The Blueness of a Blue Wild Flower

Chapter XXIX

The floor of the elevator was covered in metal tiles. The walls were made of glass, though one could barely see the outside. The thick mist engulfed it as the rain drops dripped on its transparent surface. There were 62 buttons on the side of the reflective door, but the one labeled 39 was glowing red with the one labeled 2, which was glowing orange.

Euphemia looked at Aquila through his reflection on the elevator door, "Aren't you cold?"

He shook his head as he stared down on the mist.

"Faking your strength won't make you any stronger," she said and forced a light smile.

He huffed to the air, "But the feeling you get when you think you're strong will," he answered silently.

"Isn't that a prettier way of defining false hope?" she asked as she arched her brow and her mouth with a mocking smile.

He shrugged silently as he leaned his back on the cold surface of the walls. He stared at his wet grey cotton sweater with his skinny black pants and his dark grey sneakers. He later turned to her, at her black snapback worn backwards.

She placed the snapback with her fingertips on his head. Her arms pulled her black sweater off, revealing her tight white tank top underneath and tapped one of the tips of her red sneakers on the tile, now wet. She took the hat from his head and placed it back on top of her head. She pulled her black tights up a bit as she chuckled, "And there you were in the rain, asking me not to give you false hope," she said as she tied the sleeves of the sweater around her waist.

"I'm desperate," he said, "ever since I saw this place when I turned the car."

She moved to the edge of the wall to his side. "I'm sorry you had to go through this, especially the things that happened lately," she turned her yellowish amber eyes to his face, "And really, thank you."

"Well, I'm sorry you have to keep acting jolly when we're around."

She sighed and rolled her eyes, "Did you really caught up that fast?"

"Your other half is diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer and you just suddenly become friendly and talkative," he said quickly and silently, "Your choice of words have lessened its harshness too," he added as he said softly to her ear. He shook his head. "Even an intoxicated or a stoned Fritz would have noticed something different."

She punched his arm, "You aren't helping."

"Helping in what?"

"Gathering my strength," she said, "my fake hope." Her eyes became teary. "It isn't that easy for me, you know that."

"It isn't easy for any of us either."

"Well I'm trying to make things easier for all of us!" she grimaced.

He grabbed her arms and stared into her eyes, "Sorry," he said softly, "Sorry, okay?"

She answered with a nod. She wiped her eyes when she saw the button labeled 38 glew orange. "We're almost there."

His arm went on her back as it embraced it. His hand pushed her closer to him. He took a deep breath as the orange glow disappeared, and their reflections disappeared as the doors opened.

She walked towards the nurses' desk with her quick footsteps on the smooth white tales. Her smile bolted to the nurse face as she handed her the logbook with a blue pen. She immediately turned to the hall filled with a row of 10 doors, opposite an identical corridor, after she finished writing and left it at the desk. She stared through the lights into the giant window pane.

He reached for her shoulder before she started to walk towards the hall.

She shook her head, "I already wrote your name."