Epilogue
Third person view
The elderly man
took a final glance around the pale hospital room, straining to hear for
footsteps. At last, he relaxed, lying back against the pillow of the hospital
bed.
“They’ve gone for
now,” his dry voice declared to the apparently empty room. “You can show
yourself.”
The man did not
once flinch as a blue haze materialised and sparked into a human-like form at
his bedside. The figure sat, keeping his large wings folded tightly.
“You know what,
Kev, man?” the old man began, giving the newcomer a lopsided grin. “After so
many years, you still look as if you haven’t aged a day.”
“Don’t let that
fool you, brother,” the Soul Creature replied. “I may not look it, but I’m old…
even more so than you.”
“Just a tired old
man like me now, are you?”
“Yes,” Kevin
replied, sighing heavily. “My soul is getting too weary for this.”
The aged human
reached out, patting the spirit’s hand reassuringly.
“I know you haven’t
been quite the same since Kristin passed on.”
“No, but then
again, you haven’t been the same since you lost your own wife. Lucky for you,
you get to go naturally. I can’t die… not alone…”
“Well, whenever you
turn up, we’ll all be waiting for you up there.”
“There won’t be any
need to wait, bro. Once you go…” Kevin paused, sighing sadly, “…I’ll be
following very soon. Even if it means killing myself.”
The elderly human
tapped Kevin’s arm urgently. He looked up, curious at his sudden request for
some more attention.
“I don’t think
that’d be best.” He told the weary Soul Creature. “No point dying with a heavy
heart. You should go see her, talk to her first. It’ll cheer you up.”
“Her?” Kevin’s face
flashed first with confusion and then with bewildered surprise. “You knew?”
“The first few
months gave it away: you seemed so emotionally drained and distressed after she
left…”
Trailing off, the
man left a silence filled with tense uncertainty, in which Kevin was too
ashamed to comment. The old man softened once more.
“Just because you
cared for both of them doesn’t mean you were unfaithful to Kristin. It’s
nothing to be shameful over.”
“I’m sorry I never
said anything… I just… I wasn’t sure you’d understand…”
“I told you it’s
nothing, Kevin.”
The spirit nodded,
rubbing his eyes tiredly, refusing to speak further without prompt.
“So how long has it
been since you last spoke to Solin?”
“Oh… must be about
40 years now.”
“You haven’t spoken
with her since she first left?”
“No,” Kevin
answered in distress. “I had enough trouble trying to figure out how to avoid
choosing one of them over the other. The main reason I stayed so willingly on
Earth was because it was what she wanted me to do.”
“You should go and
see her, if its been that long.”
“Well, I did say
I’d go visit sometime…”
“You’d better keep
your word to her, Kev. I know you feel strongly about that kind of thing. You
certainly kept your promise to me, even though it took 16 years.”
Kevin smiled
gently, agreeing with his human friend. He carefully placed his weak hand back
over the other, seeing his eyelids droop. He was over 80 years old now, and he
was the last one left other than him. One by one, the others had succumbed to
the slow decay of age and time. Over the recent years, after the death of his
wife, he had slowly grown weary of life. Now he was dying too. And within his
own soul, he felt the same way. In a way, they were just the same – weary old
men, with little left to hold on to. The human slowly yawned and closed his
heavy lids completely. Yet, as Kevin sat loyally by his bedside, he could feel
his fluctuating Aversion getting weaker, and finally draining away completely
into the embrace of the beckoning afterlife.
Kevin patted the
still hand kindly.
“Goodbye, Brian.”
Solin’s point of
view
“Councillor Solin,”
the middle-aged Valedron turned his attention to me. “What is your view on this
matter?”
All eyes of the
Galactic Council of Empires fixed on me, awaiting my answer. I slowly stood,
contemplating my words carefully. After taking a deep breath, I began.
“Admiral Flyer,
honourable delegates; it is my firm belief that no progress can be made while
grudges and tension exist between the Dragon and Valedron Empires. I propose a
project to eliminate this barrier of hatred and misunderstanding.”
“This is a
farfetched proposal, Councillor,” the Admiral commented, sceptically frowning
at me. “The enmity is great between the Empires – it is no secret.”
“It is possible –
it has been done before.” I replied sternly. “Has the Soul Warrior taught us
nothing? A century ago, no mortal would even speak with a Soul Creature.”
I let my eyes roam
across the assembly, and many eyes refused to meet my pitying gaze. However,
the Valedron Empire Admiral moved forwards to speak.
“No one has seen or
heard from the Soul Warrior in 4 decades,” the reptile stated.
I desperately tried
to hide the twinge of pain I felt at that comment, closing my eyes momentarily.
“Besides, this is a
mortal matter. I do not see why the spirits of Karnak must be involved in
this.”
“We are part of
this universe as well, Admiral. We have the right to have our say. The details
of the proposal are compiled in my report.”
After a few more
statements by other officials, I noticed a young Small Gecko ensign sneaky over
to Flyer and whisper something to him. The Admiral nodded once… twice… glanced
over at me, then nodded once more.
Flyer’s turn to
speak came, and he hopped onto the stand confidently.
“I believe we have
covered all issues on the agenda. I urge you all to review the assigned reports
over the next few Suns. I call this Council to an end.”
Within ten minutes,
the delegates had all filed out amid the low hum of personal discussions and
statements being made among small groups of officials. Admiral Flyer approached
me and we both bowed respectfully.
“Solin, my
assistant tells me an ambassador of some sort wishes to speak with you,” Flyer
informed me.
“Did this
ambassador give their name?” I quizzed.
“Apparently not.”
“Very well,” I
sighed, not wanting to discuss politics any further. “I assume this ambassador
is waiting in one of the lobby rooms?”
“Of course, my
ensign left them in Office 15.”
“Thank you,
Admiral.”
“Just Flyer, to my
friends,” the Valedron grinned. “I’ll be onboard the flagship if you need me.”
I said my
farewells, and headed for the lobby of the government building. As one of the
Councillors of Karnak, it was my job to sort out political issues among the
three authorities. However, like many creatures, I didn’t take much of a liking
to politics.
Things were all so
much simpler during Fotuf’s time… and when he was around.
I carefully opened
the door to the lobby office, expecting to see a smartly dressed reptile
awaiting me, greeting me with practised dignity, and appearing all too fake to
my keen senses. Yet, there was no one.
I blinked.
The office was
empty.
Ensigns – the word
sprung into my mind. They had a habit of playing practical jokes. My now angry
glare drifted up to the security camera. There was probably a bunch of
rebellious young officers up in security control having a great laugh at me
right then. I spun about, storming for the door, when a change in the room
halted me. The air suddenly became… thicker, less empty… as if someone had just
entered the room. The familiar flicker of recognition that I had failed to
erase over 40 years returned in full force, as I half turned to face the other
end of the small room.
“Told you I’d drop
by sometime.”
Gratefully watching
the figure that had appeared in the room with me, I felt the corners of my
mouth curl up into a soft smile.
The End
***
