“Do you have schizophrenia?” Doctor Carson Silvis asks worriedly. Like a father would ask a son except hes asking if you hear voices.

“I do not.” Zonoah lies. Hands on his hips, at the ready. At the ready to lie. “I’m asking for a friend.”

Doctor Carson Silvis is sorting paperwork. Blue folders for the blue file cabinet, red folders for the red file cabinet, and et cetera. “Well I hope this friend of yours considers profession help and prescriptions.”

‘Why did I think this time things would be different.’ Zonoah let out a groan. As if he’d given up.

Carson Silvis caught his groan. “Excuse me?” Carson Silvis turns from his paperwork, his turn to put his hands on his hips.

“Heh. Nothing doctor, you just keep sorting your files, I’ll be out of your hair.”

“Call me if you need medical attention. Yes this goes...” Carson Silvis in the very thick of paperwork.

The hallway now empty as the medical facility is busy in their offices. Zonoah Luckner goes in the hallway, the smile that he had been keeping fading away. After walking a fair distance away. He turns, and its as if hes facing you. Yes, you the audience. You the omniscient reader.

“There no help for people like us who hear voices. Lets say you get help, and your also part of the group of people it doesn’t work on. It’s injections of god knows what their putting in your bloodstream, prescriptions of who knows what and very little financial aid. You might as well work for a living, get a career. You will spend your life ignoring or in rare cases letting them guide you and guiding others. But you have to be smart about it. Schizophrenia can ruin your life where you have great episodes of voices talking to you, telling you to do things like murder. You should not listen to your voices, and never take a life. I recommend telling no one, trusting no one unless your prophetic and have the brethren behind you.”

Zonoah raises his right hand where his thumb is sideways, the rest of his fingers are closed. Then shifts his hand part up and down as if unsure where to point his thumb. Then overall he gives you the thumbs up and smiles. “Good luck and have fun.”

The air shifts around Zonoah, as if something dark is following him.

‘You’ll never be free from us sacrifice.’ The Dark say.

Zonoah continues down hall away from you, but you follow to see what hes doing.

Zonoah goes to meet Tina Luckner in their two bedroom, one bath. The love of his life. The ray of light to his ever growing darkness. The voices getting worst by the day. Zonoah needed all the love he could get. ‘We should get a German Shepard’ Zonoah had a fruitful thought. He could pretty much do whatever he wanted on the private military base. Space doggo on Mars, just think about it.

Tina was in the bathroom when she heard Zonoah come in with her enhanced hearing. Before she couldn’t sense for the life of her. Always focused on doing something, trying always to do something. That was Tina Luckner.

Zonoah raided the fridge as he waited in kitchen/living room. He saw desert. ‘Cake on Mars? What a rarity this is.’

Tina was humming as she got out of the bathroom. Her hands still glistening from the little water on her hands. Not fully dried from washing her hands.

“Hi honey, spotted the surprise did you?” Tina moved to kiss Zonoah passionately. Hands wraped around his torso in a bear-like hug.

Zonoah received, and gave some. Giving some love to Tina, hitting the usual spots in Tina’s mouth with his tongue.

“Mmm! Not tonight you horn dog you!” Tina started pushing away from Zonoah’s embrace.

That gave Zonoah a grin from ear to ear. “How about we have some dinner?” Zonoah was famished.

“Okay, let me whip something up. Some meat maybe for our bones.” Tina undecided about what to cook. Huh, what should she cook?

Zonoah sat down in the kitchen/living room area to talk about various things with Tina with her divided attention.

“How have the United Nation’s water shipments from Earth to Mars been?” Zonoah asked a random question coming to mind.

“Oh heck if I know honey. They’re always shipping water from the Earth’s ocean water to Mars after they fixed the atmosphere. On top of the water they mine from the north and south poles. It’s quite a bit of work.”

After a period of silence from Zonoah, a period of thinking of another topic. Under the bustle of Tina’s cooking. Her humming and singing, so divine. They were still into each other after all these years. Ten years their relationship stood the test of time. If they weren’t into each other after one year, they sure as heck weren’t gonna last ten. Their resolve to be together being tested. Their relationship blooming into the light that is ten years.

Zonoah was getting old. ‘I’m thirty-five now’ Zonoah asked what was on his mind for awhile. “Say do you want to play video games after dinner.”

“You still haven’t danced with me in awhile M.r. Zo.no.ah.” Annunciating every syllable.

“You still haven’t finished Bright souls III.” Mister Zonoah Luckner returned.

“I know! I Know! I’ll finish The Watchers boss eventually.” Tina was greatly flustered.

They ended up eating dinner over video games. While Tina played Bright Souls III, she got eliminated, quite a bit. Zonoah laughed ‘This is heaven.’