New Future

Slowly Mateus woke up again. Time seemed at a standstill, and he couldn't understand where he was. No beasts were around - not the real kind or the ones in human skins. He didn't open his eyes, or allow himself to think.

He simply existed in a state of unreality, while denying his own existence. Until -

"BROTHER!" A young voice shouted. Past and present overlapped as Danica threw herself onto the bed and grabbed Mateus tightly with desperate fingers.

Mateus blinked, and his precious sister came into focus. Too skinny, worried frown, but lovely eyes staring only at him. His only family in two lives.

"… " Her lips fluttered quickly, and seemed to vanish with speed. Mateus watched as Danica faded in and out of existence - even the touch of her hand didn't seem real.

Until - "Recruit Mateus, you've been discharged." A cold voice spoke, and Danica shattered into flecks of colour, revealing a doctor standing calmly at the end of Mateus' bed.

"Doctor, my sister was just here - where did she go?" Mateus asked in befuddlement, and the doctor slowly shook his head.

"Symptoms of audio and visual illusions are quite common in cases like yours. I'll write you a prescription, after a few days you should feel much better. This is a military hospital, and anyone who isn't a staff member or patient is not permitted. Recruit Mateus, we have no further treatment for you, it's time for you to leave. Good luck."

The doctor walked away, and Mateus struggled to wake up. Danica wasn't there - had never been there. It was all a dream. But it gave Mateus a wake up call.

So what if he was sick, and had few years left to live. So what if the doctors couldn't help him, and everyone was counting down the days left for him to live. Mateus refused to despair any longer - he would find Danica, he would become a weaver of Angora fabric as he had always planned, and he would find a new method of survival.

This tragedy wasn't the end of his life - it was simply a new beginning.