From the private diaries of Father Xavier Perez
May 7, 2075
Nina,
He’s trusted me with his name, the Psy soldier. I won’t write it here—if my letters are ever found, I don’t want to betray my friend.
I know you must be thinking that this is surely a double cross, that he’ll betray me. I thought the same until I realized he had no reason to approach me, or to want me with him. I’m no one, a broken fragment of a lost village. At the time he and I first met, I was a drunk, a fool who was more hindrance than help.
No, my new friend had no reason to take me into his confidence except that he saw I needed a mission, a reason for being. In giving it to me, he has given me more than he’ll ever know. For the first time in an eternity, I feel like Xavier again. I feel like the man I was before the day murder stained our village and I saw you jump into the water.
At times, I even glimpse the rare flame of hope.
Your Xavier