Pleaser To Meet You

Chapter 30

October 1st, 4052
        The air still was ice cold and sent goosebumps up my arms and I could feel Sage's warmth next to me. Which made me have the primal erg to get closer. It took me a few moments before I noticed there were whispers. I slightly opened my eyes to see Jane and Berg sitting next to each other by the counter talking with steaming hot mugs of coffee in their hands. Bert was facing my direction and Jane was facing him. Jane had a rolled up newspaper near her and Bert said something she did not like because she gently slapped his arm with it. This caused him to laugh and apparently they were trying to stay quiet because Jane shushed him. Bert set down his mug on the counter and covered his mouth to try and muffle his giggles. Jane started to laugh and they both were trying to stay quiet.
    I then heard Sage say "could y'all get a room or something" I did not know she was awake so when she spoke up I jumped. She noticed and whispered "sorry" I did not respond. They both turned around and looked at us. Jane had a guilty face and Bert just rolled his eyes. They did not listen to Sage's protest to their cute fest and continued to chat up a storm. I looked up at the time to see it was a little before ten in the morning. I considered getting up but it was nice and warm so I stayed where I was.
    I listened to their conversation and was finding out a lot of things about them. Bert was raised in this district. He is in his late 50's and so is Jane. Bert used to have a wife but one day she disappeared. It was soon after they found out their daughter had cancer. Personally I do not think it was related to our situation. He lives alone in an apartment down a few blocks. When he was younger he was part of the emergency system and specialized in medicine. He retired three years ago. They gave him a badge of honor for the longest time served. It was thirty- four years of everyday work. It was something he was very proud of yet he wanted more out of life. It was never his true dream and he never really had one. He just saw that it paid well and wanted to provide for his family. So that's what he did. He had no better option either so it was kind of forced. His father was in the same field of work so they already knew him and expected it from him. There were times where he wanted to quit but knew it would be disrespectful to his father. So he made him proud till he passed away twenty years into the trade. He hoped that up above his father was applauding him from the heavens. Yet through the years he lossed hope. There seemed to be only fire and monsters in the world and that's all he saw till he met us. We gave him hope and faith that maybe there was still good in the world. He became very serious and intently stared at Jane in her eyes and said that he has never had someone save his life before. Even being in the medical field he's had partners abandon him in dangerous situations.
    Jane looked down and almost seemed like she was becoming shy. He smiled in admiration at her. I looked over my shoulder to see Sage watching just as intently as I was. I watched as Jane looked back up and told her side of the story. She began by talking about her husband. He died in the war and fought in the service for ten years. They got married twenty years before he passed away. Within five years Jane was pregnant with a baby girl. He was around for her first five years before leaving. He did the same thing and saw the pay and decided that was the best choice. Not caring about leaving his family behind he felt heroic and brave for helping his people. He would write her letters once a month to check in and soon that began to stop. It slowly became every other month till three years later it became once a year. Her last letter from him was the day they got deployed out to war. Jane can still remember her and her daughter sitting at the table reading it together. Her daughter was ten years old. Even her daughter said that he was not coming back. Which broke Jane's heart to tell her daughter she was right. Yet her daughter did not even know her father. She knew the way he wrote and how his face looked like in a hologram yet she never knew his voice, the way he laughed, how caring and loving he was. Yet years later when they confirmed his death it still did not seem to bother her not knowing him. So Jane finished doing her business in the pet store. Getting her official degree in animal history, science, and knowledge of anything breathing. Her daughter followed behind her and got her degree in animal medical science. Which was very sweet, said Jane even though that was not her true passion but thought it was the best option. That's where she was at when all the things went down and how she came running back when she saw on the news the wind storms and things breaking. It showed the building that Ember lived in swaying like an accordion and how she was sure it was going to topple over. Then saw Bert in trouble and decided heck she does not have much time to live might as well go out with style.
    This seemed to be her weakness because she looked down at the floor. It was as if she was dreading the day she says goodbye to us. Even though she was in good health and a strong woman she still worried. I guess it really proves that we are all alike in some way. Everyone has that one fear that keeps them going no matter the struggle.