I suddenly flinch from my unsettling daydream as a hand feels my shoulder from behind. I convalesce from my push-ups and sit up straight.
"Sorry if I scared you!", said Hosier smiling in my direction.
"Never mind," I shake my head with a sigh.
"I don't think your newfound push-up obsession is helping you cope with those scary dreams of yours Joonie. But you sure look good. I'll give you that!"
"Ah, thanks! I'll make it a point to come to you when I need a boost of confidence but also feel discouraged about my awful dreams," I said with a smirk.
"You surely can count on me buddy!" he said sitting beside me, patting my shoulder with a chuckle.
"We have a new one coming," Yakove approached with a serious look on his face. We both turned silent and looked at him questioningly.
"You really think so?" Hosier asked.
"Yeah, I just overheard the guards a moment ago, not just that sobbing voice from behind the white door."
We stay silent for a few moments. The sound of the guards behind the white door is usually heard on the first day of the entry of the new forerunner into the white room and later when he is released into the camp with us; the rest of the forerunners. Between these time periods, only his sorrowful wailings and pain is heard. All we can do is wish for the newly broken soul to endure the inflicted torture without going insane and then be released into our camp alive. I have been trapped in this place for six months and haven't found a pattern in the capture of these poor souls and their release into the camp with us, except that each one sent is a young male.
"Another one, huh?" I say shifting in my place uncomfortably. I felt physical pain in my chest hearing the news, making my muscles tense up. Hosier took notice and rubbed my back. I looked at him with a sadness that choked me. He gave me an empathetic smile.
"Leader you better get going. Let him suffer less." Yakove said.
We walk towards the white door. Only Hosier is let near the door and the rest of us have no access to enter beyond the long arch before it. The trauma that the room holds is enough to keep any of us away from getting near the door even without any rules. We stand behind the arch, making sure that none of the guards see us in case they decide to get out of the room after gruesomely pushing away the new human into his terrible new life ahead of him.
Hosier waits preparing himself. The authorities must perceive him as furious and intimidating to avoid any punishment. But he is anything but any of those. Hence, risking it all he makes sure that his compassion is secretly visible through his eyes to the new one; to give him a little comfort in the pain that seems like an eternity. To tell them that 'you're not alone.'
The white door creaks open, Hosier takes in a deep breath and so do we.
YOU ARE READING
THESE RUINED FLOWERS
General Fiction"Hell is gonna burn, whether we're at the top or bottom of it, so why don't we just make a break for it?", Joon asked frustrated seeing the sudden dawn of dispute in Hosier's face. "I hate to say it, but you're wrong Joon," Hosier replied. "There's...
