Fireproof - Kenric and Oralie

Clear

Kenric POV:

His mind felt, really weird.

It was like drifting between memories. His consciousness only half awake. It was like when you wake up, but you're too tired to move and get up.

It was like that, only no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get up.

He saw the world around him, the Council, the Black Swan, Sophie and her friends.

But most importantly, Oralie. 

It pained him so much to see the hurt in her eyes because he couldn't respond. 

Just when he finally came back, the world just had to take him away again.

Kenric didn't even need to be an Empath, but he could see the pain in Oralie's eyes.

The hope in her eyes every day when she saw him, and when they faded away. 

The lonely nights were unbearable. Kenric knew he wasn't alone, because of the physicans and Elwin, but he felt lonely.

The only things he could do to pass time was look at his memories.

Kenric was starting to lose hope, feeling like he'll be stuck there forever. Sophie hadn't been able to heal him no matter how many times they tried.

His mind is a mess. It's not that his sanity that's shattered, its- its something entirely different. 

The Neverseen really got us this time.

I don't know how I can heal him if he's not fully broken.

Kenric, please work with us. I know you're in there.

What if- what if I can't heal him?

Are we going to replace him?

Those last words stung a bit, he didn't want to be replaced! Not when he worked so hard to become a councillor.

No- we aren't. He's still here right? We've been doing fine with 11 Councillors for now, and it should be soon when Kenric wakes up. 

The person who said that was Oralie. He imagined waking up to a smiling Oralie and grabbing her hand and never letting go.

But that was never going to happen. Not unless they resigned. That was another issue that Kenric was going to have to deal with later.

One especially lonely night, Elwin and a couple of other physicans came over to Kenric's bedside with a tray of elixirs. 

"Which one should we try first? How do we know he isn't going to react to them?" One voice said.

"We won't. But the Council and the Black Swan both agreed that if this doesn't work, we might not have anything else." Another voice said.

Kenric's heart lurched in his chest. Please work, please work. 

He needed this to work, otherwise, he would lose everything. It would be worse then dying in the fire. 

If it didn't work, he'd be stuck there with a half-broken mind, no one knowing that he's still really there, feeling heartbroken watching Oralie alone, feeling angry about getting replaced on the Council, and lonely because everyone was moving on. 

He couldn't have this happen. 

He couldn't be forgotten. 

Kenric felt his head being tilted upwards and the feeling of cool, smooth glass against his lips.

The liquid, which felt very cold and firey at the same time, tasted metalic. It cleared his thoughts a lot.

The next elixir was kinda clumpy but it tasted like lushberry juice. This one cleared his vision. 

"Which one is this one?" A person asked, holding up the final bottle.

"This one should clear out his emotions. Once we're done with this one, his emotions, thoughts, and mind should be cleared from whatever the Neverseen did to him. Then Sophie and Fitz will try one more time." 

One more time

The words echoed inside his head, filling him with doubt and hope at the same time.

"Woah- thats a strong surge of emotions coming from Kenric" One of the physicans said. 

Hm, one of them must be an Empath, Kenric thought.

Just like Oralie. 

They poured the final vial into his mouth, tasting sugary and salty at the same time. He felt a burst of energy, feeling like he'd been powered up by a magical rainbow unicorn. 

The energy slowly went away, and he felt- normal.

Kenric didn't realize how guilty and sad and angry he was until it was gone. 

It was gone. 

His neck was throbbing, so he tried to move his head over. It felt a little easier to do, but it wasn't that effective.

His thoughts were more clear and precise, and his mind wasn't the jumbled mess it was before. His memories still had little cracks on the edges of them, and there was still some confusing things about his mind, but he felt more like himself.

This was the first time, in a really long time, he actually felt like Kenric.

Maybe this time he really was going to come back.

And if he did, when he did, nothing was going to stop him from being with Oralie. 

They were going to end the Neverseen. Once and for all.