He was cold.So cold.But at least th extreme cold distracted him from the pain he was feeling.He wasnt injured but he wished he was.The more things to distract him from what he was feeling the better.He felt destroyed,vile,broken,disgusted of his own self and rotten.The feeling of his being decaying slowly from inside out amplified his desire for death.Why was he still alive?He felt so alone and miserable in this everlasting darkness and wanted nothing more than to be free of the darkness and th pain.

Suddenly he felt someone approaching.He didnt move from his position in which he was sitting down hugging his knees,although he wasnt sure if he was sitting or floating,hoping that whoever was coming was there to end his suffering.He knew when the mysterious visitor arrived besides him but did nothing.Neither of them did.

A few minutes later the strange man kneeled in front of him and laid his hand on David's knee.Thats when David realised that he wasnt a man.He would recognise the gentle touch of a woman's hand anywhere.That thought was soon accompanied by a vivid image of Linda which created a new wave of grief and sadness that caused him to hug his knees even tighter but the hand never left his knee.

Slowly David made the brave decision of lifting his eyes and seeing the intruder of his loneliness.As he had expected before,before him was a young woman around the age of 35,with blue eyes and brown-blond hair and a gentle look on her face full of worry.David had never seen her before but she seemed to know him.

-Hi,David.Im so glad I finally get to meet you.

David didnt answer but the puzzzled look on his face was enough for an answer

-You dont recognise me?

-No.Should I?

-My name is Chloe.Your brother never told you about me?

-No,he never mentioned you.

Chloe stood up and extended her hand to him with a bittersweet smile on her face.

-Thats unfair because everytime he came to visit me all he would talk about was you.Now,come on,stand up.

-I dont want to.

-We never do but we always must.

For some strange reason David felt that he could trust her so he took her hand and standed on his two feet.Chloe took his hands into hers.

-Listen,David.We dont have much time so you must listen very carefully.This darkness,this numbness,is intoxicating.It paralyses you.If you dont fight your way out of here you will die as you are shallowed by it.

-When will it happen?

-Soon.Very soon.

-It takes too long.

-No.No.You can not give up.

He violently released his hands from her gentle grip

-You have no right to tell me what I can and cannot do.You have no idea what I have benn through.I had suffered things that my family can never know.Especially,Lucifer.

-Why?

-Because he will hate me.All of them will.I would rather die know than go back and be killed by Lucifer's disgusted look when he hears it.

She approached him yet again and very carefully touched his shoulder,a gesture which he did not object.

-I wasnt planning on telling you this much but it seems the situation is more serious than I had initially thought.I know what George did to you.And Johanna knows too.An intern mixed your medical exams with a poor girl's who arrived in the ICU whose husband beat her uncounsious.As you can imagine checking for rape in thes cases in the standard procedure.Well,in the end she did your pulmonary function testing and you…..

Chloe didnt get the chance to finish her sentence before David collapsed and started sobbing which made her think if she had done more harm than good.

-If June knows then it is a matter of time before Lucifer finds out.And he will kill me.

-Lucifer would never harm a hair on your head and wouldnt let anyone hurt you either.Whatever signs of hate,disgust or anger you may see on his face I can assure you that it wont be directed at you.

-You talk like you know him.

-I do.And I know how much he had suffered.He cant bear to live any more pain.You dying will be the final blow.

-You are just exagerating because you want to save me.Lucider is strong.He will be fine without me.Probably even better.He spends most of his everyday life dealing with me in some way.

-Thats a lie and you know it.I can understand how you feel.Wanting to die so badly that you convince yourself that everyone will be better off without you.Thats how I felt when Lorenzo killed my daughter.I lied to everyone else except her father telling them that Trixie had gone abroad to study and I went to see Lorenzo with the intention of making him kill me too.And I succeeded.But when I saw the pain I caused to all the people that loved me and supported me thoughout my life I wished I had fought.Please,dont make the same mistake I did.

-Everyone loves me except Lucifer.For him I am just a burden.

-It seems that you have your brother's incomporable skill at lying to yourself.

-He never said it.For 18 years I never heard him say he loves me.And every time I tried to trick him into saying it,he understood it and he got angry.

Chloe sighed and moved her head from left to right,disappointed

-Learn to hear beyond the words and see beyond his expression to his actions.Lucifer loves you more than his life.Give him a chance to prove it.

-You are trying to convince me to face the greatest pain of my life by telling me that I misjudged Lucifer.You arent a very good physiatrist.

-I am not one at all.I used to be a cop.I am trying to find something that will convince you to fight your way out of here.And quick.I dealt with many painful stories in my career and I can tell you,from expereince, that dying while doubting about the feelings of your loved ones is the worst death imaginable.You know it better than I.You are the Angel Of Death.You are scared.I know you are and there isnt a more natural feeling in the world right now.But dont depart from this world having wronged yourself by treating it as weak and having wronged your family by using them as an excuse to give up and not to fight.

-....How do I get out of here?

-Just take my hand.Darkness has one weakness.If you dont want to stay,you cant stay.Thats why it is so dangerous.Because it convinces you that you want to be there.One last thing before we say goodbye.Tell Lucifer what you feel you need to say when you have the courage.Dont wait for th proper time.Time will never be ideal but courage is never wrong.

David nodded slightly and took her hand, surprisingly with little hesitation,and he suddenly felt a bright light surrounding him.