Molecule

Chapter 6: Dolentia

In the room, Ezra was still asleep. We got married too quickly, but not out of haste, but out of certainty. I had known him for such a short time, but I knew with absolute certainty that it was his eyes and smile I wanted to see every morning. In fact, it was the expression I wanted for our children. But now, all my dreams were threatened, and our love was being tested with every new piece of information and event.

I noticed some accesses installed in his arms, but he seemed to be fine.

"What happened to you, my love..." I whispered gently as tears rolled down my tired face. I caressed his hand for a moment, and then lay down on the small sofa beside him and fell asleep.

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I woke up abruptly as the door swung open. A tall man in a white coat with gray hair, wearing a goatee and glasses, quickly entered the room.

"Dr. Perpétuo?" I asked with a wrinkled face and eyes that struggled to open. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't be here yet."

"No, Mrs. Prüton, now is exactly the time and place where you should be! Ezra needs you. And yes, I am Dr. Perpétuo. Nice to meet you," he extended his hand to shake mine with a serious expression and unsettling gaze.

"The pleasure is mine, Doctor. Please tell me what happened to my husband!" I was no longer asking; it was a plea.

"Let me check some information here, and then we can talk in my office, alright?" I nodded affirmatively. "I will tell you everything you need to know about your husband, and no, he is not crazy."

His words were enough to calm me down for the moment.

I waited for a few more minutes as he flipped through the test results, looking impressed. Then he invited me to follow him to his office, where I would learn the truth about everything that had been happening in the past three days.

"Please, Mrs. Prüton, have a seat," he gently pulled the chair for me to sit, and then took the chair behind the desk.

"Doctor, without further ado... I need to know..."

"I know, I know... Let's get straight to the point," he interrupted my speech, anticipating the answers. "Mrs. Prüton, the information you will receive is top-secret, and your life may be at risk if you talk about it with anyone." I nodded, fearing that Ezra might be involved in something too dangerous that he hadn't told me about. "Your husband informed a secret agency within the army's health division that he was unwell, which is how we managed to save him. He is stable, but it was a close call..."

My hand went to my mouth.

"The army? But... the agents who were at my house said they were federal agents! There is a discrepancy in the information, doctor!" I spoke suspiciously.

"No, there is no discrepancy, Mrs. Prüton."

"Please, call me Violeta."

"Alright... Well, the federal agents were a cover, nothing more. As I said," he cleared his throat, "it is a secret division of the army. Did your husband never tell you anything about it?" He probed.

"He never mentioned anything about the army or the 'Special Health Division'... He has always worked in the programming and technology field. Doctor! What does Ezra have? It can't be that a kidney stone caused all of this!" I suggested vehemently.

"Your husband may have many secrets, Violeta... It must be difficult to deal with that fact, especially in the state you're in..." He seemed to want to hit me emotionally. "Your husband has developed an unknown, uncataloged disease, never identified before, but very similar to the HIV virus and cancer."

"What?!" The chair seemed to wobble, and my head felt like it was spinning. My chest grew cold again, and I felt like I was about to collapse.

"Violeta? Are you alright? Oh! You have low blood pressure! Here, let me help you!"

He assisted me in lying down on the small sofa beside his desk, raising my feet above the level of my head.

"Do you feel a little better, Violeta?"

I nodded and reached for the glass in the doctor's hands.

"Oh, yes! Here you go. Water with sugar."

After a few seconds, I regained my energy and managed to sit up again.

"Dr. Perpétuo, how do you know all of this? After all, this is a psychiatric hospital... Who guarantees that you're telling the truth?"

"Why do you think we chose this place to keep him? If you leave here talking about it, you'll come back wearing a straitjacket with red roses."

I paused to think for a moment... I was outraged. It had all been planned. Either I played his game, or I would become just another one of his patients.

"That's if I can even leave this place, right?" he gave a half-smile, somewhat malicious. "That's why Ezra is here too... Isn't it?"

"Exactly, Violeta. But not just for that reason. The equipment we need to treat him is one-of-a-kind in the whole world, and it's inside that room."

"Doctor, enough with all these classified information... I just want to know if my husband will be alright," I recalled everything that had happened in the past few days, especially seeing him die for a few seconds at home, and I played an emotional game that required no effort, as I was genuinely worried and distraught. I broke into tears again.

This was definitely not the life I had imagined for us.

"To be honest, Violeta, I have the same doubt as you. This is all new to everyone, including myself. However, we will do everything in our power to restore your husband's life. I promise you. This is the work of my life!"

There was determination in his gaze, but not only that. He carried an intriguing and unsettling desire in his eyes.

"Okay, doctor. Thank you!"

The doctor's phone rang.

"What? He's out of the induced coma? Great! I'm on my way!" Dr. Perpétuo said, hanging up the phone. "Come, Violeta! Ezra has woken up!"

"Coma?!" I worried again.

We immediately headed towards Ezra's room.