The loud siren-like buzz woke Natalie up. She drew in a sharp breath but something seemed strange. Like her lungs weren’t working…oh yes…she had herself frozen. Had it been one hundred years already? She turned her head, she couldn’t see out of the frosted glass tube she was suspended in. Everything looked blue from the biogel that had been keeping her clean and alive. She heard a sound like someone turning on a walkie talkie. “Don’t try to move just yet Miss Grey.” I sounded like an official voice, probably a scientist. “We’re going to start draining the biogel now.”
            Natalie felt the tube jump, the gel moving about like jello. She put her arms out to steady herself against the walls of the tube until the swaying stopped. She was looking down now, a small drain much like what you would find in a bathtub back in the year two thousand and eight. She watched the fluid drain out, in a few minutes her feet were touching the floor of the tube. But she couldn’t stand, but the biogel kept her up, keeping her from collapsing. She tried to wiggle her fingers, nothing, was she paralyzed? Her heart was pounding, and her head was hurting.
            “Now Miss Grey we’re going to shower you to rinse off any residue.” The voice from the intercom said. After a few seconds a warm mist fell over Natalie, who was now slumped in the bottom of the tube. She managed to get her mouth open just a bit, some of the water seeped down into her throat. It was the first drink of water she’d had in one hundred years. “We are now going to open the tube.” A hissing sound ensued; Natalie couldn’t move her head so she lifted her eyes. The top of the tube split open, and then the whole thing started going down, the opening at the top got closer to her.
            Before it was all the way down some of the scientists and doctors were already in the room, they lifted her up onto a gurney before the tube fully receded into the floor. One of the attending placed a blanket over her; she had been naked when she went to sleep so she guessed she was still naked now. As they wheeled her down the hall, she could see rows and rows and rows of frosted glass tubes, there must have been hundreds of them.

            Natalie was resting now in another part of the facility, the Hospital wing. She had eaten some food, and was sitting up in bed humming to herself. Her voice was still scratchy, so she had been told to drink lots of fluids. After a while the Doctor came in to see her. “How are you feeling Miss Grey?”
            “I’m feeling much stronger now; I can walk like I could before.” Natalie said sitting up straighter.
            “That’s wonderful. You’ve mad a very fast recovery.” The doctor said flipping through the chart hung at the end of the bed. At least some things hadn’t changed. “If you keep this up there’s no reason you shouldn’t be released tomorrow. Oh, and a case worker is going to be coming to see you this afternoon.”
            Natalie nodded. She remembered something about that that was explained to her before she was frozen. You get a case worker to help you find a place to live and a job, but right now Natalie just wanted to go back to sleep.
            Natalie woke sometime after; a woman in a crisp starched suit was sitting in the only available chair. Her black hair was pulled back so tight it looked like her eyes might pop out of her head. “Ah, Miss Grey, you’re awake.” Natalie started to speak but was interrupted by the case worker. “I am Crystal, and I will be your case worker. I have spoken with the doctor and he says you will be released at eleven a.m. tomorrow morning. I have got an apartment rented for you and a job in data entry. It’s within walking distance of the apartment. Any questions?”
            “Umm,” Natalie wasn’t exactly sure what to say. “No.”
            “Good.” Crystal stood up and handed Natalie a business card. “Call me tomorrow after you sign out and I’ll make arrangements for you to get a ride to your apartment where I will meet you to discuss your paperwork and bank balance.”
            “Okay.” Natalie said. Crystal turned around and left, the clicking of her heels fading into the background. “What a crab.” Natalie said turning the card over in her hands. It was well designed, Aden would have loved it. Aden…

            Natalie was sitting outside the Cryogenics lab waiting on her taxi. She had been discharged out of the hospital and had phoned Crystal. Soon the taxi pulled up. It was unlike any taxi she had ever seen, it was like a sports car, and expensive sports car. The future wasn’t flying cars and aliens, it was like the past, only more, modern. The driver got out. He was a young man, and very handsome. He looked familiar to her, but that couldn’t be. “Miss Grey?”
            “Yes,” Natalie stood up. The young man shook her hand and picked up her single suitcase. “I guess you know where we’re going?”
            “Yes ma’am.” He had put her suitcase in the trunk and opened a door for her. She got in the rear seat. It was all leather, and very supple. The young man got in the driver seat and started the taxi. The drive was so smooth you felt like you were sitting still. “So,” The young man asked. “Why did you freeze yourself?”
            “I was running away. I wanted a new start.” Natalie watched the unfamiliar buildings pass by as she spoke.
            “Abusive husband?”
            “No.”
            “Boyfriend?”
            “No. He was wonderful.” Natalie said, her voice taking on a dreamlike quality.
            “Then what were you running away from?” The young man turned the car down a new street, Brice Avenue.
            “I went through a bout of depression, we had a big fight, and I was thinking he’d be better off without me. So I thought about killing myself, but decided to freeze myself instead.” Had she really just said that to a stranger?
            “What was his name? If you don’t mind my asking.” The boy glanced up in the rearview mirror at her.
            “Aden. Aden Quinn.” The taxi jerked to a halt. Natalie was thrust forward into her seatbelt. The young man whipped around and glared at her.
            “That’s not funny!” He shouted.
            Natalie became frightened. “What do you mean?”
            “How do you know Aden Quinn?” The boy asked forcefully.
            “He was my boyfriend, why? Do you know him?”
            “Aden Quinn is my grandfather.” The boy turned around and lurched the cab forward. Natalie grabbed onto the door to steady herself, she was staring into the rearview mirror. The boy’s face was stern, his brow furrowed a bit, that’s why he looked familiar…he looked like Aden!
            They arrived at the apartment. The boy got out of the cab and flung Natalie’s door open with such force she thought he might tear it off. “Get out.” Natalie did as she was told. He threw open the trunk and took her bag and shoved it into her arms. “Apartment 5A.” He said nothing else, just got in the cab and drove off.
            A confused Natalie walked into the building, she asked the receptionist for directions to 5A. The receptionist gave her a key and told her to go to the third floor, and to the left. She boarded the elevator and took the hall to the left. 1A, 2A, 3A, 4A, and 5A. Natalie put the key in the door and turned the lock. It was simply furnished, with everything she had put into storage the day she had herself frozen. She sat on the couch and waited. Crystal would be here soon.
            About thirty minutes later a knock on the door. Natalie looked through the peep-hole. It was Crystal, she opened the door. “Hello Miss Grey.” She stepped inside and led Natalie into the living room. “Would you like coffee or something Crystal?”
            “No, I’m here on business.” She put a folder on the table and laid out some forms. “I just need you to sign these.” Natalie took each form and read it over before signing. They were just saying that she came out of the cryo-state fine. Only in more words and pages. She signed each form and handed them back to Crystal who added them to the folder. “Now for your bank balance.” She dug out Natalie’s savings account booklet from inside the folder and handed it to her. Natalie’s jaw dropped when she saw the balance, Crystal’s talking faded into the background. She had almost two million dollars! “Crystal…”
            “What?”
            “Where did all this money come from?”
            “You had six hundred in the account with one hundred years worth of interest. Now as I was saying, we managed to get you a job at Kremco, you will be the new secretary, you start in two weeks.” Crystal handed Natalie another card, “Here’s the address. Will there be anything else?”
            “No. I think I can manage.” Natalie showed Crystal to the door, and when she was down the hall, Natalie let out a shriek! She was a millionaire! And tired, Natalie went to the back of the apartment and found the bedroom. It had a full size bed with the quilts and things she had put into storage. She wondered if her clothes were there also. She opened the drawers, and the closet, everything was there. She slipped into some warm fuzzy pajamas, and curled up. She was soon asleep.

            Natalie woke up with the sun shining through her window. She got up and went over to it. The city seemed to expand out forever, like it covered the whole planet. She decided to make some coffee. She went into the kitchen and made a pot. It seemed everything she liked was there, like someone had gotten into her head and set everything up just like she wanted.
            Natalie sipped her coffee and decided to turn on the television. There was nothing on. But the day was going to turn interesting. There was a knock at the door. Natalie opened it, and the boy from the taxi service was standing there. “Can I help you?”
            The boy cleared his throat and handed her a walled. Her wallet. “You left it in my cab. I went to see my grandmother yesterday. I showed her your picture, she recognized you.”
            “Who is your grandmother?” Natalie took the wallet from him and dropped it on the side table by the door.
            “Her name is Cathy Quinn, or she was a Phipps when you knew her.”
            Natalie recognized the name immediately. She stepped aside, “Why don’t you come in?”
            The boy stepped inside and followed Natalie to the kitchen. She poured him a cup of coffee and a fresh one for herself. The boy spoke first. “I asked her if she knew you, she said you were my grandfather’s girlfriend before they got married.”
            “She was a classmate of Aden’s, your grandfather’s that is.” Natalie spun her cup on the marble countertop. So, he’d moved on at least.
            “She made me promise to bring you to see her. She wants to tell you something.” Natalie wasn’t sure it was a good idea.
            “Well?” The boy interrupted her thoughts.
            “I suppose I can, but I wouldn’t know what to say to her. Let me change first.” Natalie went and put on something casual, a t-shirt and a pair of jeans. She told the boy she was ready and the two left together. They rode in his personal car this time, and the drive was much more pleasant. On the drive she found out his name was Zephyr.
            Soon they arrived at a nursing home, where Cathy was living on feeding tubes and assisted life support. This was to say she was awake, but a machine was keeping her alive. Natalie followed Zephyr down the maze of halls until he came to a door with only one name by it, Cathy Quinn. He knocked, a weak “Yes?” came from the other side. “Gram, it’s me Zephyr.” He opened the door. “I brought the lady from yesterday.”
            “Well, then come in!” The weak voice said. Natalie stepped into the room behind Zephyr. Cathy was a shriveled old woman, with tubes coming out and going in every place imaginable. “Natalie Grey. I never thought I would ever see you again. Now I can finally die.”
            “I’m sorry for…” Natalie started but Cathy interrupted her.
“No, talking just listening. Aden and I got married not long after you disappeared. We all thought you had died. He was heartbroken. About ten years later we found out that you had frozen yourself, he was a little relieved and mad at the same time.” Cathy stopped for a fit of coughing. Zephyr poured her a cup of water, which she sipped before she continued. “We mortgaged the house, filed all the necessary paperwork, and he froze himself too.”
            Natalie gasped, Aden was alive? “What?”
            Cathy’s face took on a somber look. “I was nothing more than a substitute. Not long after we married I realized that you were the only woman he loved. His instructions were that when you were unfrozen, I was to give the order, and have him unfrozen too. And, in the event I lived long enough, I will grant him a divorce so the two of you can be together.”
            Natalie could feel the tears welling up in her eyes. She watched Zephyr as he held his grandmother’s shriveled bony hand. “I could never break up someone’s marriage…” Cathy interrupted her again.
            “Weren’t you listening? The only woman he ever loved was you. It’s you he wants, not me. Besides, what could I give him now? But I’ve already phoned the Cryogenics lab, they are going to unfreeze him today.” Cathy looked at her grandson. “Drive the lady please, and call the lawyer and tell him to bring the papers over so I can sign them.”
            Zephyr kissed his grandmother on the cheek. “I will gram.” He looked at Natalie. “Let’s go.”
            Natalie was in a daze, she followed Zephyr out to his car. She got in and together they drove back to the cryogenics lab. Where her past was waiting for her and her heart was torn to bits inside.
            It was a short time they arrived back at the lab. Zephyr and Natalie walked into the foyer; a representative was waiting for them. “Mr. Quinn, Miss Grey, we’ve been waiting for you.” The gentleman led them into a small room with a monitor and two chairs in it; on the screen was a shot of one of those frosted tubes. “You can watch here, and then when the customer is stable in the hospital you will be allowed to see him.” Natalie shakily sat in one of the empty chairs, Zephyr sat down next to her. They watched as the tube started to descend.
            Some people in while lab coats came in with a gurney, but the man was already standing up in the tube, there was sound, “Where is she?” He asked his voice raspy.
            “Mr. Quinn, you need to go to the hospital first.” One of the female attendants told him.
            “I want to see Nat!” He shouted as he stumbled forward trying to walk. Natalie gasped as he started to fall, but the attendants caught him and got him on the gurney. “Mr. Quinn, she is here with your grandson and you will be permitted to see them after you are strong enough.”
            He stopped fighting them and laid still. They threw a blanket over him and wheeled him off screen. Natalie started crying, she was at a loss of what to do. She still loved Aden, but she was all confused!

            It was the next day when Natalie and Zephyr were told they could see Aden. The representative from yesterday said to follow him and he would show them to Aden’s room. They had stayed the night in that small room, both Natalie and Zephyr were stiff from sleeping in the chairs. Natalie followed a step behind Zephyr, she was shaking from fear, anticipation, and a mish-mash of all her other emotions. She called that feeling “magenta,” because she hated that color.
            They arrived at Aden’s room, the representative tapped gently on the door. “Mr. Quinn?”
            “Yes?” A familiar voice said from the other side of the door.
            “Your guests are here to see you.”
            “Okay.” They could hear Aden shuffling around. The representative stepped aside. Natalie looked at Zephyr. “You go in. He’s never known me, and it’s clearly you he wants to see.”
            “But…” Natalie started to protest.
            Zephyr held up his hand to silence her. “I have to go get the papers from the lawyer and stuff anyhow. Have a good time.” He held out his hand to Natalie, she took it and the two shook hands and parted.
            “He has made an exceptionally fast recovery; it’s usually a few days before any strength is gained back.” The representative told her. “He should be okay to go home tomorrow if he keeps going this way.” He pushed the door open the rest of the way, and Natalie stepped into the room. She froze, he was staring her right in the face. He was hooked to heart monitors, blood pressure monitors, and something else Natalie didn’t recognize. He held out a steady hand to her.
            Natalie walked over to him and sat down in the chair next to the bed; she took his hand and held it between both of hers. Neither of them spoke for a long time, until Aden broke the silence. “Why did you leave me?"
            “We had that fight, and I thought you would be better off without me. So I had myself frozen.” Natalie said still holding Aden’s hand.
            “Stand up.” Aden said.
            Natalie looked at him puzzled, he was staring into her eyes. So she stood, and when she did Aden grabbed her waist and hugged her to him. He nuzzled Natalie’s stomach as she put her arms around his shoulders. “I wish you had never left. I died that day.” Aden said, his voice muffled from speaking into Natalie’s belly.
            Natalie started crying, tears fell down her cheeks onto Aden’s soft blonde hair. She started to run her fingers through it; it was so soft, just like she remembered. What would her life have been like if she’d just gone home? Another thought struck her, he was still married to Cathy, Natalie pushed out of his embrace and backed away from him. “You’re still married.”
            “I got married because I thought having a woman there would fill the void you left in me. Cathy and I got along, but it wasn’t like having you. I didn’t love her, and I would always love you. Besides, we’re getting a divorce.”
            Natalie sat back down in the chair. “I can’t be mad at you, I blame myself. I never should have left you.” Natalie took Aden’s hand again, this time she brought it to her lips and kissed his knuckles gently. “Have you spoken to your case worker yet?”
            Aden sighed, “Yes, I have no money, no job, and no place to stay."
            “After your divorce, how about staying with me?”
            “You have enough money to do that?”
            Natalie smiled; she hadn’t even spent any of her money yet. “I have enough for the both of us for a long time.”
            “Okay. I’m going to the nursing home to see Cathy tomorrow. We’ll sign the papers there.” Aden said yawning. Natalie fluffed his pillow and said she’d stay with him while he went to sleep.

            The next morning Aden was released from the hospital, Zephyr came to pick them up. He introduced himself to Aden as his grandson, even though they were both about the same age. They all got into the car and Natalie spoke first. “How old were you when you got frozen?” She asked Aden.
            “I was thirty.”
            Natalie giggled. “So now you are older than me. I was twenty two.”
            They drove to the nursing home where Cathy was staying. They went inside the building and to Cathy’s room. She greeted Aden warmly, hugging and kissing him. “Anyone have a pen?” Cathy asked holding up her hand. A man is a suit who Natalie assumed was a lawyer handed Cathy a pen. He pointed out to her where to sign, she scrawled out her signature. “Okay Aden, you are free.”
            Aden embraced Cathy, he held her for a little while. “I will come see you again, thank you Cathy.” He kissed her.
            Natalie couldn’t help but smile; it seemed she was getting the new beginning she’d wanted after all. The two left the nursing home together. Natalie called them a cab; they would have to buy a car soon. The driver wasn’t Zephyr this time, but a woman in her mid forties. She loaded Aden’s meager possessions he’d put in storage before he was frozen into the sporty looking cab’s trunk.
            Natalie gave the driver her address and she drove them there without speaking. Natalie and Aden sat arm in arm in the backseat of the cab, she watched Aden looking out the window. He must have felt the same way she did seeing the city for the first time. They arrived at the apartment building; it was already late in the afternoon. Natalie informed the receptionist to put Aden on her lease; he would be living with her.
            He followed her up to the apartment with his suitcase; he dropped it just inside the door. He didn’t say anything about the apartment, or the view, he just turned and looked at Natalie. “What now?” She asked.
            “I don’t know all, but all I do know is that I want to lie down in a good bed and go to sleep.” Aden made his way toward the back of the apartment. Natalie followed. When she got there Aden had found the bedroom and was sitting on the edge of the bed minus his shirt and shoes. He was taking off his socks. “You coming to bed too?” He stuffed his socks into his shoes.
            “I suppose so,” She slid her shoes off and took off her jeans. Aden was already stretched out on his back in the bed pulling the sheet up under his chin. Natalie got in next to him and rested her head on his shoulder. Aden put his arm around Natalie and hugged her close. She smiled and closed her eyes, tomorrow was going to be a new day.
            “I love you Nat.”
            “I love you too Aden.”