"Minta," his tone was so humble, so pitiful that none of them could connect him with the man who had busily issued orders and planned expeditions so naturally.

At the sight of him her eyes immediately widened and she took an automatic step backward. As he caught her one arm her body trembled and shook, the flower fell to the ground.

"Stay with them in the caves," he implored, "I will die if you come to any harm."

Sayid then turned to Walt, the young boy stopped his games with his dog straightaway when the ex-soldier walked up with a very somber expression. He guessed rightly that a semi office was to be assigned to him.

"Will you help me, Walt?" seeing the child's eager nod Sayid smiled so slightly. "Do you know how asthmatic people behave when they have an attack?" Another nod. "Minta have asthma, if she have any attacks then will you tell me immediately?"

"Aye, aye Captain." Walt answered with a smart salute.

As Sayid returned the salute to humor the child, Michael noticed the wedding ring on Sayid's finger, so they were husband and wife. Having suffered a failed marriage he easily realized the relationship between Sayid and Minta.

Yet he could not fully understand Minta's actions as her husband was being to tender and loving to her, unlike Jin and Sun. It was clear that Sayid restrained himself from touching his wife as she feared him, but what was it that caused this?

Even though Michael was not really close to Sayid, he wanted to save their marriage out of the fact that his own marriage had failed.

"Sayid, I can help." Michael offered.

"No, you will not be able to help me unless you can somehow erase the past away." The Iraqi man said bitterly, glancing down at his hands. "And I don't blame her one bit."

"Can you not talk to her? Maybe Sun or Jin…"

"She is American!" Sayid interrupted angrily. "English is her first language.

"Look Michael," he said softly, "A week ago Minta had a nervous breakdown because of me, and since that day she simply stopped talking."

"So she understands every word we have said about her?" Michael finally said, after a long lapse of silence. "I am sorry but I thought she was Korean as she looked rather oriental, a bit like Sun."

The other man shrugged. "I don't even know whether she is still in this world sometimes, the way she stares vacantly. As for your other question, her parents are Jewish immigrants from Russia. But Minta herself is American."

He turned around and walked out of the cave, his face downcast. Minta remained motionless, but at a closer look, Michael saw that her hands were grasping her necklace tightly.

Flashback

Minta laid on the hospital bed, her dark hair spread on the white pillow like stains. Her left hand was not even hidden, the many scars crisscrossed themselves into ugly knots, some were barely visible while others were swollen, and the latest still bore traces of blood.

"Sayid, I mean sir!" at the sight of him her originally bitter face lit up due to a radiant smile, which aroused a strange sensation in the body of her visitor.

Bending down Sayid gave her a gentle and chaste kiss on her forehead before he placed a bunch of white lilies onto her lap. Pulling a chair out, he sat right beside the bed and gently examined her hands. His touch was very cool and soft.

"Just call me Sayid, outside the classroom I am not your teacher. I can not believe that you have been doing this since you were twelve." He finally said. "And how many times? You turned seventeen a week ago and…"

"Why shouldn't I?" Minta whispered, tears squeezing out to rest on her lashes. "My parents both hate me, even now they refuse to see me, leaving only a note saying I deserve to go to the mental institution. Your lilies are the only gift I have received. Then Mandy, the symbol of perfection for my parents, my own twin sister loath me as I am a loner while she is 'Miss Popular'. You wouldn't know…Sayid, the loneness. My parents started to ignore me when I was only ten, I truly ceased to exist before them.

"I knocked on the door and they would be deaf, I spoke and they would turn the other way. On my twelfth birthday I went home to find the table piled with presents, but they all said: Mandy, not Minta. This was then my gift to myself, slitting my wrist…"

Awkwardly he wrapped his arms around her, muttering soothingly to her. He understood the enveloping loneness too well as he was always alone. Orphaned at only eight he took the responsibility of the family onto his shoulders and became the distant fatherly figure to all his siblings. Then as a soldier… a solder learned to be lonely on his first day.

"What do you plan to do now? After…"

"I am not going back to school, I never wanted to return in the first place. I have a job offer, I am going to be a potter!" Minta said excitedly, smiling again. "I will probably rent some tiny room and live on bread to save money but Sayid, I'll be doing the thing I love best. I think I'll be happy."

"You won't be coming back to school then…" Sayid said almost sadly. He would certainly miss her presence, the girl who sat in the little corner by herself and would ignore the rest of the class, just as they disregarded her. But whenever he called her name he would see a shy smile forming, the simple relief of a person being kind to her.

"Minta, since I will no longer be your teacher, maybe I can see you more?" he stuttered. "I must tell you that I have strong emotions for you. When I saw you so cold and stiff on the stretcher, and when you laid with blood flowing out of your wrist, I honestly thought that my heart would stop. I have never felt such sadness in my life before."

"You are the only person who actually cares for me, Sayid. Of course I want to be with you. I'll even live with you if you don't mind."