Graybook (Black)

"Thanks again, man," Reis said as he stepped out of the car.

"Don't mention it, bro," Kyle replied, throwing up a peace sign as Reis closed the door. Kyle slowly drove the car forward, but an older couple suddenly cut him off, forcing him to honk his horn aggressively.

Embarrassed, Reis hurried into St. Ardent Memorial Hospital. The building's sleek, futuristic design stood in sharp contrast to the rundown feel of the rest of the town.

The walls were pristine white, with glowing blue neon lights pointing the way to various sections and wards. It looked as though the building had been recently renovated, but it had actually been this way since it first appeared in 2015.

Reis approached the receptionist's desk, scratching his head as he noticed a woman intently whispering into her phone.

"Yeah, I know... I know, but seriously, look at this!" She glanced down, reading a paper in front of her. "What the hell is an Ark—hi—os? I've never even heard of that, and you—" She paused, noticing Reis awkwardly standing there, concern on his face.

The woman jumped, slamming the phone back into the cradle and quickly shoving the paper under the desk.

"Ah, Reis! What's up?" she asked.

"Hey, Janice, you... okay?" Reis asked. Janice gave a hesitant smile.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just had to... ask about something."

"Right, well—" Reis began, but was cut off.

"You're looking for Sif, right?" Janice asked. Reis nodded.

She pointed down the hallway to her left. "She's in the oncology ward. Take the elevator to the second floor, go straight, then turn right. Room 207."

"Thanks, Janice," Reis replied as she smiled, slowly looking back at the paper under her desk while Reis headed toward the elevators.

"Reis, hold on a moment..." Janice started but trailed off.

Reis turned around, waiting for her to finish.

"Ah... never mind," she muttered.

Confused by her strange demeanor, Reis shrugged and pressed the up button on the elevator.

The doors slowly opened, and he walked in, pressing the button for the second floor. As the doors closed, a dim blue light filled the elevator, and it slowly ascended.

When the doors opened, Reis stepped out to see doctors moving in all directions. He walked through the dimly lit, noisy floor.

One of the doctors accidentally brushed past him, and Reis noticed the large black ouroboros symbol on the back of the man's coat. Looking around, he saw that every doctor in sight wore the same symbol, either on the back or front of their coats.

"What the..." Reis muttered to himself as he walked down the corridor, reaching a hallway lined with numbered rooms.

207, he thought, scanning the numbers on the doors.

203... 204... 205... 206...

Reis stopped in front of the only room with its light on. He peered through the window and saw a girl with olive skin and dark brown eyes sitting up in bed, reading a book.

A warm smile spread across his face as he knocked on the door.

"Come in..." the girl said, and the door opened.

"What'cha reading?" Reis asked, waving as he entered.

Sif glanced at the book's cover. "I'm not sure... it doesn't have a title," she said, setting it down and extending her arms. As Reis moved closer, she embraced him.

"You smell good..." Reis said, sniffing the side of her neck.

Sif smiled. "You, not so much."

Reis scoffed. "Yeah, I've had a lot to do. I—erm..." He paused, taking his backpack off and reaching inside. "I got you this..." He pulled out a medium-sized, fluffy brown teddy bear.

He handed it to her, and she cradled it in her arms like a child, stroking its fur. She looked up at Reis.

"I love it..." she said with a warm smile, her gaze sending a shiver down his spine.

"I'm glad you like it. I got it from a store next to a gas station we stopped at. That damn thing cost like 80 bucks, believe it or not," Reis mentioned.

"You and Kieran?" she asked.

"No, Kieran's at home," Reis said, setting his backpack down as he walked over to a nearby table.

"Huh? Then how did you get here?" Sif asked, confused.

"Kyle brought me here," Reis said, grabbing a chair and sitting beside her.

"Tsk, I thought that moron totaled his car," she muttered.

Reis shrugged, picking up the title less gray book. "Kieran did tell me to say 'Hey,' though."

Sif smiled. "It's been so long since the three of us have been together. How's he doing now?"

Reis blankly flipped through the pages of the book. "He's definitely seen better days," he said, and Sif laughed.

"Why do you say that?"

"I'm not sure how to describe it, but his hair's turned kind of... grayish?" Reis answered.

"He looks like an old man, and his head's been hurting. I think it's a stroke."

"You're so dramatic..." Sif rolled her eyes. "It could just be a fever, no?"

"I guess. He looked pretty strange. I wanted to walk with him here earlier today to get it checked out." He paused. "...And so I could have an excuse to see you."

He blushed slightly, looking down. Sif reached out and placed her hand on his.

"Well, you would've had to wait a while, because I just got here about an hour ago," she giggled. Reis looked up, confused.

"Huh? You didn't get treated yet?" he asked.

She shook her head. "Nurse Ann said something about me switching treatment plans. She said my dad paid for it," Sif smiled, looking out the window as Reis squeezed her hand.

"She said it's something called Metasophic Induction."

"Meta—what? What the hell is that?" Reis asked, puzzled.

Sif shrugged. "I'm not exactly sure myself. From what they told me, it's basically like surgery. They put me under and inject me with some type of medicine..."

Reis stared at her in disbelief. "Are... are you going to do that?"

"Do I have a choice at this point?" Sif asked. "After the doctors told us the cancer had spread, my dad's been making me take all kinds of medicine."

She wiped her eyes as tears began to fall. "I've been taking all sorts of new shit I've never even heard of, every week for a month straight."

"The surgery won't be any different," Sif said, her voice trembling.

Reis leaned in, comforting her as she wept. The sound of her sobs and the ticking of a nearby clock filled the room.

"I'm starting to..." she gasped, struggling for air. "I'm starting to wonder if this is even worth it, if I even want to live like this anymore."

Reis sat there, quietly, his eyes stinging as he fought back tears. He reached out slowly, cupping the side of her face.

"I... don't say that, please, Sif," he muttered, his voice rough. "I've seen you walk through hell and still stand."

"You're... still here. Please don't forget that. There's not a second that goes by where I do, and I'm grateful for that."

Reis leaned in close, his forehead resting against hers.

"I know it's fucking hard. I—I don't even know how to deal with this, but..." He pulled back just enough to look into her eyes. "But we've been through so much together. And when you say you don't know if it's worth it... I know it's not you giving up."

He took a deep breath, steadying himself, brushing his thumb gently over her knuckles.

"You're just saying 'I'm tired, and I don't know how to keep fighting.' I get that."

Reis squeezed her hand, his voice softening. "I'm not gonna pretend it's not happening, because I know you don't need that. You need someone who's here for you, like I've always been."

"I'm here for all of it. Whatever, whenever, wherever," he said, his grip tightening on her hand.

"If you need to yell, cry, or just sit here... I'll be right beside you. And I'm not going anywhere."

The two embraced, finding comfort in each other's arms.