One-off short stories

A New Beginning

"You still come back here every single day? It's been six months, and we promised to..." The nurse started to say, but was cut off.
"I know! But I have to." Rex replied.
"You won't move on? She's never waking up. Not by now." She said to Rex,"Why would you come here and cry every day?"
"Because I can't move on." Rex said,"I need her. I need to remember her. It's thanks to meeting her, and remembering all the things we went through together, that I've become the person I finally am."
"I still don't get it." The nurse said,"I mean, you're always here, at the same time, every day."
"Of course I am." Rex said,"I promised her that. That I would always remember her. And sometimes I get scared. Scared of whether or not this is the right thing. Worried that maybe I'm feeling too regretful."
"You know, most people tell you to live a life with no regrets."
"That's stupid." Rex said,"I need to regret my decisions, my mistakes. Because if I didn't do that, I'd still be the same boy as back then."
"Back then?"
"Still trapped. But then, I come and sit here with her, and look out at the sunset." Rex said, smiling lightly,"It reminds me that things aren't all bad, and that they aren't over. I think, I think she can hear me."
The nurse looks a little weirded out, but doesn't say anything.
"Maybe I'm just being optimistic, but I really do think she'll wake up." Rex said, looking out straight towards the sunset.
"I'm sorry." The nurse said,"For your loss."
"You don't need to be," Rex said,"Because there's no way I could lose her."
"No." The nurse said,"The reason I came here, even though we almost always leave you alone with her, is because... today...well, we were going to, remove her from here."
"What?" Rex looked shocked, and a little bit scared,"What do you mean?!"
"She's been constantly taking up space in this hospital, space that could be used, for people who we actually think will survive. That's why I wanted to know, if you could let her go."
"No, no you can't do that!!" Rex said loudly,"Kyasurin isn't dead, she's not going to die! She's just sleeping, peacefully, happily! You can't kill her!"
The nurse saw the man's passion, and said,"I'll see, if there's anything we can do. For your sake, I'll try to change things."
"Thank you." Rex said,"Do you hear that Kyasurin? I won't let them take you away. I'll save you, that's all I want."
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"I'm sorry." The nurse said. That was all that needed to be said. Rex screamed, not knowing what he what do without her.
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Rex woke up, getting off the floor he slept on nowadays. He didn't use his bed, he'd stopped using those to sleep on long ago. He got up, made himself his breakfast, some cereal, he wasn't really a good cook, put together a small lunch to eat, and then checked to make sure he had everything in his backpack. He opened the door to house, and called out, more out of habit than anything,"I'm off to school!" He got in his car, and drove off to high school. Parking in the parking lot, Rex headed to his classes for the day. His grades were mostly mediocre, but he enjoyed school. He had quite a few new friends that he made, and so wasn't really lonely or bored. For some reason not many people knew, he made sure he was always top of the class in Science. When his friends asked him about it, he joked with the response,"I have a mad scientist I need to impress." Aside from that, he lived a relatively normal school life, but he didn't really care. He wasn't very bored. He just let himself be happy with other people. He'd learned that tended to make life a lot better. After school, Rex usually went home. To his rather small apartment. But this was also that day of the month. Today, he had a break from his everyday routine. Eventually he arrived in his car. At the prison. He visited every month or so. Sometimes he couldn't go for a few days, but he tried to keep in contact pretty well with his Father. "Yes, I'm here to visit Kevin Flynn." He arrived at the visiting area, and saw his father being escorted in by some guards. "Hello again." Rex said, waving a bit.
"Hello, son." Kevin said,"How's it going?"
"Pretty well. I mean, things are pretty much normal, as they always are." Rex said,"How about you. Everybody treating you well?"
"Heh. I still don't really know why you always ask that." Kevin said,"I mean, you can't really expect things to change much in here."
"Yeah, but I can hope, you know? I'm always hoping for things to change." Rex said.
"Speaking of which, have you made any advancements? You know, in 'that' project." Kevin and Rex had a reason for keeping it secret.
"Not yet, but I think I'll get there someday." Rex said.
"Why don't you ask your friends for help? They'd trust you, don't you think?"
"By now, maybe. But I don't know. If I'm ready for them to know the truth." Rex said,"It's just, something so close to me."
"But you can't do everything yourself." Kevin said,"I know that firsthand." He sighed.
"I guess so. Sometimes, I do need to be strong." Rex said,"If I really want to be happy." He knew that. He needed to accept everything about himself. Not let one side overshadow the other, now that he accepted both. While, he was almost the happiest he'd ever been.
"I know you'll make the right decision, my son." Kevin said.
"What?" Rex said, somewhat surprised at hearing this.
"You've surpassed me, you know. You can succeed. With you're determination, and maybe a little help." Kevin said.
"I'm not sure... I mean, I've never fully succeeded before."
"That makes sense. But I've never seen someone who's tried as hard as you." Kevin said.
Rex looked at the ground,"I'll think about it. And I'll tell you my answer next time we meet. But for now, I have to get back." He actually wasn't looking at the ground, but rather his watch.
"You can't miss the sunset, huh?" Kevin said.
"I never have." Rex said, starting to walk off.
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He arrived back at his apartment. The reason he'd chosen it is because it had a window in the bedroom next to the bed. One he could use to look right out at the sunset. He sat in the chair he had next to his bed, in his small room, and looked out at the sunset. To him, it symbolized a new beginning, but one that was founded off the past. He then looked down at the bed,"Isn't it beautiful, my love?" He smiled, seeing her, still sleeping.