Yuri's Ocean

Dying was Yuri's least favorite part of the day. For most people it was quick and easy, and they barely remembered anything the next day. He must have been the exception. He remembered all of it, and it always hurt. Yuri contemplated this on his walk home. Memories of the water pressing in haunted his daydreams, and left him shaky and weak. This was why he walked home. The simple motion of his feet moving, transporting him to wherever he wished to go, calmed him. The pink sky glowed softly, as if comforting him, illuminating him from behind. The street was lonely and dark, despite the sky's faint glow, and he wished desperately for a soul to talk to as he reached his door and unlocked it.

His dinner was unremarkable. Fish turned cold on his plate as he attempted to eat. He finally got up and tossed it mostly untouched in the trash. The linoleum of the kitchen was sticky under his feet as he walked to the bedroom. He opened the door with a feeling of dread building in his chest. A small pool stood in the center of the room. The dias was slightly raised, and constructed of black marble- the nicest thing he owned. He undressed and lowered himself into the water. The tepid liquid swirled around him as he took a deep breath and sucked it into his lungs. The water burned as it traveled into his body, filling every crevice available. He inhaled once more and fell unconscious.

His subconscious was aware of dying. It was the worst part, far worse than the physical pain. He was awake but not awake, dead but alive. He had tried before to simply go without the nightly regeneration, but after a few days he was so deprived of rest that he dropped dead without warning in the middle of the work day. After that, he accepted his daily drowning as a necessary evil. He was aware of being in pain. He had heard other people describe their deaths far differently- painless, and something to look forward to. They simply closed their eyes and woke up the next day. He always floated through the night, vaguely aware of the throbbing pain in his lungs before he felt his heartbeat slow, and finally slipped into that blissful unawareness that the rest of his peers coveted.

He awoke the next morning as he did every other day. He blinked and sat up, the water streaming in rivulets down his body. He dressed slowly, and trundled off to work. The day passed slowly, and he felt relieved when it was time to start home. The path to his house was short and straight, a simple line of concrete past rows of identical houses. He wished, again, that he had someone to talk to. He had been alone most of his life. His parents had passed away when he was barely a man, and much time had passed since then. He had never had friends, or a partner to love. It wasn't that he was unlikeable, but there was a certain difference about him that made all but the most open-minded people stay away. His neighbor called out a hello as he passed her fence. He stopped to greet her at the red gate, just to be courteous. Work had been hard that day, and a friendly face was a much needed reprieve. She got up from her porch and walked over to talk, smiling widely.

"How nice to see you! You're always holed up in that house of yours." Her brown hair curled gently at her jawbone, framing her kind expression. Gimpi was a lovely woman. She treated every creature she came across with compassion, and Yuri often admired her charisma from afar. Yuri seldom interacted with her, or anyone at all- but he always felt good when he did. "How have you been?" She looked at him, waiting for a response.

"I have been... passable." Yuri mumbled. He didn't mention the exhaustion, or his loneliness. He wasn't in the habit of sharing personal information with people of any status.

"I'm sorry to hear that you haven't been feeling well." She tilted her head and studied his expression. Even though he hadn't said it outright, she could sense that he was hurting.

Yuri remembered that she was a veterinarian of some kind. Did she do this to the animals she cared for? Observe them for signs of pain and do her best to identify and treat it?