PA 3.5: End of a Tail

Blooming After Wilting

Heads up! This has absolutely nothing to do with PA! It was just a piece a friend requested, and I decided to publish it after they said it was really good. 

The premise might be hard to follow, so all you need to know is that this is from the POV of the "void queen," someone tasked with helping the dead come to terms with their lot in life, no matter how long it takes them, one by one, so that they can pass on.

With that said, how would such a person deal with the loneliness of knowing they'd outlast anyone they would ever become friends with? And that no matter what, the other person will eventually leave, even if it takes a million years or more. With that said, tell me if you enjoy it, and let me know about any issues you might have with it. Sorry if you expected something PA-related!

---
















---

"You're welcome."

The stardust flittered through her hands, tickling her digits and leaving a cold breeze along her arms and neck- where they had embraced.

"..."

The twinkling sparkles disappeared into the night, dancing amongst the stars until it became them. She didn't need to look up to know this, but she watched anyway- numbness allowing a single bead to form in her eye before she blinked it away.

She sighed through her nose, rubbing her hand against her face and scrubbing off the remnant sensations across her body. She didn't have much until the next would arrive, no time to linger.

Her eyes drifted from the sky and towards the rocky ground, pebbles floating just above the larger shard of rock she had made her home on. She walked from the more solitary perch of her "parting shard," ignoring the broken down rope bridge, and tensing up her legs. Amid a step, she let the void float her over to the adjacent rock, skipping along them as she approached the largest of them- the one her house was atop.

The archipelago amidst the void had grown further from itself slowly but surely, making the pebbles in the distance less and less navigable towards. More problematically, it stretched the bridges she'd use, eventually tearing them and requiring that the rope somehow be mended. Aside from the occasional floating island that allowed her to scavenge parts from dead trees or bushes, she only had the archipelago to work with, providing limited resources- resources that she commonly used to stop the shards from floating too far away to be seen. It sucked, but it was easier with help.

She appreciated her home as it came within eyesight- a brick and mortar cobbling of stones, wood, and thatch. It wasn't anything spectacular, had one floor, but it was hers. She hung her old sunhat up on the bit of rock that jutted out next to the doorway, huffing as she entered. She took the kettle from her oven top, poured it into a mug, then placed it back.

The hot minty fluid danced along her tongue, nearly scalding it. The bits of leaf floating around in it irked her, irritating her throat and ruining the flavour, but it was all she had to drink at the moment, and the weights hooked into her prevented her from getting anything else.

She turned her head, staring out of the wooden frame of her window and trying to look for the twinkling dust amongst the heavens that were her only light.

"Gone. Just like that," she muttered from the back of her throat. It came out raspy, her lungs threatening to seize from the melancholy drowning her throat. It made her shut her eyes and pluck the cushion from under herself, burying her chest into it and trying to nuzzle up against the small thing. The tactile experience was a tiny bit of comfort as the spiralling began.

"Maybe..." she waited, letting the words fall into place as her eyes peered open towards the parting shard. "Maybe I should go with him."

She felt her eyes wrinkled from exhaustion, the urge to bury herself in bed and cry until the soft abyss drowned all the abandonment swimming around in her consciousness. It never got easier, no matter what she did, or what she told herself- the fact was that they were always ready to leave her, no matter how long it took for them to get to that point.

"Please don't leave me," she softly spoke to her pillow, "I need someone to be with me."

A crackling light screamed from the heavens, thunder accompanying the blasting cacophony of a star breaking into the void, filling it with a brilliant light from above. She squinted, watching it in the distance, maybe half an hour away- enough time to take a bath and become presentable.

She was glad whatever force created this place had been merciful enough to grant her hot water. It was such a basic amenity, but without it, she wouldn't have had the soothing warmth to sap at the chill that refused to leave her core. She felt it ebb away as the simple pleasures of life reminded her of why she was here- who she was. This was her duty; it was that simple.

"Void queen..." she mumbled into the surface of the water, the words bubbling before she drew in air through her nose. "Maybe I should call myself something else."

She searched, picking apart the lexicon of every language she knew, trying to find something but being held back by the wound in her heart. She had loved the ring of her title, but now it had been ruined- it felt like parading a corpse, a reminder of better times. But, then, was it so wrong that the times had happened? Was it so wrong that, eventually, they would end? She sunk further into the water, shutting her eyes and blowing a huff of steam from her nose, and waited for her lungs to start hurting.

When she floated her head back to the surface for air, she stayed there, whelmed by the flowing of emotion, taunted by the spirit descending from the stars just outside of her window. She didn't want to meet them. She wanted to stay here, to know that her endlessly long life meant to linger on the past instead of hope for a better future, but she couldn't do that.

He wouldn't want her to.

She towelled herself off, picked out something a bit more dark in tone and casual to wear, and then went about tidying her abode. She shooed the lingering particles of rock and dust out of her front door, wiped off her tea set, loaded the stove with more wood and kindling. She silently looked forward to eating something sweet, then ground some sugar, lemongrass, and lavender tea to hopefully take the edge off of the craving.

The star was close now, only a few minutes before it'd touch down. From the silhouette, she could tell it was someone small- maybe even a child or teenager. The thought of the bud being snipped before it could bloom hurt her as it usually did, but she took solace in the knowledge that things would change for them, and she could be the guardian that the poor soul needed.

She unfurled the picnic cloth, placed down the porcelain tea set, and went about pouring herself a cup. She blew on it this time, then sipped it. She couldn't do this. It was just like the last time- down to the last detail. Why should she care for them if they'd just leave her, alone with a stranger. Out of the trillions of souls, each one had been so different, but they went all the same, even when they promised otherwise.

The star was so close now, slowing from its light-bending rapid descent and dimming in its shine. The bright light of the star broke off, shattering into specks of dust that rained around her, dancing around her body, acting as a weight on her shoulders. She felt his arms around her, leaning against her back, hugging her collar. Really hard, she tried to beat back the welling in her chest but couldn't stop a few tears from squeezing through, making her clutch at the tablecloth in pain. She missed the moments with him, with everyone she had spent lifetimes with. He had told her to hold on, love other people as she had loved him, and not let the bad outdo the good. There would be times like those again, and although she wasn't sure if the loss was worth the memories, she told herself that it was just her duty to help the lost, as they would help her.

The twinkling light broke like a mirror, scattering off and leaving the unbound form of the child to land peacefully and softly amongst the sparse grass that dotted her yard. It startled, then opened its eyes and stared at her.

"Hey sweetheart,

"I know you must be very confused, but it'll be okay,

"My name's Canna, do you wanna tell me yours?"