The Twenty Virtues Book 1- The Twenty Generals

24-Antithesis.

Looking around in search of the voice that had called him amidst the waters, Stuart spotted a woman a few meters away from him. She was no ordinary woman. She was a beautiful woman. She was an intelligent woman. She was a kind woman. She was a woman... who had died.

It was Lindsay. As beautiful as ever, she had a fuller appearance, medium-length black curly hair, and wore the same clothes she had on the day she died—a combination that made her look like a treasure hunter. As Stuart stared in disbelief and was petrified to see his deceased wife before him, she, in contrast, looked at him with irritation.

"Stuart, we need to talk, but first let's get out of here. Cyntia! Carlos!"

Responding to her call, two more silhouettes appeared: a woman with dirty, tangled, and messy hair, dark circles under her eyes, and a very muscular and bald man, with a completely opposite demeanor to the first, looking much healthier and more energetic. Stuart recognized them too; Cyntia and Carlos were former camp members who had died some time ago. The bald man had succumbed to a severe infection while she had been killed by one of the forest monsters after a lapse in attention. But why? Why were those who had died now standing before him?

"Excuse me..."

In a faint whisper, Cyntia placed her hand on Stuart's shoulder and then vanished, causing the hammer he had been holding to transform into an axe. The man couldn't keep up with the speed of everything happening; it was then he realized he was no longer holding his breath and was breathing normally underwater. Carlos grabbed him by the collar of his clothes and began to pull him out of the sea. The two passed straight through the ice crust over the lake as if it were nothing, and Stuart found himself floating, carried by what he could only assume was a ghost.

The young general who had been there was already convinced he had killed his enemy. Carlos set him down on the ground, and Lindsay flew in right behind, still with a closed expression. On the ground, Cyntia reappeared and the axe Stuart was holding turned back into a hammer. But amid all this chaos, only one thing truly mattered. He could see her.

"Lindsay... is it really you?"

She didn't answer, just continued to stare at him with irritation, something Stuart seemed to refuse to acknowledge. With tears in his eyes, he moved in to embrace her; no matter how many times he blinked, she didn't disappear—it was really her. He hugged her, and she returned it with strength and affection.

"Stuart..."

He broke the hug, placed both hands on her face, and began to admire her with the utmost tenderness. He could feel her warm skin—it was real, she was there.

"... Stuart, we need to talk..."

He started to give her little kisses, not listening to a word she was saying. He was too happy for that. So many feelings and thoughts were wandering in his heart that he felt lost, confused, happy, and... so grateful to see her again.

"Lindsay, you're here with me. I missed you so much, my love."

"STUART, I'M DEAD!"

The woman finally shouted what had been bothering her, her words piercing through the entire fantastical moment for the man.

"And I needed to tell you this..."

An awkward silence began. Cyntia and Carlos said nothing to avoid intruding, and after a few moments of shock, Stuart also furrowed his brow and started:

"Do you think I don't already know that? These years without you by my side have made it very clear, I know very well that you're already..." The word couldn't leave his mouth, not in front of her. "... it's painfully clear. That's why I'm so happy to see you now, and now you come here rubbing it in my face without even talking to me properly? Why are you bothered? It wasn't you who was left alone here."