Emotion

Raphael had lead a strange life. There had been a disconnect in his brain when he was born, something not lining up quite right, and it had taken many years before it was fully understood what had happened. As a newborn he never cried, or smiled, or laughed. He looked around with his big, curious eyes, and he took things in, but he never quite seemed to react. His parents feared for him, and the doctors had speculated that he may have had a form of autism, but as he grew older the other signs did not evolve.

He was mostly a mild-mannered boy, skirting by most events and generally staying calm while others were excited or panicked. He didn't scream in scary movies or fawn over cute things. He played with friends, but it was hard at times to tell whether or not he was having fun. He knew he was, and he would tell people as such, but if you were watching him from the outside, you never would have guessed.

Raphael did not naturally feel emotions. Not happiness, nor sadness, nor fear or anger. He felt pain. He could think. But when it came to matters of the heart, nothing came to him. Not naturally. But as he grew older, he learned that with his curse came a gift - when willing, he was able to take the emotions from others, to experience them for himself at the expense of it from them. And in time, he learned the value of such a gift, for each transference was singular and temporary, allowing him to relieve them of their pain.

He learned of grief, depression, fear, anxiety, anger. Frequently he was the catalyst for people's recovery, and human emotion to him was little more than pain. But the more he experienced, the more he understood, and he was able to empathize with people. He did not mind helping others. It gave him a feeling of purpose.

But there was one who came to him, a smile on his face, with a different kind of story. A strange man who spoke in vague terms, with a story of forgiveness. The man had searched for a way to give - to give away that which had haunted him in dark times, while others prayed for it to come to them. Unsure of what the man meant, Raphael agreed to help him.

And for the first time, he experienced happiness.