𝑾𝑰𝑪𝑲𝑬𝑫 𝑫𝑹𝑬𝑨𝑴𝑺 ━━ 𝚂𝚝𝚎𝚟𝚎 𝚁𝚘𝚐𝚎𝚛𝚜

2 The landscape of shattered lives

December 1943

THERE was an unshakable heaviness that weighed down my heart.

Dressed in a green army service uniform, I sat down in the waiting room of the Hudson River State Hospital. The hospital was filled with murmurs and calm conversation, sometimes one would be startled by the sporadic screaming events that haunted the northeast wing. Baby blue eyes were trained on the two golden bands stuck between the index finger and thumb, my ears would drown the screaming to the best of their ability. By blocking the noise, I would stop my mind from picturing Alice Vikander screaming while being forced into a straitjacket. The golden bands belonged to Alice Vikander and Alveus Amsel, a token and only surviving thing of their marriage. When Alice fled Germany, she only took a small suitcase and her child, everything; photos, marriage papers, albums, anything that the couple owed was left behind and forgotten. 

Weeks later, a single letter was sent to Alice's new address bearing bad news, her husband was dead and to prove it they sent his golden ring stained with blood. His blood. Zerena was still a baby, but when she grew up, she wanted to know who her father was and why he wasn't with them. Alice told her only the good things and when she decided to join the army, she told her the truth. About who she was, why they left Germany, and who Alveus was, Alice wanted nothing more than to safeguard Zerena for she was the only genuine connection she had to the husband that she lost. So when she enlisted, Alice gave Zerena these rings, and she told her, '...this is a token of our love for you, these are the fruit of our sacrifice. If you're ever afraid or in danger, know we will both be right there with you, until your last breath.'

So how come something so sacred ended up in my hands? 

"Captain Rogers?" Blinking, baby blue eyes met the doctor's ebony ones. "She's expecting you."

Well, the answer to that question you already know.

Footsteps echoed like slow church bells as I followed the petite nurse down the cold and eerie corridor. Eyebrows darted up as I raised my eyes and fixed them at the end of the corridor, where a metal double door marked the start of my anxiety. Behind those doors were the broken individuals of humanity, their brains were wired differently which caused them to act differently. Amongst those individuals was the mother of the woman that I love who fell ill all of a sudden, I remember I was touring when Katrina called me and broke the news to me.  

The grind that came with opening the metal double doors sent an electric chill down my spine. I could feel something hot stinging the back of my neck, and all of a sudden the temperature of the room was rising. A cold breeze hit me along with a bright light-- suddenly I could feel everything rushing back into my senses; I could feel the cold air engulfing the lounge area, the incoherent chatter and mumbles that would sporadically fill the room, and white noise filled by the small TV box situated in front of the couch. Baby blue eyes scanned the area, the nurse turned to face the captain and flashed me a sad smile before signaling to the woman sitting alone in front of the window.