Had it been days, weeks, months? His grasp of time faltered but one thing was for certain, it felt like an eternity. His body was painfully sore and ached every moment he was conscious. Every so often, he'd be beaten and tortured. He assumed it was to instill a sense of fear so the thought of even fighting back would sound incredulous. But in all honesty, the thought never even crossed his mind. His only concern and worry since being confined to this facility was his father. He smiled as he clung unto the only thing keeping him sane, hope.<br/><br/>"Still smiling, huh? I swear they wheeled you in here smiling and you've been smiling non-stop since you've arrived. It almost makes me feel bad that I might be the one to crush all your dreams." said a voice not far from him. "Well, if you're the one who will destroy my dreams, will you grant me a wish? Let me see you with my own eyes so that I may look upon you and forgive you." he spoke as an awkward silence fell upon the room. Moments passed and he could feel the gentle touch of a soft hand grasp the back of his head and untie the knot that held together his blindfold. As the cloth fell slowly down, his eyes began to adjust and focus in on the figure before him. It was a woman whose hair was tattered and underneath her eyes were dark eye bags. She wore a white lab coat that was buttoned up to her collar. She wore a heart shaped locket dangling from her neck and lay gently between her bosom. Her body, her posture, nearly every detail about her screamed with fatigue. She'd been working non-stop, it seems. Her faint smile transformed into a frown as she held a small syringe upwards. A tear rolled down her eye, "I'm sorry." she whispered beneath her breath as she stabbed the syringe into him. She ran off before he could say anything, slamming the door behind her.<br/><br/>Suddenly, without warning, his arm began to jitter. In the background, he could make out the sounds of chatter but he paid it no heed as his arm would not respond. He struggled to make it still but it was all for naught as his entire body began to convulse. A thousand thoughts raced across his mind, then none, then another thousand, then back to nil. It raced back and forth that he felt as though he were going insane! He was no longer aware of his surroundings despite the voices in the background yelling at one another. His body rocked more violently now, struggling against the restraints. His mouth began to foam as he lost control completely. Tears and blood began to flow from his eyes. His vision began to blur and fade before eventually disappearing as he passed out.<br/><br/>"Am I dead?"<br/><br/>He sat down on the cold floor and looked at the darkness surrounding him. A spotlight shined down upon a figure in the distance. He could not see who it was but as it approached him, his eyes widened in shock.<br/><br/>"Father, did they kill you too?" he asked in disappointment. "No, I just wanted to thank you, son. I'm so sorry. I just wish I could have been a better father for you. That every day we saw each other, that I could've told you I loved you. That this would never have happened had I been a better person.." his father bitterly spoke before gripping his son into a tight hug. "So please, smile and live so that when we see each other again..." his voice began to disappear as he faded away from the mysterious realm.<br/><br/>"Even after the needle, he's still smiling. Geez, he's got quite the spirit. It almost makes me want to puke."