Part 21

            //Don’t cry for me.  I am another one of those lost souls.  I wander around this desert of a universe without

            a purpose.  The death, the destruction, all of the evils of this world.  They don’t matter anymore.  All that

            ever really mattered is forever lost.//

The aftermath at the academy is hardly what I expected.  On Sunday in the school chapel a memorial service was held.  I hear the entire school went, but I didn’t.  Now it is Monday and the world seems to have moved on without me.  Sitting in my desk and looking over at the empty one next to it, floods my mind with images that I wish I could bury.

I must have been daydreaming because suddenly Mrs. Torki is over me.  She whispers that I should go to the guidance office.  Her face stays ever solemn as she offers me a small smile and nods for me to leave.  I gather my bag and exit the room, aware of all the faces watching me go.

The halls are silent except for the echoes of my shoes.  I reach the office and reluctantly push open the door.  I am startled by the face looking back at me.  “Treize.”  I sputter, making my surprise completely known.  “What are you doing here?”  I silently curse myself after asking something so obvious.

“Jeremy has been on my mind, as I am sure he is on yours.  Each time I look around this campus, everything reminds me of him.  He always talked about how great you were.  How good you were at piloting, how you got the best grades in the class.  He said he was jealous of you, but being his best friend he could never be upset at you about it.  Whenever he talked about you, I found myself wondering what it would have been like if it was you who had been my brother instead of Jeremy.  I’m ashamed to say that I thought you would make a better brother then he actually was.  But I was wrong.  Even though he didn’t try hard enough, he always was there.  I could depend on him even through the hardest of times.  He would have made a dependable soldier.

“I’m afraid we won’t be able to continue with our piloting lessons.  Even though graduation is still three weeks away, I have fulfilled all my requirements.  They are giving me my diploma and I am moving on.  I hope that sometime in the future we could work together again.  So long, Zechs Merquise.”

I watch him walk out of the office, not knowing if I will ever see him again.

“Can I help you?”  It’s a woman in her twenties with one of those librarian hairstyles and glasses perched on her nose with a chain that keeps them around her neck.  “Oh, you must be Zechs.”

“How did you know?”

“You are the only one in school who always wears a mask.  News like that goes around school pretty fast.  Oh, I’m so sorry.  Let’s go into my office.”  She places a reassuring hand on my back and leads me into an office roughly the size of a broom closet.  She pulls out a chair allowing me to sit down.  She holds out her hand, “I’m Miss Adanti, the crisis counselor here at the academy.  I know this must be a very difficult time for you and I want you to know that you can tell me anything and come to me with any problem.”  She gives me one of those rehearsed smiles that I’m sure anyone who gets a degree in social work is taught as a general requirement.  “Is there anything that you would like to talk about now?”

“No ma’am.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes ma’am.”

She looks disappointed but lets me leave anyways telling me to come back anytime I felt like talking.  It’s highly unlikely that that would ever happen.  There was only one person that I could talk to, but she is in class.  I exit the office and head back down the hallway.  There is no way that I could head back to class right now.  Instead I detour out of the building.  It’s not hard to figure out where I am heading.  The silent beasts that reside in my second home welcome me.  And one semi-silent girl.

“I didn’t expect you to be here.” I state as I take a seat next to Lu.

“I expected you to come earlier.”

“I got sent to the guidance office.”

“Miss Adanti?”

“Yes.”

“She means well, but she doesn’t know anything.  I think she grew up on a colony or something like that.”

“You said before that you hear people who have died when you come here.  Can you hear him?”

She takes a moment to close her eyes and listen.  “No, I can’t.”

“Do you know what that means?”

“I’m not sure.  It could just be me blocking him out, or maybe he has found peace.  I can’t be entirely sure.”~~