipulator... and if he makes a mistake, it will be me."
He reached the car, and amidst the looks of astonishment and bewilderment from passersby and employees, he opened the door calmly, as if announcing the end of a theatrical performance that had stunned everyone. But what no one expected was what followed:
A laugh... a hysterical, fragmented laugh exploded from between his lips, like the tunes of a broken instrument playing a crazy melody, as if the pressures he was carrying began to sing in their own voice inside his head.