Chapter 4: The Possibility of a New World

Matthew couldn't sleep that night, but this time it was out of excitement, rather than severe headaches and painful cramps like he got used to.

What was Robin talking about? Was he really insane? Or did he just call Matthew to mess with him? Even if this was a joke, he seemed to believe it deeply. Matthew couldn't forget how his eyes were glowing when he talked about that company and what they did.

He looked at his watch. It was 3:25 a.m. He gave up on sleeping and put his laptop on his lap. He decided on following the trace. Could it be real?

He typed "Cryolife" on the search bar but couldn't find anything. That wasn't motivating. But it wasn't the time for quitting. Even if it was a joke, he had to be sure.

This time, he searched for "frozen people". He found a few articles and news. So, this was a real thing. It was scientific. But why wasn't the company on the Internet?

So far, half of what Robin said turned out to be true. But that wasn't enough for Matthew. When the sunlight filled the room, he decided to give Robin a call. He was the only person Matthew could talk about Cryolife.

He was nervous. He wanted to talk to Cathy about all this but he didn't feel ready yet.

After taking a few deep breaths, he took his phone and called Robin's house. The maid asked him to wait a little. A few seconds later, Matthew heard Robin's voice. He sounded excited just the way he was the previous night.

"Hello, Matthew! I knew you would call me and I'm glad you did!"

"Hello, Robin. I still think you’re messing with me but I just wanted to be sure," Matthew started playing with his hair and tried to sound confident. But a little part of him still thought that this was all a lie.

"You will see that it is actually the opposite! I'm showing you the way, I'm enlightening you! Please, come to my house tonight."

Matthew thought about all possibilities. And he decided that he had nothing to lose.

"Okay. Tell me your address."

At 10 o'clock, Matthew was standing in front of his house. He got a text from Cathy, asking where he was because Oksana had said that Matthew was acting weird that day. Matthew shortly replied, "I'm meeting with an old friend. No worries."

A young woman opened the door and widely smiled when she saw Matthew.

"Hello, Mr. Reed. Please, come in," she said with a high-pitched voice.

"Thank you." Matthew walked into a huge hall. He didn't pay attention to the exterior part of Robin's house but the light, the designing and the furniture inside were undeniably charming. He was impressed.

There was a glass chandelier. It was long and thin, making it look glamorous. The tall walls were beige and there were paintings in different sizes. The paintings were from the Renaissance era. Navy blue and beige were the main colors on the furniture. Matthew's eyes were pleased.

"Mr. Sorokin is waiting for you in his garden." The maid showed him the way. Matthew followed him while skimming through everything on the way.

Matthew saw Robin standing up and waiting for him. He was next to a glass table and he could see that there was so much food on it. He remembered that he actually didn't eat that much that day, he felt really hungry.

"My friend, welcome to my house. I prepared a nice table for you. Hope you are hungry!" He made a move towards Matthew for a little hug. Matthew didn't return it.

"Actually, I am," Matthew said laughing.

While they were dining, Robin started talking. Matthew felt so relieved because he couldn't dare to be the first to bring up the topic of their conversation.

"I caused much trouble for my family, Matthew. I owed them so much for putting up with me. With your help, I got rich. I helped my family, friends and relatives. But there was one person who needed my help the most. My father. He got sick. It was deadly." He took a bite of roasted chicken and continued.

"A friend of his came to visit us. He talked about the thing you came here for. Cryolife."

Matthew hardly swallowed his bite.

“Matthew. I will tell you the craziest thing you heard in your whole life,” Robin put down his fork and knife and got serious.

“There is a company who works with sick people. Like you.”

Matthew would normally feel attacked. His situation made him a bit more fragile. But he was waiting to hear more.

“They freeze your body. When your disease is curable, they wake you up. It’s that simple.”

“But… How is it possible?”

“It’s their job, my friend,” Robin laid back, finishing his food.

“How do you know it’s real?” Matthew raised one brow.

“Because they froze my dad. He will wake up in the future. Maybe I will be as old

as him!” He sounded joyful and excited.

“Robin,” Matthew put his elbows on the table while putting his head between his hands. “This is crazy.”

“I know! When I read about your situation, I immediately thought about Cryolife. Tomorrow we’ll go there. You will see it with your eyes, my friend,” Robin was serious. Matthew looked directly in his eyes as Robin lit a cigar. He couldn't be lying. But, Cryolife, it also couldn’t be true.

Matthew went home with a confused mind, he even forgot to greet Oksana, who found it concerning and called Cathy right away, making her call Matthew again.

“Matthew! How are you?” She sounded nervous.

“I’m fine, Cathy. It was just a tiring night. I’ll go to sleep right away. Talk to you soon.”

He was actually tired because of all those thoughts. He managed to sleep anyway. When he woke up, he saw the text from Robin on his phone. “I’ll pick you up at 10.”

He wore a blue jacket on a white shirt. He tidied up his hair and checked the time. 09:30. Maybe Robin would come early and drink something.

But he was punctual. He knocked on the door at 10. They got in the car and didn’t talk until Robin started driving.

“We might be welcomed by Gina. She was there the first time I went.” His tone was a bit colder. Maybe he remembered the bad times for his family and got tense, Matthew thought.

“It is your call Matthew,” Robin looked at Matthew’s eyes. “I did this because I thought I could help you, maybe save your life and return your favor. But it will be your choice at the end.”

Matthew didn’t really understand the seriousness of the situation. But he realized the importance of the choice he would be making.

They were in front of the building. Robin cleared his throat. “Call me when you leave. I will pick you up. Then, we can talk about it, my friend.” He smiled with sincerity.

“Okay. I’ll call you.” Matthew opened the door. He felt everything that one person could feel at one moment. What was he getting into? He took a deep breath, buttoned up his jacket and took a step towards obscurity.