My eyes welled up with tears at the sight of them. Hundreds of them, their souls to traumatized to really comprehend what's going on around them. Few were able to walk without assistance, and those who could were helping several others stay up-right. Their clothes were ripped and covered with mud, dirt, ash and any other substance that would cling to them. Hair was messy and like their clothes, coasted with mud and ash. Their faces were gaunt and the loose clothing they wore showed just how skinny and malnourished they truly were. But that wasn't the worst of it. It was the eyes. Some were reflecting exactly what the person was feeling, others were closed off and cold. They showed exactly what they had been through, dull orbs filled with despair and anguish, some showed anger. The cold eyes were like brick walls, they seem unbreakable but will one day crumble under the pressure.

The girl next to me was crying softly, craning her neck to catch a glimpse of the one who we're waiting for. The elderly man standing next to her held onto her hand, squeezing it in a comforting gesture, while he too was watching out for his grandson. A large group stood behind us, the girls crying and their boyfriends comforting while looking out for their fellow team mate. All of us had spent nights crying and mumbling incoherent words, wondering if he was still alive or if he was lying on the ground somewhere breathing his last breath. We had all waited for this moment for what seemed forever. Waiting for the day when we would receive the letter saying that he had been rescued from the planet engulfed in war and was coming home. We celebrated when we heard the news, but then one of the girls, I can't remember who, voiced the question we were all thinking.

Will he be the same?

After that things had become morbid. We sat there, each remembering him, a grandfather grieving over the loss of most of his family, a sister heart broken by what she had seen, a girlfriend worrying for her boyfriend's life, a group of boys wondering what their teammate will be like once he returned and a group of girls worrying over their friend, boyfriends, the wise old man and the young girl who they had only recently met.

A mass of blue hair caught my eye. My breath got caught in my throat and I couldn't move an inch. The familiar man was stumbling beside another, the others arm over his shoulders. The man with blue hair was just like the rest, dirty, injured and looked like he could collapse at any second. The man beside him had blonde hair, though you couldn't almost tell, his hair was that dirty. His feet were dragging behind him and the only thing keeping him up was the arm around his waist. Both stumbled and fell to the ground. The blonde fell to his side and lay on the ground, unmoving. The blue haired man was on his knees, staring at the man in front of him with a blank look on his face. That was when I moved.

I ran forward yelling out his name while I could hear the others yelling out mine. I pushed through the crowd and fell to my knees beside the man who I loved. His sister and grandfather soon caught up and stood beside me. Everyone was calling out his name yet he didn't seem to hear them, he just kept staring at the blonde non-breathing man. I reached out and placed my hand on his cheek. It was so cold. He slowly turned to me and whispered my name. I lost myself then and pulled him into a hug. I could feel his shoulders shake and could hear the quiet sobs escaping from his mouth. I pulled him closer and could feel every one of his ribs. His sister knelt down beside me and put her hand on his back. If he noticed he didn't show it. His hands wrapped themselves into the back of my jacket, needing something to cling to. His head was buried into my shoulder and I could feel his tears soaking through the jacket. He was whispering words, sentences which made no sense as we sat there. I looked up and saw that everyone was in tears, even the most stubborn of our group. Nobody had ever seen anything as heartbreaking as this. He pulled out of the embrace and stared at me.

"Flora"

"Helia"

"I missed you"

"I missed you too" he took my hand and our fingers became entwined. I smile faintly at him and he gave a weak smile in return. It would be a long road to recovery, but we were making progress already. And looking around at the friends who surrounded us, I'm sure we could handle anything else the universe throws at us.