Free Mindguard by Andrei Cherascu Page B

“Thank you, Brother Torje,” he said.
    “No need to
thank me, brother. It is the least I can do.”
    “The least?”
Brother Elias cried. He seemed genuinely hurt by that statement. “Brother, you
have done so much already, for all of us.”
    “Brother Elias
-” the doctor protested.
     “No,” Elias
insisted. “You have done so much, brother. “You have been our healer. We are
indebted to you.“
    The doctor was
sincerely uncomfortable with this declaration of gratitude. He knew that there
was basically nothing of importance he could have ever done for them. Hearing
this poor soul speak of some sort of debt made him feel incredibly frustrated.
    “A healer? Who
have I healed, Elias? Tell me, who? Are you not all still sick? Are you not all
still dying from this terrible, unjust disease?”
    He felt his eyes
tearing up at the mere thought of the pain these people had to endure every
day. Fate had given them a veritable piece of paradise in which to live out
their own personal hell. The island was incredibly beautiful, the most
beautiful place the doctor had ever seen. He still struggled to understand how
it could be that these people did not feel insulted by all this beauty
surrounding them. In a perverted way, it seemed to mock them. It was a beauty
they should not be able to appreciate or enjoy. And yet, they did. They enjoyed
it in a way of which most people he had known in his life were not even
capable. That made him, at the same time, angry and sad.
    As they headed
towards Elias’ home, their path overlooked the sea. It was evening now. The
stars were shining brightly, reflecting in the water. So many stars. Through
their very existence, they provided so many possibilities. Yet, of all possible
destinies this universe - or maybe its Creator - could have offered the
brothers, they had been cursed with the absolute worst. They were the people
who deserved it the least. As a religious man, a man who believed in a just God
who watched over His children and loved them equally, the doctor had a hard
time coming to terms with what was happening on Kalhydon.
    He could think
of so many people who should much rather have suffered this destiny. They were,
instead, living lives free from any pain and fear. But if they were to share
the fate of these people, would they, then, not also become ‘brothers’? Would
they not be exactly like the others?   
    “You have taken
away the pain, brother Torje.”
    Lost in his own
thoughts, the doctor had lost track of the conversation. “What do you mean?” he
asked.
    “You are a
healer, and you are a friend. But not even you can fight the course of life.
You have offered us relief from our daily pain. That is the most precious aid.”
    The doctor again
felt he was tearing up. He hoped he would not be making this man’s final family
dinner a sad one. He looked away, looked to the stars. Somewhere out there was
a man who had been given the best of what life had to offer and yet he wanted
more. And then, when he had found more, so much more, he set out to
destroy what he had found.
    In his past
life, before Kalhydon, brother Torje had been a scientist. That was a distant
memory, as if a lifetime had passed and not merely two years. In those two
years he had tried to be of service to the brothers in the best way he could,
by using his knowledge of medicine to ease their daily pain. For that, they
loved and respected him. He offered them a little comfort when their government
and their fellow man offered nothing. It was as if the whole world wanted to
punish them for having contacted this horrible disease.
    As they walked
towards Brother Elias’ home, they passed the island’s small theater, where
those who still possessed the health and energy put on performances for their
brothers. The doctor remembered how touched he had been to discover that they
even had a theater. They, who had been sent here to rot away before even having
died, had found pleasure in watching a play or