The Purest Tear: A Request Prompt

“You just have one more tear to go,” he told her. Arzen nodded uneasily. Eyes scanning her briefly, the pair walked into the hospital.

Arzen only had a limited amount of time left. She knew that. The pocket watch that Nikolai had given her was blazing, unbelievably hot that she had asked to Nikolai to keep it for her. The brunette agreed to do so, and it merely hung off his neck.

Nikolai, on the other hand, was surprised at her progress. At first miffed that she had to get tears from those that weren’t her family, she had managed to collect them (although with pain throughout the journey). It had taken her days to get over a few select betrayals. At first, he wondered if she was going to give up after suffering such pain.

After all, physical pain was nothing compared to that of emotional. He knew that well.

So when she told him that she was finally ready to collect the last tear, he asked if she was sure.

“The more you get hurt, the less motivated you’ll get,” he had warned her. Arzen looked down. There she was, in a fresh shirt and shorts, the wavy hair of the person she taken over damp from bathing. “You don’t have to keep doing this to youself.”

After spending more than thirty days with Arzen, he had somehow learned to care for her.

He wasn’t sure if it was because of Arzen herself – or because she took the form of a girl he had learned to care for as well.

Erica Memoire.

“I’m not going to get hurt,” she told him. Quietly. He didn’t believe her. He had seen how she cried bitterly upon learning that a select number of her ‘friends’ actually didn’t care for her at all. He witnessed her anger, her sadness – everything.

Just as a Scheduler would always see.

Room 214.

Arzen was about to walk in, Nikolai right by her side, though unseen by the rest of them. She was about to knock on the door when she heard voices – angry voices – of two very familiar males. She decided to peek, and covered her mouth upon seeing Daniel and Mathias, the latter disappointed and upset. Arzen wasn’t sure how to react. After all, she knew that Mathias was…chill. Not so expressive of his feelings. He was ridiculously mellow.

To contrast, Daniel was livid.

“What were you thinking, you fucking prat?!”

“I didn’t mean to do it–”

“Didn’t mean to what? Go back to her because Arzen isn’t here?”

His words hit her like a whip.

“As if she hasn’t had enough,” the blonde spat. In this case, Mathias would be just as angry. He’d be yelling, nearly throwing punches.

But he was silent.

 “I never thought you could stoop this low.” To her shock, Daniel grabbed the collar of Mathias’ shirt, the ginger merely staring ahead. “How do you really feel about her, Mathias? How do you feel? Because if she was just nothing to you…”

Daniel couldn’t even continue. He merely shoved Mathias away from him, finally turning his gaze away. Arzen stumbled back as Daniel left the room without glancing in her direction. She saw his fists balled up, a hand reach into his pocket.

She hurt all over and wanted to leave with Nikolai already.

If he couldn’t even shed a tear – the tear she needed, the tear to prove everything – then…

What good was coming back?

“Don’t leave just yet,” Nikolai told her suddenly, as if reading her thoughts. “Listen. There’s someone else in the room.”

She had to force herself to look inside. On the bed was her, her hair having grown longer, skin looking pale. She was connected to so many wires and tubes and medicine. The machine on the side beeped every few seconds, monitoring her heartbeat.

Mathias was turning away, this time. She could only see his hair, his back facing her.

And then someone else spoke.

“I thought you loved her.”

It wasn’t even a question. It was a statement – a statement that belonged to Elaine Rivers. Unlike Daniel, however, her anger was contained. She sounded stiff, dull, and as numb as Arzen felt at that moment. Inside the room, he was clutching his hair and walking in a small circle. Elaine stood at the side of Arzen’s bed. “I want you to explain to me,” Elaine began, calmer this time, “Why you had to leave and go to her.”

 “She came back. They came back. Why do you think Daniel was out all the time and coming back here looking harassed? Or why Liam was so paranoid about going outside?” Elaine said nothing. “She just…invited me to drink. Have coffee. And when I got there, I told her what happened to Arzen. She was apologetic. Shocked.”

He sucked in a breath and pinched his temples.

“She tried. She really did try, Elaine.”

Elaine undid her braid and ran her fingers through her hair, frowning. “And what did you do?”

“I told her about Arzen.”

Outside, the girl’s breath hitched.

“I told her that I didn’t want to get back with her. She wanted an explanation…” Mathias exhaled, “It wasn’t easy. It’s never easy. I told her that Arzen was everything, now. And that she needed me right by her side. That this time, I was going to take care of her. And she understood.” Elaine nodded slowly, glancing shortly at Arzen’s unmoving form.

“I didn’t do anything else, Elaine.” Mathias said. And Arzen thought he was begging for her to believe him. “Nothing. I paid for the drinks and left. Came back here. And then Daniel told me that Liam caught me talking to her, and then he just…” Mathias threw his hands up.

“I love her. I love her," he repeated, "I love her.” he pointed a trembling finger to the bed and attempted to calm himself down, “And she means everything to me. Everything,” he repeated. “More than how I mean to her.” The brunette was about to speak when she saw something in Mathias’ eyes, something the male would never dare show…

 “Why does she mean a lot to you, Mathias?”

Elaine wasn’t being cruel or insensitive, the brunette man realized.

“She keeps saying,” he sucked in a breath, “How I helped her. Throughout the months where she was having a hard time. When the thing with her family happened. When you two had a misunderstanding, when she almost failed English and cried because she thought she was losing touch with the one thing she was actually good at. But she helped me. She helped me get over her. How to adjust to this place.”

Elaine watched.

“You’re in the dark,” he said suddenly, veering away from his other words. “And in the middle of the dark, after stumbling, you find a candle. A light. It’s a small light, but you learn how to appreciate it. It gives you sight. It guides you. It helps you. It gives you hope.” Mathias turned away from Elaine to now look at Arzen, and walked to the other side.

He grasped her hand, one that wasn’t as covered in wires or bandages. He continued talking, but not to Elaine this time, and the girl knew that.

Outside, Nikolai kept a firm hand on Arzen’s shoulder.

Her eyes – Erica’s eyes – leaked with tears.

“I don’t want you to leave me in the dark,” he whispered. Mathias buried his head, and his shoulders gave a quiver, then a tremble, and then a shake.

Elaine’s expression melted into one of concern and walked to Mathias, gently putting a hand on his back. She murmured something and then glanced outside, seeing Erica there. She pursed her lips and then nodded at her, staying with Mathias for a few minutes before leaving him alone.

Just as she reached the outside of the room, she looked at Erica.

And then left.

At that, Nikolai gave Arzen a small push.

“I think you know what to do.”

And she stepped inside, hearing muffled sobs from the figure kneeling by the bed. She felt her own heart twist, her stomach clench in anxiety, fear, everything.

As the girl approached, he didn’t notice.

As she got on her knee, he didn’t notice.

And then she saw.

The purest of tears, one after the other.