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He waited for her to come. She never would. He waited for the day to come to its end. It never would. A murder, a sin, and an everlasting love. This was his life. Well, his old one anyway. It all started when she literally dropped in on his life.
He was a young man at the time. He was Doctor Henry Usome. It was his average walk along the evening streets. The sidewalks almost devoid of all life aside from an alley cat, a scrawny dog, and himself. It was raining, as usual. The town was very wet. It was just another boring day.
Henry heard a loud crash and looked up. She came crashing in from above, shards from a glass window all around her like the rain. She fell from the sky like an angel descending from heaven. For a moment the world slowed down. Time itself went in slow motion.
Then the world went normal speed and a shower of bullets followed the black-clad woman. She fell straight down and hit the ground with a loud crack. She rebounded and coughed blood into the air, which stained her mouth and cheek. Henry looked around, dumbstruck. He was paralyzed and dizzy. The sight of blood always made him like this.
He forced himself to remain standing, unknowing of the danger that would put him in. The door to the building she fell from crashed open. Two men with machine guns burst through, a larger man following suit.
“Boss,” one of the gunmen sneered, “looks like we got us a witness.”
“There can be no survivors,” the large man boomed. “Kill him and shoot the girl while you’re at it.”
Like a shadow of the night, the large man was gone. There were only the two murderers before Henry. He knew he would die. If only he could've ran. If only he wasn't afraid of blood.
A piercing fear ran through Henry’s body. He felt even more weak-kneed. He put his hands up to show that he didn’t know anything. They laughed at him and walked slowly toward him. Step-by-step they inched closer, showing the menace in their eyes.
Henry had given up standing once they got to him. One of them snickered and he fell to his knees, praying to the divine powers that he would live through this. One of the men kicked his back and pushed him over onto his face. The man stomped his boot into Henry’s back and stomped him into the ground like a bug.
Henry had heard something over the men laughing, trashcans clanging and being moved. He looked over into an alleyway in the direction he heard it. He saw a shadow quickly appear on a wall and disappear just as quickly. The silhouette was gone in an instant. He had hoped for a savior, looks like he was just going to die.
One of the men made gasping noises and the boot was lifted off of Henry’s back. The man made choking sounds and Henry turned over onto his back to see what was happening. The woman who Henry had assumed dead was choking the man from behind. The other man turned around and aimed his gun at her. Henry grabbed the man’s ankle and pulled him down. He figured he’d even the playing field. The woman had mild wounds to her skull and was bleeding profusely. Henry had to get over his fear of blood or she would be killed. Not a single patient of his had ever died.
The way he got over it for his job was that he would bite his thumb for about a three-second period. He didn’t have enough time so he simply looked at the man on the ground that was fumbling to get up. He attempted to get up but the man who had been fighting that girl kicked him in his side to keep him down. He lurched forward to attack the man on the ground and keep him down.
The man had a knife and was about to stab Henry when he grabbed his arm and held it down. His gun was over at the sidewalk that bordered the park. Henry knew nothing but the man whom he fought. Everything else was blurry and out of focus. The adrenaline kept pumping in him and coursed through his entire body. He wanted nothing more than to kill the man he was pinning to the ground.
That’s when Henry had done what he thought was impossible for him. He grabbed the man’s knife and stabbed him several times in the chest with his entire being. He murdered the man. Something inside him had taken control over him, but, boy, it felt good.
That’s when he came back to his senses. He saw the man’s stab wounds and the blood that streamed out of them. He blacked out.
When Henry came to he was in his apartment on his couch. Was that all a dream? He wondered. No. It was all too real to be a dream. I still feel the pain of that man’s boot on my back. He looked at his hand, which was covered in blood. “So,” he muttered, “it was real.” Lightning crashed outside his window. The storm had gotten worse.
The flash of lightning revealed a figure on his carpet. He flicked the lights and saw what he had hoped to never see again. It was that woman who had crashed through the window and brought him so much trouble. The blood had gotten worse. Henry turned away and bit his thumb for three seconds. He turned around and crouched down to get a better inspection of the damage.
She had two bullet-size wounds in her right arm. Blood poured from the holes in her arm and shoulder. Henry found his medical tape and some sponges for cuts and bruises. He dressed her wounds and taped up her arm before flipping her off of her side. She had no major damage aside from some cuts from the glass shards, which were easily treated.
She began to stir slightly. Henry had just lain down on the couch when her eyes had cracked open. She tried to rise but felt an intense pain in her arm. “Don’t try to move too much,” Henry advised her, “the wounds are too deep for any serious use yet.”
A long, awkward silence followed. Henry finally spoke again, “Thank you.” This caught the mystery woman off guard. “Without you, I’d probably be dead right now. So again, thank you.”
The woman finally muttered, “I should thank you. That other gunner could’ve easily killed me from behind. You also were able to dress my wounds. You are very kind to a person who caused you so much trouble. I’m sorry.”
Henry was kind of embarrassed. His face turned bright red. “It’s my job, no thanks necessary. Oh! By the way, I never caught your name.”
The woman looked toward the window. “I don’t have one.”
“What do you mean? Everyone has a name, don’t they?”
“Not me, I don’t even know who I am or where I come from. It’s really quite troublesome.”
“Do you have a home?”
“No.”
Henry stared at her. She was all alone with nowhere to go in a city like this. Nobody should have that misfortune. Especially in a town with as much crime as this; he had more patients come in a day because of criminals and gangs than he cared to think of. Especially not someone who had saved his life. He had decided what to do then and there, no matter the consequences.
“If you need a place to stay, you can stay here. So just don’t worry about it. You can have my futon, I’ll sleep on the couch.” He saw that the woman was about to object when he waved it away. “I don’t mind. Go ahead. But first you’ll need a name.” They sat there thinking when Henry thought of a name. It truly came from nowhere and he wondered why he thought of it. “How about, Jen?”
She nodded; her name would from then on be Jen. She would live in his apartment. She would cook and clean for herself and would be able to live there as long as she liked.
Now for the hard part, explaining her to the other tenants and all his colleagues. He almost immediately thought of the most cliché solution. She was a cousin whose house had burned down and needed a place to stay. That’d have to work.
Henry looked over to where she had sat just moments ago and found she had moved to the kitchen area. Quite quickly actually. Strange for someone who had suffered injuries like she did. He walked over and saw her looking in the fridge. “Hungry?” he joked.
“I feel like I haven’t eaten in over a thousand years,” she groaned. “Do you have anything to else to eat?”
“Well there’s a turkey and some ham in there.” She got up, holding both the turkey and an entire ham.
“You sure I can have some?” she asked innocently.
“Positive. Go ahead and eat your fill.” He'd regret that decision. She sat down at the table. She instantly started eating ravenously. Henry actually had to avoid some flying pieces of ham that had been jettisoned from the table. Holy… wow was all Henry could think at this point. That’s when his own hunger started to get to him. His stomach rumbled loud enough that even Jen could hear it. She stopped eating. She turned around, some ham hanging from her mouth. She grabbed half of the ham and offered it to him with surprising strength.
“Go ahead,” he lied, “I’m not really hungry.”
She turned back around and started to consume large amounts of ham and turkey once more. He looked in the fridge and found some pizza from the other day. It was still good so he had a slice. No sooner had he started his first bite than he heard a loud thud on the floor. He turned around to find Jen unconscious on the floor. He ran over, pizza still in hand.
He shook her with his free hand and listened closely for signs of breathing. She then started snoring. She… was just asleep? He shook his head and dragged her over to the futon. He gently placed her on it and covered her up. She looked so peaceful in her sleep. He ate his pizza and attempted to walked over to the couch and fall on it. Unfortunately because of the enormous amount of stress that the last three hours had placed on his body he fell over on the floor before he reached the couch. He passed out again.
When he next woke he found himself warm, with something firm pressed against his body. He opened his eyes and saw Jen’s face inches away from his own. He almost panicked and tried to move but she had her arm around him. One wrong move and it would be a very awkward awakening. She placed her arms around his head and pulled him toward her breasts. This was going to end badly for him. After a very awkward thirty seconds of holding his breath, he broke free of her grasp and managed to flip onto his side. The worst had passed. She stirred slightly and started moving violently, like she was having a bad dream. He sighed and tried to stand when she grabbed his leg. As he stood there he wondered what was going to happen to him when she woke.
He noticed tears in her eyes. Her grip got tighter as the tears continued to flow. He looked at her, what possibly could make her cry? She pulled down and he fell to the floor, in the same position as earlier, inches away from her face. She woke slowly. He was worried now.
She blushed intensely and got to her feet almost immediately. She walked over to the table. That’s when he noticed that she was wearing one of his oversized shirts. He got up and walked to the kitchen. He looked at the clock on the stove. It was almost time for him to get ready for work. He figured he’d call in sick today. A lot had happened and he just wanted to stay home.
“Want any breakfast?” he called from the fridge. “We’ve got bacon, eggs, how about some waffles?”
She shook her head. She was sitting at the table, still blushing. That was pretty awkward. He walked over to the table holding a bowl of cereal. He sat down and started to eat. When he was done he told her a warm shower would calm her nerves.
“I… don’t know how to use a shower,” she admitted, ashamed.
“Well,” Henry stammered, “you turn the knobs to your desired temperature, c for cold and h for hot. Then you get undressed and step in. It’s just like a bath only standing up. Okay?”
She nodded. She walked over to him and hugged him. She went to his room and found the bathroom. She pointed in inquisitively. Henry nodded and she walked in. He heard the sound of running water and sat on the couch. He started watching TV and waited for about half an hour before the water stopped. Jen stepped out and walked into the living room. Henry noticed she was wearing her other outfit. Her old one. He stopped watching TV and told her he’d need to make a phone call. He called the hospital and said he’d need to take the day off due to family issues.
He took a shower and walked into the living room in his blue button-up tee and some jeans. He told her they were going to do some clothes shopping for her. He walked her out and locked the door. They had almost gotten out of the apartment building when one of the other tenants he knew took notice of them.
“Hey, Henry,” the stubby man exclaimed, “who’s your lady friend?”
“She’s my cousin,” Henry lied, “her house burned down and she’s staying with me.”
“Aw, man,” he sighed. “I thought it went deeper than that. Oh well. Maybe she'd like to go out with me some time. How about it toots?” She punched him on the top of the head so hard the man fell to the floor. “See ya!” And with that short stubby man ran, or sort of a hobbled run, away.
Henry and Jen exited the building and walked down to the mall. He told her to pick any store she wanted and any clothes. He knew he’d regret that decision. She went to all the clothing stores and bought lots of outfits. She needed more than that one set of clothes. She then went to the art stores and bought Japanese paintings and murals. Then at the bookstore she bought some historical fiction books based in Japan and some samurai books.
The day ended with them at the food court, and three of Henry’s cards maxed out. He sighed; this was a bad idea. She found some ice cream parlor and got a strawberry ice cream cone. They exited the mall with so much stuff Henry’s entire upper body was invisible to the naked eye from the front. He had to walk backwards to get to his apartment building. When he got in the hallway he placed the stuff down and unlocked the door, and made several trips back and forth to get all the purchases in his home. It was a long day.
He took the stuff in and straightened out his back. He had never carried that much stuff before from any store. Jen looked really happy though. It was all worth it in the end. He took her to his room and let her try on all her new clothes. She came out wearing a yellow skirt and a black and blue top. Henry thought she looked stunning but smartly said nothing. What he wanted to say would probably get him the same response as his neighbor who actually hid when they came down the hall. He sat on the couch and looked at one of the books he had bought. One was a book about famous samurai and shinobi throughout history. He flipped through the pages absently and suddenly stopped at one, he dropped the book into his lap.
There in the picture, was a woman who looked exactly like Jen. He figured it was just a coincidence but something inside him said otherwise. That’s impossible though! Isn’t it? He didn’t know what to believe. Finally Jen looked over his shoulder and her eyes widened. That proved it! This woman was alive over 1100 years ago, and was now in his living room! He looked at the picture. There she was wearing the traditional samurai armor and holding a katana with both hands.
Henry looked up at her. Her pupils were dilated and an expression of shock was visible on her face. Obviously this was news to her as well. But how? Henry asked. How is it that she is over 1100 years old? Shouldn’t she be dirt by now?
“This,” Henry began, “is impossible. The resemblance is exact, far too exact for her to be an ancestor. I don’t assume you knew anything about this, did you?” Jen shook her head. “Didn’t think so. We’ll have to figure this out, but not now. This is all new and impossible to interpret at the current moment. Try to go to sleep, OK?”
What Henry said was true. It was already dark out; the day had gone by so quickly. And now the only way to get anything done was to try and dream about it. When Henry needed to understand anything, the best he could do was dream and it would always come to him. Maybe that would be the case this time.
In Henry’s fitful sleep there were many things that could be true but no solid conclusions. The first theory was that she died and somehow had been reawakened with no memory of her life. Another was that she had been trapped in ice and preserved and that a rapid defrosting caused her long-term memory to be severed. Both theories had no scientific grounding and neither was deemed possible, but somehow this ancient samurai slept in his living room. It seemed blasphemous, but it had happened.
After waking up for the third time in six hours Henry finally gave up trying to sleep. Then he remembered something, the three men who had attacked them merely a day ago. What was their connection to her? Were they mere thugs who were killing or raping people for the rush? Or were they somehow related to the whole situation? Something was brewing and Henry was caught right in the middle of it. What’s going to happen to me now? Henry didn’t have the slightest clue.
He knew nothing good would come out of having her around but she had nowhere else to go and required his help. He'd always been called a softy. Guess they were right. But is it so wrong to be kind to other people? This was nothing but a nightmare from which he would never escape. Well the torments await me; he resigned to himself, whatever torments they could possibly be.
He looked outside, dawn was breaking and it was time to go to work. He got up, ate his breakfast and took a shower. He was almost out the door when he heard a struggle behind him. He turned around as he was greeted with the barrel of a pistol pointed directly at him merely inches away.
“What the-?” that was all Henry manged to let loose as a monstrously large man jabbed him in the gut with incredible force. All the air that lay inside Henry's body at that moment flew out of him in a painful gust. He managed to turn his head up slightly to see Jen being stuffed into a bag when an enormous force nearly crushed his head. The last thought that went through his head was him crying out Jen's name and wishing he could help her. He finally passed out from the pressure of the man's boot on his temple and all went black.
Henry tried to rise but an overwhelming pain rushed over his entire body as he lay there helpless. Unable to speak, move, or even soil his pants properly, he lay there like a lifeless doll tossed aside by a child who became bored of him. Overwhelming agony and depression washed over him like a tidal wave on a beach. He could do nothing. He could not move or even call for help. Help. Something he couldn't give Jen when she needed it most. When she was taken from him.
He tried to sob but that made the agony even harder to endure. He waited for death's sweet kiss and his fate's unsatisfying end. He wanted to die. Maybe then he'd see Jen again someday. Would she hate him? Would she despise his uselessness? That made his everlasting depression even harder to endure. He fell back into unconsciousness. This time he dreamed.

A giant white woman stood before him in an endless black. Why do you give up? Henry realized she spoke to him. What can I do? I'm useless the way I am! She spoke again. You are far from useless young one. He tried to conceive the concept. Then why couldn't I help her?! She spoke in a tone worthy of a goddess, Somethings must be lost in order to be found. Not everything in life will be handed to you so simply, you must go to find it again and reclaim it. Such is the way of the universal order. He couldn't believe that. Then why must it be that way? Why must the fates be so unforgiving and cruel? Why did they take her from me?! He nearly fell to his knees if he would've had something to fall on. At the moment he was just sort of floating in an endless space unable to move. Why must it all hurt so much? Why do all you divinities torment human souls this way? A new question came to his mind. What can I do to help her? Give me a straight answer or I swear you are going to love being undying so much more and not even the fates will be able to help you. She smile. This is what I wanted to hear. I give you a gift so that you may reclaim what you have lost and right the universe. Things are not always as simple as you think my son.

Henry woke with a start. Was that all a dream? He pondered. He felt his body healing and something heating up in his hand. He opened his hand to find a white stone. Instinctively he held it close to his heart when the impossible was realized. Again. An infinite white light consumed him and he rose to his feet feeling extraordinary power coursing throughout his body. As he did the light sucked itself into his body.
He rose into the air and looked upon his new body. He was clad in a white robe with golden edges. His hair was the purest of white while his eyes were a swirling rainbow of colors. He felt so strong and understanding. He had been given power beyond realization. He looked inside himself and saw all of his new powers and abilities. He saw where Jen was and in an instant he was there. Two guards turned their weapons on him while his eyes glowed as blue as lightning. The soldiers were instantly electrified, charred remains where their bodies once were.
Henry entered the room where Jen was being held. The man who had knocked Henry out was standing over her, it didn't look like he had been very gentle with his torture. Jen's beautiful face was caked with blood and covered in bruises with her arms and legs chained to a wall. The man looked back at Henry, terrified. Henry's eyes turned black as night and the man was ripped to shreds from the inside. His body fell to the floor, his eye sockets empty.
Henry hovered over to Jen who cringed in fear. Henry reverted to his human form, he had never seen Jen so scared. He never wanted to see her this scared ever again. He destroyed the chains holding her to the wall. “It's me, Jen,” he said in a gentle, reassuring tone. “I'll never let them hurt you again.”
He held her close to his body, her own still shaking with fear. “Promise me one thing, Henry,” she said in a soft and scared voice.
“Anything, my love.”
“Promise me you'll always hold me the way you do now. Even if the world comes to an end around us, never let go... please.”
“I swear by all that I know and all that I do not. All that is and ever was and shall be.” He held her closer to him as he breathed her presence in. “I will always love you, protect you, and be with you until the day all we know is gone. Nothing will ever bring me apart from you.”
“I love you, Henry.”
“And I you, Jen.” They were back at Henry's apartment. He approached her. “Do you know why those men were after you?”
“I don't have any idea. They kept asking me about some crystal key. I didn't know what they were talking about.”
“I do. You know the reason we found your picture in the book?” She shook her head slowly. “Because recently you suffered injury causing you to forget your past. You have lived 1100 years. The realization came to me moments ago. You were infused with a key made of pure diamond in the year 867 A.D. That's why you've lived so long, the crystal grants eternity to its host. You came across it and it became one with you. Now you walk in eternity and cannot die.”
This information poured over Jen systematically. She couldn't take in all this at once. It seemed too unreal to her. But it was all very real. And it was happening right now.
“Why me?” she asked.
“Fate has an awful habit of causing human souls pain. I think their just doing it for fun now. Remind me to mortally wound them when this is all over.”
Jen laughed pure and innocently. He loved that laugh of hers. He loved everything about her and would never allow anything to hurt her. My love is everlasting and never we shall part. Little did he know that just by thinking that he had challenged destiny herself and this would put him to the ultimate test.
He walked over to her and held her in his arms. Something didn't seem right. For one he could not sense anything mystic about her. Strange and utterly impossible. Then again the impossible seemed to be the norm nowadays. He was living proof of that.
Another thing was that no other breathing souls should know about the key's existence. It had never appeared in mortal legend or mythology. So how did those thugs know about it and her? It was all shrouded in mystery. But now he didn't care. All there was, is, and ever shall be was Jen. Her presence alone was intoxicating and made him almost high.
“Nope, wait,” he joked, “never mind it is making me high. That wall is a rainbow of hippie psychedelic colors. Wow. Jen I think being around you has made me drunk.”
He laughed and she laughed with him. This was his life. This is his dream. And this shall be his future. Happiness he had never felt before washed over him. Simply intoxicating.
“Henry,” Jen mumbled once their laughter had subsided. “I have a question for you.”
“And I always have an answer. It just may not always be the right answer.”
“Are all the people in this time as kind as you?”
“Not by a long shot my love. In fact kindness is a minority nowadays.”
“So not much has changed since my time. Society wise anyway.” She turned over to the futon. “I think we should get some rest. You have the futon tonight I'll sleep on the couch.”
“We can't have that my darling,” he scolded her. “We can share the futon if you like. Besides you've had an extremely rough day...” and with that he fell face first into the floor, frozen like a statue. “Woo that was a doozy!” he said springing right back up. “Wonder what could've caused that. Eh! Who cares? Let's get some shuteye.”
And on that note they slept peacefully that night in their futon. If only the next day would be so peaceful. If they only knew the terrors that await them the next morning.