The city streets were not quiet, but they also weren't loud. 

The children who used to hang around by the convenience store down the street were all gone. A strange vibe filled the air as Vela strolled down the sidewalk. Vela seemed to be in a weakened state, not just from the cold but from the distant memories that flooded through her mind - of all the fallen. 

In war... there was not much innocence to look at. 

The removal of Chicago left a painful mark on the world, even for those who authorised it. Vela was very sad about it, yet she only wished their kins would appear to these shores again to continue their parents legacy. She began to remember all the people that were finally laid to rest in their death beds. A true testimony to the saying 'you live by the gun, you die by the gun.' Thats how it always was. Vela started to wonder what would happen in the following days or weeks regarding the major gap left in Chicago. Of course, new organisations would occupy the land - but the question was who would do it. 

The magnitude of despair in the people's eyes were so apparent when Vela had attended some of the funerals. Her red, puffy eyes were pointed down to the ground as she couldn't bring herself to really look at anybody. Everyone wore black clothes, heads were down as they wept silently to the thought of their loved one, and there were even some people that Vela knew would turn bitter after all this. Grief picked at her insides when she finally returned home, but she decided to take a walk outside. Before she could even take another step, Vela felt a thick pool of liquid run down her cheek. Oh, how she'd miss everyone. She didn't want to point out any names, for the fear she would leave someone out, but everyone who made a contribution to Chicago would be sorely missed. 

The steady tears stopped very suddenly as she found her way back to the family headquarters. She looked at everyone that surrounded her and began to feel sentimental, but happy. Even through her bruised insides, her immobile face and empty soul - Vela found solace in her family's presence. 

*** 

Many say that when you die, you either go to heaven or hell. Some say you get reincarnated. Others say you fall into an eternal coma, while some believe they turn into ghosts. Everyone had their saying. But also, what happens for the people - who are still alive? How do they recover from the trauma? What is a life after a loved one has passed? Better yet, death shouldn't be feared. Whether it comes as a relief or surprise, we should continue to move forward and remember to stay strong. Emotional pain has a purpose - to teach us to withstand our ground even if unexpected occurrences come our way. 

RIP To All The Fallen

It was a very different morning than the mornings had been for a long time. The air was cold, the relative humidity was low, the absolute humidity could hardly be lower. Sitting on the balcony of his second floor apartment, Immunity, a plaid folded around him, was slowly smoking a cigarette, as he noticed masses of sad people wandering around; heading to funeral homes, coming back from different ones.
Some seemed to be broken beyond repair, probably because they had been involved in the late war, others held their chins up high, probably because they had been involved in the late war as well. What all seemed to have in common was that they lost family or friends. It were sad times for most, yet these were inevitable in the underworld. For a moment, he felt Vela was looking up towards the balcony, but just as Immunity was about to greet her, he noticed she had just been inhaling profoundly as she entered a building on the other side of the road.

Immunity leaned back once more and continued his thoughts. From experience, he knew, these periods often led to changes in the criminal landscape. He himself did not see the need to visit these funerals. For him, the dead were dead. His world was about the living and survivaling the current landscape would be hard enough as it was for him.