Wishful Dreaming

18: Epilogue

Everything was peaceful.

The sun was high in the sky, a soft breeze was blowing through Mono's hair, and the grass beneath him felt warm and comfortable. Mono felt peaceful, and that fact hasn't changed in awhile.

It's been several years now since he and Seven had found themselves in the forest they now call home. Years after Mono found Seven hidden away in a crazy hunter's basement. Years after he and Seven left together to go on a dangerous adventure that almost got them killed multiple times. Years after Mono faced his own fears and saved Seven. Mono wouldn't change a thing, he was content with the life he had now.

The once small boy had grown quite a bit, becoming more mature with height. He's also come to realize he looked nothing like he would have expected, and perhaps it was because of the way he's lived much healthier than before. His dark brown hair has grown out, though he had cut it recently. He's now able to easily reach fruits that used to hang up high in the trees, his body much taller and his stature wider. It was great, except for the few drawbacks that came with growing up, such as pimples and odor. Mono was embarrassed to admit that he still had a few voice cracks every once in a while. Though, even with all his changes, he still had his big dark brown eyes and kind nature, something that Seven was always fond of.

Seven had grown a lot too, but he was still shorter than Mono, which the other boy had no problem teasing him about. He let his hair grow out more than Mono, but didn't want it too long during the warmer months, meaning it was cut down a bit. Not being nearly as bashful anymore, Seven often sought out some sort of adventure on a daily basis, Mono being happily dragged along.

Those adventures led to finding things, such as an abandoned broken down house, which they fixed up and used as their home, making it their own. It turned out there was another television to be found in there, allowing Mono to use his powers and teleport him and Seven back and forth to the Pale City. The city has changed over the years with the now grown children.

At first, when they returned back after maybe a year, it was still covered in smog and deformed people crawled about trying to survive. They didn't go again for a while, the memories of what happened there still fresh and burned into their mind. Then they plucked up some courage and left again, finding the huge urban place more deserted. Seven insisted that they explore it more now that they were older and it was more safe. Mono only agreed after the other boy brought up that they might find something useful, and because the taller boy couldn't find it in him to say "no" anymore.

It turned out that there were some useful things, such as clothes and medical items. The two teens would return to the city countless times over the next few years, eventually coming up with a map that covered nearly the entire city top to bottom. They knew the places they should avoid, like that one messed up hospital with moving mannequins, the school, and worst of all, the crumbled signal tower sitting in the middle.

They found new places such as a huge mall with tons of clothes to pick from that they never knew could exist, a place where multiple playsets resided, despite the overgrown plants, and a library with a huge selection of books. Seven grew to love the visits he and Mono took to the Pale City, his sense of exploration being fulfilled with every new spot and place they found.

Mono had become somewhat intrigued by what the city held too, especially excited when they had found the library. He would read all the time, sometimes reading out loud when Seven asked him to, both cuddled up on a torn up couch in the renovated house they had. There seemed to be so much the world used to offer before it all went downhill, and although disappointedly Mono knew that he would never see those things, loved experiencing part of it through each and every story. It also taught him and Seven a lot about things that others weren't there to teach them, since they only had each other.