Empath

Chapter 18

"You don't have to continue, if you don't want to," Yui informed Al, in a comforting tone. They were snuggled together, sitting up, under the blankets.

"No, it's alright," Al said, in a surprisingly refreshed voice. "I feel okay now. I think it... has something to do with being able to talk to you without feeling your reactions."

"Ah, right," Yui rustled his own hair, "if you felt that what you were saying was making me sad, you'd just get sadder, huh?"

"Yeah," Al said. "So I'm glad I have you to talk to, specifically." Al squeezed Yui's hand.

Yui blushed in disbelief. "Aw, I'm not that special," he said, as he twirled the long hair in front of his ears with his finger.

Al raised an eyebrow. "Not special?" he asked, "weren't you the one who called yourself a superhero or something?"

Yui laughed. "I let it get to my head sometimes," he said. "I can be a bit childish."

"Childish?" Al echoed. His head was facing forward, but his eyes were looking sideways at his companion. "I don't think so. You're more mature than I am. You're responsible and considerate of those around you. You seek out and help those in need and use your skills for the greater good. Heck, you don't need someone to hold your hand when crossing the street, like I do. ...You know what you want in life, whereas I still haven't got a clue. I just want to be happy."

"Isn't that what we all want?"

"Yeah, but I've never really figured out how. I thought William was my happiness, but..."

"You have to find your own happiness," Yui advised. "It's not good to be too dependent on other people. What do you like? What makes you feel whole?"

"See, that's a very mature way of thinking."

"I'm a therapist, remember?"

"Actually, I kinda forgot."

Yui made a silly face that was a mixture of shock and offendedness.

"About the happiness thing... I'll think on it," Al replied. "I feel like the answer is in here somewhere. It's just covered up by a bunch of crap."

"Like there are a bunch of papers piled up inside you?"

"Yeah," Al replied. "They're filled with sad poems and words of self-doubt."

"Then, you'll just have to go through those papers, one by one, and throw them out, until you find the thing that makes you happy, underneath it all."

"Right," Al agreed with a smile. "I'll do my best." He blinked a couple times. "We're getting off track, aren't we?"

"Yeah, a bit."

"I was having so much fun talking with you, that I actually forgot about my misery."

"Ah, that's really good!" Yui said. "Are you, uh, sure you want to continue, then?"

"Yeah," Al nodded with confidence. "I need to tell this story. I've told it... many times before. But... I need to tell it to you."

Yui nodded in understanding. "Then, whenever you're ready. I'm here to comfort you. Oh, but not to baby you, of course!"

Al smiled. "Damn, you're making it hard to be sad enough to talk about this."

"Well, maybe you don't have to be sad to talk about it?" Yui suggested. "Just tell it like it happened."

"Okay, in that case," he began again, this time, holding tightly onto Yui's hand. "I tried my best to live with this new William. I believed my real husband was there, deep down inside. Every chance I got, I'd try to help him rediscover himself. But after some months, I realized something..."