Escaping the filth, the grunge and grime, was almost impossible in the Bleeding Heart. For as many as were proud to have it as their home, there were just as many - if not more - who treated it as the wastes. The home for rejects.
And this reflected in how they treated their environment. In how the Bleeding Heart ended up appearing.
Getting away was difficult, always. But if you knew where to look, where to go, it wasn't exactly impossible.
As the cold air flew in from the shutters as night fell, Rowan sat upon the top of a water tower. Specifically, it was a tower that filtered water from the Bright Ward, reprocessed it and distributed it to homes within the Bleeding Heart -- but that was neither here nor there.
The cold, thin metal that made up the roofing of the tower would be the seat upon which Rowan spent many a sleepless night. This was his place of reflection, from where he processed the many tumultuous, overbearing, and damned near crippling emotions he'd been made to experience in recent years. The shock, the awe, the pain -- both mental and physical -- all of it had simply culminated in ways that consistently made him feel as though he might break.
And yet, he couldn't.
Each time his mind was plagued with thoughts of biting the bullet and ending it all, he closed his eyes and saw the face of his brother staring back at him through a sea of blood and debris.
"You don't get to take the easy way out, Rowan," Reynauld said as he sat beside his brother on that water tower.
"You're not here... you don't get to say that to me," Rowan said as he picked up a rock he brought up here with his mind, and lobbed it out toward the waters below.
"No, I'm not. But am I wrong?" Reynauld smiled, and Rowan frowned.
The younger of the two turned, looking his older brother in the eye... horrified. And yet, when he gazed upon his brother's visage, it was not the same crippled, mangled body he was used to seeing.
"I get it... you feel guilty," Reynauld said with a shrug.
"How can I not? You're dead because of me." Rowan punched the metal beneath himself.
"Hey, relax -- no. It's not because of you. That's what you never understood."
Rowan looked up, brow furrowed, and lips pulled down into a frown.
"Bullshit! I'm the one who couldn't control it! I'm the one who put everyone at risk -- and hurt you!"
Tears flowed down the man's cheeks, pulling away at the soot that lined them after a long shift in the yards.
"No, man... it's not like that, and it never has been," Reynauld said, putting a hand on Rowan's shoulder. The younger brother protested, pushing the arm away, but Reynauld wouldn't take no for an answer. He pulled Rowan in for a hug, and it was like the dam broke.
Rowan began to sob. Quite violently. His fingers gripped tight for his brother's body, wishing he could really feel him there one more time.
"This pain you're feeling... that's the knife of never letting go, Rowan. And it's got you. It's got you good," Reynauld said, as he ran a hand through his brother's hair and simply held him close.
"You gotta learn to live, man... and not for me. You gotta live for you."
"I... can't," Rowan protested, as his fingers kept gripping for his brother's back, as if he was terrified he might lose him in any moment.
"You can, and you will. Sooner or later. Don't worry, Rowe... I never blamed you, and even on the other side, I never will."
He smiled, and Rowan looked up, confused.
"Rey..."
"I know. I gotta go, man. But I'll be watching you. The world's gonna remember your name, and I'll be cheering you on the entire time."
"What do you -- you can't go... Rey, wait- please--"
Rowan reached out for his brother, pulling him in for a hug, but his arms went through his brother's body.
"That's my time, Rowe. Like I said... gotta go. But I'll always be right here."
Reynauld put his index finger to Rowan's heart, and then vanished.
"R-Rey! REYNAULD! PLEASE!"
Rowan looked frantically about himself, hoping to catch sight of his brother, but he could find nothing.
He closed his eyes, wondering what he might see...
... and it was nothing but empty darkness.
