Bench [ENG]

Bench

A bench.
It was there where those two people sat, an elderly couple who had taken a liking to her.
The little warrior was staring at it, impassive: a look that contrasted with those feelings that, in reality, were lying deep in her soul.
Every time she passed through the area for her daily patrol, her heart tightened in a vice. It was at that moment that the remorse of having been weak resurfaced, the remorse of not having been able to do anything to save those two elderly cells, to get them out of their neighborhood before the virus had caught them by surprise.
It was on that same bench that she had met them, before they died. It was there that she had exchanged a few words with them, renewing her promise to protect them: she felt strong enough to do that, and they felt smart enough to escape from any danger, going so far as to hide in a bunker they had built to face any emergency.
Their last words echoed in her mind, every time her eyes stared at that bench.
«Take care of yourself, and don't think about us: we don't have long to live anyway.»
Still, the leucocyte would have wanted to protect them, too. For her, every life was precious, even theirs: they, above all, since they were the most fragile, should be the first to be protected; they, who had known her only for a short time but long enough to become fond of her and tell her to put her life first, not theirs.
She had grown very fond of them, too. She had always called them "occhan": the proof of the deep affection that bound her to those two elders, an affection that had brought her to the point of not being able to give them the final blow when they had attacked her and her companions, in the grip of the effects of that virus that had infected them.
Every time her eyes stared at that bench, she remembered the moment when she had shed tears for them, holding the corpse of one of them in her arms, lamenting the fact that the most tireless cells - just like them - were the first to be murdered, in the cruelest way.
A death they didn't deserve to have.
That bench had become the symbol of a bond that had been broken too soon: it was the symbol of an absence that could not be filled in any way, not even now that the world they had loved so much had become better.
Bitter tears ran down the leucocyte's cheeks as she continued to observe that bench.
At that moment she thought that if they had survived, they would have seen how much stronger she had become...

«Is something wrong?»
The little warrior gasped and turned in the direction of that voice. A young raven-haired erythrocyte came to her side: with his hands in his pockets he aimed his gaze first at her, and then at that bench.
«That reminds you of someone, doesn't it?» he asked with a kind voice.
She nodded. «Two cells that have been infected by the measles virus. Maybe you've heard about the mess in this area...»
«Yes, I heard about that. It happened a while ago...»
The leucocyte lowered her sad gaze. «I wasn't strong enough to protect them too...»
«There's nothing you can do about it. It's the cycle of life... and it's kind of bad to say, but we all have to die sooner or later. I'm so sorry it only happened to them in such a cruel way. Whoever they were, they didn't deserve it.»
The erythrocyte laid a hand on her shoulder, and looked back at her. «I'm pretty sure they wouldn't have wanted to see you so sad. Indeed... I can guess that if they were here, they would be proud of you...»
«Do you really think so?»
The warrior looked into his eyes, shocked. It was true that she had become stronger than before... but had she become strong enough to protect everyone? To prevent other innocents, like them, from losing their lives?
«Yes, I really mean that» replied the erythrocyte with a firm smile. He turned his gaze back to the bench and added: «You can see it too: that bench is empty, there is no one sitting there... but, if you look closely, you can still see them. They're just sitting there, watching us with a smile and greeting us, continuing to look at us even when we walk away from them. I don't know if such a thing is possible... I like to imagine it though. If I think that our loved ones are still next to us, looking at us and continuing to encourage us, the pain of their loss doesn't disappear in a blink of an eye... but it becomes more bearable. I hope so...»
The leucocyte opened her eyes wide. The memory of those cells' smiles was still vivid in her mind, and the thought that they were somehow watching over her was a small comfort.
Her workmate was right. She could never erase the great pain of their disappearance, but she could learn to live with it in time, trying to follow the little advice she had been given: imagine them still there, sitting on that bench, ready to listen to her and share with her what happened in their day with a warm smile.
The erythrocyte gently took her by the hand, again talking to her tenderly. «Would you like to sit down? You can tell me a little about them, too. I'm curious to know more: about their lives, what they did...»
The girl nodded, wiping her bright eyes. Perhaps, the memory of those brief moments filled with joy and peacefulness could have given her a pinch of relief to her distraught soul.

«Okay.»