The Ice Warrior

Chapter 45

The first thing Silv noticed when she reached Justin, warmed her heart. The mere fact that she would encounter such gentleness among the humans made her wonder if she had judged too harshly her own kind.

Justin was sitting on the floor next to a girl who seemed to be merely five years old, doing his best to distract her from the general atmosphere of fear that prevailed. He did so in the most ridiculous ways Silv had ever seen.

He was making the funniest faces and producing the oddest sounds Silv had ever heard coming from a human being. To her surprise, his ridiculous attempts were successful, and the little girl giggled in response to his antics.

"You see, Dolores, there is nothing to be afraid of," Justin said, ruffling the girl's hair.

"You wele light, J," Dolores said, still struggling to pronounce some of the sounds.

"I am always right, kiddo," Justin responded playfully.

Silv couldn't stop a smile from spreading across her face at the sight that the two made, the little girl and the man who did the impossible to make her smile. Silv couldn't help but wish that there was someone like that for her, someone who would do whatever it took to make her smile. Someone who would chase her fears away with such ease.

"Thank you, Justin. We really appreciate your help. She didn't believe us when we told her that we were safe. She said that parents always say things that are not true to make their children feel good." Jessica, Dolores's mother, said.

"That's true, but I'm not a parent, and I am telling you that we are safe. Okay?" Justin asked.

"Okay," Dolores said, giving him her best smile.

Then she proceeded to hug him as tightly as her small stature allowed.

Silv couldn't help but wish that her father had comforted her like that, that he had told her that everything would be okay.

As she watched the girl's mother gently scoop her up in her arms, Silv recalled that her mother had never once hugged her.

No matter what happened, no matter how hard Silv was hurting, she never received warm affection from her mother. Even though she needed it more than anything, she needed her mom. However, all she received was a government robot who pretended to be human, telling her that she was provided with enough food and water. That she had a roof over her head. As if that was enough, as if that was more important than genuine affection.

Once, when she told her mother that those things didn't matter as much to her, Serpentina got really angry. She theatrically explained how many sacrifices she had made to provide for Silv. It was as if Serpentina never fully understood that Silv didn't need that. She needed love and guidance from the person whom she cared for the most.

The tears started pouring down Silv's face when the realization hit. There was only one person who gave her proper affection, who showered her with love, even in a world where love was seen as unimportant, even troublesome. It was her dear grandmother who made life a bit easier for Silv, who comforted her, wiped away her tears when Silv needed it the most.

Realizing that she was about to start crying, Silv quickly turned to escape, doing her best not to show weakness in front of anyone. After all, she was supposed to be the leader, the one making all the decisions. What would happen to everyone else if she broke down?

As she turned the next corner, away from the prying eyes, Silv started sobbing as quietly as she could while gasping for air. Her whole body shook as the realization settled. The horrible truth that she kept at bay came crashing down when she was the least prepared for it. Her grandmother was dead, Rose was gone forever. Silv was all alone in the world, and it was a terrifying notion to accept.

She had never felt so lonely or so isolated. The only human connection she had was cruelly severed, and Silv was uncertain where her place in the world was.

"Silv?" she heard a quiet voice calling out.

Scrambling to the corner, Silv did her best to quiet her snivels and avoid the embarrassment of being seen in such a moment of complete weakness. She believed that no one was supposed to see it. It was her private moment to fall apart.

"Silv, please answer me," Justin's pleading voice said.

Silv wondered if he had seen her, if he knew that she was crushed. Whatever the case was, he was clearly worried, but her sense of guilt wasn't strong enough to make her presence known.

Justin was the last person whom she wanted to see her in the state that she was. He already saw her lose control once, and she wasn't about to allow for the history to repeat itself.

"Silv, I saw you come this way. Why are you hiding?" Justin added.

"What do you want from me? Can't I have a moment to myself?" Silv croaked out.

"There you are," Justin said as his eyes finally penetrated through the dark corner that she was hiding in.

Then he proceeded to sit down next to her cautiously. Silv, on her part, moved away from him as far as possible in the small place, doing her best to hide her tear-stricken face and swollen eyes.

"Are you okay?" Justin asked, gently moving to hug her.

"I am fine," Silv said, dodging his hand.

Justin pulled his hand back but scooted closer to her so that mere inches separated them. To Silv's irritation, there was nowhere else to run.

Justin gently lifted her chin, looking deep into her eyes, which were swimming in the ocean of tears.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Of course I am not okay! Nothing is okay! Don't you get it? I am all alone! I have no one left!" Silv yelled, finally releasing her anger and sorrow.

"It's perfectly fine not to be okay. Don't believe the Government garbage about it being a weakness. Not being okay is normal. It's human. The most important thing is that you keep going. You can do that one step at a time, and it's much easier when you rely on those around you." Justin said, trying to hug her again.

Silv angrily swatted his hand away. She didn't want to rely on anyone. She wanted, she needed, to be enough. Because other people could leave you, they could die. Trusting them was bound to bring with it scores of pain.

"How can I trust anyone? People always hurt each other. Even my parents hurt me by not caring about me as much as I cared about them." Silv said, crying for not only her grandmother but also the life that she wanted but never had.

"You need to make a leap of faith. If you are ready to do that with me, I will do the same thing. I will jump with you. That way, we will both be equally vulnerable, and you will understand that having someone to share the pain with makes it all just a tad bit more bearable." Justin said.

Finally, Silv gave up and started sobbing loudly, not caring what Justin thought of it. When he tried to hug her the next time, she leaned into it and started crying on his shoulder while he drew soothing circles on her back.

"Shh, I've got you. I'm here for you whatever you need. I got your back." Justin said.

After a while, Silv's sobs subsided, but she still didn't break the hug. It was nice for her to feel comforted to feel a human touch.

"Why do you?" Silv asked when she finally moved aside.

"Why do I what?" Justin asked, confused.

"Why do you have my back? You don't even know me." Silv said.

"I guess I don't truly know you, but I do know that you are brave and caring. I can see how sensitive you truly are, even when you try to hide it from everyone else. It's rare to find people with so many virtues that they don't even realize they possess. Furthermore, we have far more in common than you would think, and I think you are someone I can bond with." Justin said, honestly.

"I don't know about all that, but I am curious about the things we have in common. Would you mind sharing? Tell me about your life since you already know so much about mine." Silv said.

"It's not a happy story," Justin warned.

"I still want to know," Silv said.

"Alright, then I will tell you the story of my life," Justin said.