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“I do.”
He preferred to lay upright while holding the snow globe, scared of the possibility of breaking it. The last thing he had of her. His beloved wife, Nora.
The room he was placed in had air conditioning that ran at all times in order to keep him alive. He remembers the cold feeling of his suit and can’t help but find the room warm.
The mind can be a man’s worst enemy. How easily it can be tricked into believing something is terrifying indeed.
He held the globe tightly in his grasp, running his other hand over it. The guards had become concerned with just how much time he spent with the globe. Perhaps he could understand why, but all he could hope was that they would mind their own business.
Despite his seemingly never ending goal to prove himself as a changed man, there were times where he would think violent things. It would come randomly and take him by surprise.
And each and every time he felt like he was betraying Nora. And that felt worse than nearly every crime he’s committed since her demise.
His head looked over to the white brick walls of his cell and lost count of just how long he did so. It was so easy to lose track of time, wasn’t it? Then again, he had all the time in the world.
His blank expression morphed into a tight frown. That’s right. In this frozen state, he’ll age exceptionally slowly. He wouldn’t be surprised if he lasted thousands of years, perhaps even more.
It sounds like a blessing for most, but to him, it was a curse. Was there truly any reason to live if the ones you held dear weren’t there with you?
In his life, only one person shone through the darkness. Nora. His beloved Nora. She was so kind and never once raised her words or hands against him.
“May I have this dance?” He held out his hand for her, trying to not let his nervousness show. Her chuckle echoed in the otherwise empty room the two were in. And oh, how it made his heart glow.
“I don’t see why not.” It was amazing to see her act like her true self with him. Social norms often forced her to act a certain way in public-a way that Victor personally found to be unnecessary.
In his opinion, one should not be made to act a certain way based on appearances or gender. It just didn’t make sense to him. Therefore, to see Nora act like this in front of him made him overjoyed.
They took each other’s hands, slowly dancing around the room as a calming melody played from the radio.
He could so easily get lost in the blissful feeling of being so close to her. Their movements seemed to intertwine as one, meandering across the room.
He brought her even closer, their dance coming to a close. Her beautiful blonde hair hung untied past her shoulders as he allowed himself a soft smile.
“That was wonderful, Victor.” She praised, just like she did every time they did this. He could feel his face heat slightly as he chuckled.
“You flatter me, Nora.”
His eyes opened, and he tried to stop the crushing feeling of realization that she was dead.
But it never worked. Each and every time he was left in tears. He was tired of them. Tired of the feeling of tears rolling down his cheeks. But tears seemed to be all he had left now.
It was ironic, wasn’t it? For just not too long ago, he was boasting about how he no longer felt anything.
He snorted, shaking his head weakly. What a lie he had been trying to tell himself. He still felt emotions. He just didn’t let them show. And there was a reason for that.
“My name is Dr. Victor Fries.” He held a clipboard to his chest as he faced the camera.
“I am recording what, I pray, to be man kinds first step toward immortality.”
He’d been using so much of the money. He should have expected them to intervene at some point.
He held out his arm. “Behind me you see the CC 100.” The camera was moved to face the machine.
“A cryogenic freezing chamber of my own design.” He walked over to the CC 100.
He had been so foolish.
“I created it for the express purpose of freezing subjects stricken with inoperable ailments.” His hand reached out to touch the glass, unable to stop the saddened look that crossed his face.
“Subjects like, my own beloved wife, Nora.” He shook the feeling away, turning his attention back to the camera.
He had replayed this memory multiple times since her passing. It never got any easier.
“Once a remedy has been found—“ He was cut off by the sound of someone aggressively trying to unlock his door.
“Open this door!” A voice shouted.
“Open it now!” The door was kicked down, revealing two police officers and Ferris. He felt a wave of dread wash over him.
“Get away from that equipment!” Ferris snapped, pointing at him accusingly. He dropped his clipboard in shock as Ferris turned to the officers.
“Shut this stuff down.” He ordered, as if he were asking them to pick out a product at the grocery store.
It never failed to make his blood boil. Or at least, in the metaphorical sense.
“Stop! This is my experiment!” He tried desperately to reason with them. Ferris scowled darkly, unmoved by his words.
“Your unauthorized experiment.” He corrected. “I ordered funding suspended weeks ago! I’m already 3 million in debt because of you!” Victor’s eyes darted between Ferris and the officer standing next to him and the other officer who was typing on his equipment to shut it down. To shut Nora’s LIFE down.
“You can’t stop it now. My wife is in there.” He begged. Ferris smirked, tilting his head.
“So bring her out.” He mused, and Victor shook his head.
“You can’t interrupt the process now!” Ferris’s smile vanished, and he looked at the cop next to him.
“Open it.” The officer nodded, walking towards the machine. He gripped Ferris’s shoulders tightly, trying to make him see reason.
Men like Ferris couldn’t change. He had tried, and he failed. Perhaps at one point, he had been kind. But no longer. He had become corrupt with money.
Ferris scowled, his fake persona now gone.
“This is MY equipment!” He shouted, and Victor flinched harshly, backing away. He stared into the man’s eyes, trying desperately to communicate with him. Please, don’t do this.
“Mine. I have every legal right to use it or not use it as I see fit.” He hissed. “I say this project ends now!” Victor gulped, and his eyes landed on the gun holstered on the officer attempting to open the machine. Without a second thought, he grabbed the gun and pointed it in front of him.
“NO!” He screamed, trying to mask his fear. What had he been thinking? He didn’t want to pull the trigger. He knew he didn’t have it in him.
It was that moment that he thought of often. If only he hadn’t let his fear overtake him. But if he didn’t, they would be dead. So was there any real right answer? Either way, he would have ended up hating himself.
“Stay away from her!” His voice shook. “Murderer!” Ferris held his hands up innocently.
“Victor…I-I’m sorry. I lost my temper. It doesn’t have to come to this. We can talk.” Victor lowered the gun, knowing that it was useless if he didn’t have the mental strength to use it.
He couldn’t react quickly enough, and Ferris kicked him roughly, and he was sent falling into the table. He could hear the sound of glass breaking, and the next thing he knew was that he was utterly cold.
And yet…it was warm? The nice feeling was gone as he immediately felt the pain, although it was dulled. It was like thousands of tiny fire picks were being poked into his skin, and he shivered incessantly.
He should be dead by now, but he’s not. He didn’t have time to think of that, as he knew that the machine was stopped. Who knows how long it’ll take her to cease to live?!
He tried desperately to reach her, despite every muscle in his body begging him not to move. He held out his hand weakly, brushing against the glass.
“Nora…” He breathed, unable to properly see due to the mist in the air. “Nora…”
He sighed, turning to lie down in his bed. He would never be able to escape the anguish. But perhaps with time, it could become…manageable.
He lifted his head to gaze at the snow globe. Her figure spun around elegantly, much like she used to when she was alive.
“Goodnight, my love.”
THE END: