The Day Brings Hope

Yohan never expected his day to turn out like this, a blade discreetly held to his back as he was forced to march to an unknown destination. The Nexus breaking, death everywhere, anomalies in the main regions, and now an unstable Guardian – what else was next, the sky falling?

Best not to jinx it.

Around the corner was a flowery field with an old nunnery in its center. He knew the residents well – humble and kindhearted women, a stark contrast to the one holding him hostage. Roe ushered him through the door, ignoring the nuns’ greetings. Yohan at least waved.

Entering one of the bedrooms, there was “the man” Roe was so desperate to save. Yohan’s mouth gaped. Deep scars all over, severe bruising on his ribcage, swelling so major he looked bloated… It was like the anomaly used him as a ragdoll.

But just how bad was it?

Yohan’s eyes glowed white after a blink, and then he saw them – his patient’s threads. Sure enough, he was a complete wreck. Threads snapped in half, twisted into tight knots, and even wandering ones floating within the body, disconnected. The more of those, the closer to death, and the poor guy had plenty.

“You um, found me right in time… If I had arrived any later, he would be unsalvageable,” he said, taking a seat.

“Get on with it then. It’s already been long enough.”

Her sword was brandished, the blade as menacing as ever. He could hardly keep contact with Roe’s piercing glare. So much for upholding the rules. And the others, what would they think? Especially the Elders, who’d tear him a new one. But given the choice between that or, well, not being slashed to pieces by the scary Guardian… He’d rather deal with the old people.

Yohan cleared his throat, for no reason other than to stall. If only he could mend away a guilty conscience. “Right, right – Let’s uh, get this started… Sir…”

“Call him Alec.”

Her sternness suggested that doing otherwise would also result in being stabbed. Or the paranoia was getting to him – didn’t matter. He nodded nervously, before returning his attention to Alec.

Time for work.

Swaying his hands in the air, the threads in Alec’s body obeyed his commands in synchrony. Every part of him, down to his very cells, was under Yohan’s power. Outwardly, the change was like magic, yet a Mender was witness to every action. Broken ends merged to become whole, healing the bone fractures and sealing up wounds. Meticulous detangling, portrayed by slow sewing motions, allowed the blood to flow as it should. And the silver of each loose thread became gold once more as they were reattached to living flesh.

Roe stood beside him. “Almost done,” he said, interpreting her sudden closeness as impatience. But a look in her direction left him baffled. Her threads were cut all over, likely caused by the anomaly’s claws. She should’ve been in pain, unable to walk – yet there she was, composed.

“Good grief, you need a Mender yourself in that condition!”

The tip of the sword at his neck told him to shut up and keep going. He did, and right before noon, the unspeakable was completed. He would wake eventually, but in the meantime, he was restored. But Yohan, staring at his sullied hands, was less than enthused. What he did wasn’t an act of grace, but potential harm to the Nexus, all on his behalf.

“If this is all going up in flames,” Yohan wondered, “does it really matter?”

He sighed deeply. Making excuses was pointless. The truth was, he may have contributed to the damage, and he’d have to live with that fact – for eleven more months, anyway.

“There, he’s fine now. You sure ought to be happy,” he said, then stood and walked to the window. Outside were nuns tending to the garden, blissfully unaware of the significance that had just occurred. Must’ve felt nice.

“This might have cost us a great deal, you know,” Yohan went on, throwing up his arms in defeat. “With the way things are now, even just one mistake could have consequences. But, hey! So long as you got what you wanted, right?”

He started to pace, talking to himself all the while, and way too frustrated to be intimidated by Roe.

“I would say you owe me, but for what? It’d make no sense. Every day we spend only prolongs the inevitable!”

She remained silent, which did nothing to ease Yohan’s panicked rambling. If anything, it only made it worse.

“In fact, since you’re a Guardian, you might as well arrest me! That would be a fitting way to live the rest of my days. Locked in prison, since I’m useless now anyway—!”

“Useless?”

The sudden softness in her voice startled him. He stopped walking, and turning to face the two – any anger he had was washed away. Roe’s eyes were wet with tears that trailed down her blushed cheeks, while her fingers delicately caressed Alec’s face as if the slightest touch could break him. Leaning down, she pressed a kiss to his forehead, and in between she whispered,

“Thank you.”

Yohan couldn’t believe this was the same person who was ready to hurt him just minutes before. His heart skipped several beats, and for a good while, he was unable to muster the words to speak. In all his time as a Mender, never had his healings created such a moment – of gratitude, relief, and even within the bitterness of their reality, joy. Even the sun itself seemed moved, as a blanket of light covered them.

“You’re… You’re welcome.”

In that instance, Yohan regained something he thought he lost. The desire to save. His earlier years were nothing but turmoil, impressive healings overshadowed by the misery of rejection under a High Weaver’s order. He remembered all of them, every face of anguish after discovering their fate.

It was the worst part of his job. But for the Nexus, he had to do it – so to stop his soul from wrenching, he forced himself to adopt the attitudes of his fellow Menders. Always abide by the rule, no matter what.

Except now, did the rule still have a place?

“If this is all going up in flames,” Yohan thought again, “then it doesn’t matter.”

It wasn’t an excuse anymore. The Nexus was dying, and with it, all its standards would have to die as well. If that was the unchangeable result, then might as well make the best of it.

Yohan smiled, then laughed uncontrollably. Roe’s tension came again tenfold, probably from thinking that almost losing her lover was somehow amusing to him. But she would be wrong, because his laughter was that of a bird getting back its wings.

“Actually, you know what, I should be thanking you!” he said, and even hugged her. He got shoved onto the floor for it, but being too overwhelmed with happiness, he didn’t care one bit.

“When is he going to wake up?” Roe asked sharply as she watched him giggle on the ground.

“Ah, well – I can’t tell you for sure, but don’t worry, it shouldn’t be long. After all, I put my best effort into him!”

“Do you have a mental condition? Split personalities?”

“No, no! Can’t a man be happy he just saved someone’s life?”

“You were burdened by it a second ago.”

“Burdened? Not at all!” he sprung onto his feet, full of renewed liveliness. “The only ‘burdens’ I’ve had are the chains of my profession. But thanks to you, I’m now free!”

“Oh. I see—”

“You hear that, ladies!” Yohan yelled out the window to the nuns. “I’m free!”

“Um, congratulations!?”

It was exhilarating. He had never experienced anything like it. The ability to save whoever he pleased right at his fingertips – it was always there, yet he could never use it the way he wanted. Until then.

“Roe, since ‘Alec’ here is all better, where will you be headed? I assume to Seris, right?”

“Yes. Someone has to tell them about the anomalies.”

“Then, what I said about ‘owing’ me something? I take it back – you do! Allow me to accompany you.”

It didn’t take much to persuade her. “If that’s what you want. Doesn’t matter to me… But I will ask, why?”

“To join the deployment. If they’re going to be sending out Guardians to fight more anomalies, then people are going to get killed – that is, if I don’t do something about it. I could save them all, with or without a High Weaver!”

Roe crossed her arms. “There’s a problem with that, Mr. Smith. Do you really believe the Guardians would permit such actions? Certainly not the Highs, without a doubt the Elders.”

“No, but – well, you’re a Guardian, and you made me do this in the first place. If you ask me, anything can be possible now.”

It was clear she had doubts in the way she scrutinized him judgmentally. But what did it have to do with her? Heading to the door, she said,

“It’s a waste of time, but if that’s what you’re set on, then be my guest. We leave tomorrow at dawn. Don’t want to get ambushed in the dark again.”

“Alright, dawn. You got it!”

It was risky, he still couldn’t deny that. Regardless of its state, the Nexus still required balance. How much disruption a single Mender would cause was unknown, yet nonetheless, a possibility.

But Yohan would never have such a chance again. To bring people bliss and hope, just as he did that day.

If there was ever a time to try something so bold, it was then, and no other.