“How come nobody is ever happy?”

“Happy? I rarely speak of such a thing,” said Harold, his icy voice matching his fierce green eyes. He adjusted the collar of his cloak and cleared his throat.

“But — whatever do you mean?” Ellie replied, looking rather astonished. “Is this what the world has come to? Happiness is forbidden?”

Once again, Harold’s mild expression of bewilderment was not shown across his face. He was like a soldier preparing for battle, stone faced, stood straight.

“Well, yes, Ellie...” he said, trailing off. “Is this not what it was like before?”

“No,” she mumbled. “Not at all.”

Harold sighed heavily. Once, these two had been the greatest of friends. Now nothing but darkness.

When Harold had been captured many years ago, it took Ellie what felt like a lifetime to find him. He had been brainwashed, everyone had been brainwashed, to believe that this was the correct reality. That this was the life to live.

“How long was I gone for?” Ellie’s voice faded quickly.

“I don’t know,” he replied quietly. “A few years, I suppose.”

“But how? How wasn’t I affected? How didn’t I know?” She said quickly, her throat closing up.

“You were travelling,” said Harold. “You did not stay in one place long enough to abide by their rules.”

Ellie’s soft blue eyes lowered down her face. She paused, her fingers intertwined, and scoffed unpleasantly.

“It does seem a shame,” he said, his voice not revealing any empathy whatsoever. “That we are going to be stuck in a world with such misery.”

Ellie took one look at Harold. His black hat placed neatly upon his combed chestnut hair, his cloak flowing in the mild wind, and the fierce green eyes that used to be happy.

“Now, now,” he said. “It will change. Sooner or later.”