I do not own CSI
It was three in the afternoon when Carmen and Jason were sitting on a park bench admiring a pond. The trees rustled gently, and the wind blew Carmen's hair lightly. It was quiet beside nature's symphony. Ducks quacked in the pond, and other pedestrians could be faintly heard in the distance. Carmen seemed happy taking the time to watch nature.
"I like it here in this park. It's so relaxing, don't you agree?"
Jason looked down at his jeans. "My parents died in a car accident when I was six. Not too long ago my brother Alex got gunned down by the police. This guy named Nick Stokes killed him. Alex was the only family I had. I remember when our parents died he was eight. He was never the same since then. We were put into foster care for a while.
"Then Alex started getting involved with gangs. I thought Alex knew what he was doing, so I followed him. Soon we found the Red Armageddon. Since they are all about the end of the world I figured that we all die eventually—that it doesn't matter what we do here. We were the ones who were going to speed it up.
"I hate Stokes for killing my brother. I've tried blowing him up. That almost got me the killed."
Carmen waited for Jason to say more.
When he didn't, she quietly answered. "It does matter if we die here. In this world, we have different rules than the next. Because we have death, we have compassion. We care more for things and people. In the next world, you don't have death, but more wisdom.
"Your parents and brother still care about you. Even though they're gone, they still love you and would want you to continue living. As much as it hurts, you have to let go of them. In this world, we are here to find ourselves, help others find themselves, and pass down our knowledge to our future generations before we go. Hating the people who hurt us unintentionally stops us from finishing what we're here for."
"Stokes was only doing his job," Jason confessed. "It's not his fault. I think it was mine."
"Life must go on."
Carmen thought Jason was crying beside her. He sniffed and wiped his eyes with the collar of his T-shirt. She scooted closer beside him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. For the next few minutes Jason cried quietly. Carmen rocked him in her arms tenderly.
On their way back to the motel they didn't speak through the car ride or when they were back in the room. Carmen knew that she had to give Jason space. His dignity and pride might have been bruised by letting his true colors show. While she took a shower, Jason built more grenades. He loaded the pistol with more rounds stashed in his backpack. After Carmen was done Jason took a shower.
When he was done with his shower they both went to bed. Still, nothing was said. Carmen could never imagine not having a family. If she didn't have her dad, grandparents or friends Carmen would be all alone. Jason was all alone. His life had been rough.
He would only get better if he could let go of the past. Even though Carmen told Jason to let go, it's not a guarantee he will. She only hoped he'd understand. It may have been too late to get Jason back on track.
Jason, on the other hand had his eyes opened that day. He knew what was holding him back. After unearthing the happiness he had hidden away, he wanted to let go. Because he was still holding his grief, and trying to hide it away, he hid his happiness too. That day he managed to let go.