OTHERS: Five elements

CHAPTER 1.6: NEW MISSION

21 March 2033, 9:30pm

After lunch, we returned to training. The first day with Daniel went okay. He has potential, but we’ll need to work harder. Since we have a mission tomorrow, we stayed late at the base to practice. I imagine I wore him out. I’m tired too. It’s not easy being a mentor. We finished training at 8pm. We headed back to our apartments. This time, I took the bus—I couldn't walk. Unlike me, Daniel walked to his apartment. He said it wasn’t far.

I entered my building. As I was climbing the stairs, my neighbor from across the hall was coming down. It looked like she was going on a date. She was wearing a tight, short red dress, a bit of lipstick, and a great perfume. We just greeted each other, nothing more. When I got to my apartment, I immediately took off my uniform and lay down in bed. My eyes caught on Mary’s ring. As soon as I saw the ring, a wave of sadness washed over me. The person I loved most is gone. No one will ever be able to fill that emptiness in my heart. I still miss her. I miss her kisses, her warm hugs. When she’d hug me tightly around the waist and say, "I feel safe with you", I would melt.

I picked up the ring and started looking at it. Then our first meeting came to mind. You won’t believe it—it was like something out of a movie. She worked as a waitress, and I had just finished college and started working at a school. During breaks I’d visit the café. One day, while she was bringing me coffee, she accidentally tripped and spilled it on me. And I was wearing a white shirt. I never usually wear shirts or anything white, but that day it had to happen. She kept apologizing for what had happened. As she was wiping the stain with a cloth, our eyes met. I saw her beautiful brown eyes. She was so stunning in that moment. Since she spilled coffee on me, she insisted on making a new one at her own expense. I didn’t want her to. I told her it was fine. She insisted, but then I told her to give me her number. She went to the counter, grabbed a piece of paper, and wrote it down. I was so happy. I even blushed. That moment will always stay in my mind. After that, we started seeing each other more often—I would come to the café more frequently. Later, we started going to the movies, taking walks, or just spending time together watching movies or series—Netflix and chill. But that’s all in the past now. All that’s left are memories. Tears rolled down my cheeks. I don’t remember the last time I cried. If only I could hug her and kiss her one more time...

I lay in bed thinking about Mary until 9:30pm. My thoughts were interrupted by a phone call. It was August. I figured he had found the location of the Other. I answered the phone.

- "Hey, Mark! We’ve found the Other’s location. I’ll send you the coordinates on Google Maps. He’s hiding in a warehouse. It seems he’s not alone. Be careful. And take care of Daniel."

- "I will, boss!"

- "I hope you manage to capture him."

- "Don’t worry, boss. You can expect the mission to be completed, and we’ll have him in custody."

- "That’s the spirit. Send the location to Daniel as well. And get some rest—it’s going to be a tough day tomorrow. The mission starts first thing in the morning."

- "Thanks, boss. Talk to you later! Good night!"

I hung up the phone. I picked up the ring again and thought about my wife. I remember the day we decided to have our wedding rings made. We didn’t want gold rings.  And we decided to engrave the letters “M” for both of our names. Two letters, a symbol of eternal love. A love that was lost. And the reason for that was the Other.