The Man with the Devil's Tongue (A Prologue to the End of the World and Some Other Things)

Epilogue

Back in America, April tried her best to get along with the Gatekeepers she partnered up with, but all attempts at forging lasting partnerships failed to work out. Upon April's own request, she soon became one of the few Gatekeepers who regularly operated alone in the field.

During a dry spell of paranormal activity, April had the chance to return to Notre Dame and look up old friends.

April met up with her friends Abby and Josh at a family diner. April silently questioned why she couldn't meet Abby at her place, but she understood when she sat down at her friend's table.

Abby and Josh were uncomfortable during the entire lunch. Josh regarded April with suspicious hostility, while Abby seemed to be watching the door, urgent to get away.

April tried to ignore it. Her friends knew she was sort of different and she had dropped out quite suddenly. She secretly hoped the campus gossip had created wild rumors about her departure. When she learned what the rumors actually said, though, April wished that she had gone completely unnoticed by all involved.

Josh leaned forward, nearly dragging his shirt through his chili fries he had never touched. He whispered, "Where's Lime?"

April feigned ignorance. "How should I know?"

"You both disappeared the very same day," Josh said. "And I saw the way you were looking at him that night at the bar."

Abby put her hand on April's. "You ran away together, right?" Abby asked, forcing a smile. "That's all it is."

April shook her head. "Um, no. I didn't go anywhere with him."

"But you know what happened to him," Josh said.

"I don't like your tone, Josh," April said.

Josh nodded. "Lime's parents are looking for him everywhere. It's a missing person's case. The students don't talk about it much, because Lime was Lime. But I know he had your attention that night." He shrugged, ate a fry. "Then you both up and leave. It's interesting, April."

Abby said, "Talk to me, April."

"I don't know what happened to Lime," April said.

"Then what happened to you?" Josh asked. "Answer that much, anyway. How does a girl looking so desperately for her future decide to suddenly abandon it one day?"

"We're your friends, April," Abby said. She smiled again, looking even more forced than before. "We have your best interests at heart, but you have to help us understand."

April sighed.

There was no way to make them understand. She couldn't tell them the truth and she wasn't good at creating believable lies. She compromised.

"I met a man," April said.

Abby's mood brightened. Her smile became more genuine. She tilted her head to the side like a puppy examining some unexpected treat held an arm's length away.

"Really?" Josh asked, his tone different. He remained skeptical, but gone was the antagonism. He ate more fries.

"Who is he?" Abby asked excitedly.

"His name's Jameson," April said. "He's a little older than me, but we hit it off really well." She shrugged and quietly added, "I see something in him. He's special to me in a way a guy never was before."

Abby couldn't contain herself; that smile grew and grew. "I'm so happy for you," she said. She poked her boyfriend in the ribs. "He thought something was wrong, but I knew we could trust in you."

Josh nodded with a sideways smirk.

"Jameson's got a job lined up for me," April said. "I wasn't getting what I wanted out of college and I figured I shouldn't ignore opportunity's incessant knocking. If it doesn't work out, there's nothing that says I can't go back to school later on."

"I'm so happy for you," Abby said again.

Josh said, "Yeah."

April smiled and lunch resumed without conflict. She answered their questions as best she could, giving them the truth with just a sprinkling of imagination on top. She presented Jameson Talbot as a gentleman with a winning personality. She made it sound like she was in love.

April left the diner and her friends with a feeling of sadness, believing with a high level of certainty that she would never see them again.

She tried to cling to the words of her new mentor Haagenti, who said that she would meet friends elsewhere in life. She would know that kind of kinship she had felt with Talbot once more, however short-lived it had been. One day, the demon said, she would be whole.

April went to her old dorm room. Her roommate wasn't there but the door was left unlocked. She let herself in.

April's side of the room remained vacant and dull. She would be replaced soon enough, but she was kind of happy that she hadn't been just yet.

She sat down at the edge of her old bed. It had no sheets on it and there were no pillows, but she found it easy to lay back and rest in its embrace, regardless.

April was startled to realize that she was not alone in the room-that the spirit of her dead boyfriend Brett had come to visit her once again.

While Brett was gray as a stone and translucent, April recognized that he wore his university colors in the form of a jacket and cap. He was smiling at her.

"It's good to see you again," Brett said.

April put her elbow behind her to sit up a bit. "I thought you would've gone on ahead by now."

"We didn't get a chance to say a proper good bye," Brett said.

"You stayed behind for me?"

Brett shrugged like even he realized it was a dumb idea.

"You didn't have to do that," April said. "I was happy thinking you'd left this place behind."

"It's hard to leave," Brett said.

"I know."

"I tried to say bye to my mom and dad," Brett said. "They never heard a word. I guess I needed someone to hear me. You hear me." He smiled. "You always heard me."

April got up from the bed. She wanted to reach out to touch Brett, but knew her hands would pass right through him.

She hovered her hand next to Brett's face, caressing air. She leaned forward and kissed the gray vision before her.

"Good bye, Brett," April said.

He took a deep breath. "Bye."

April watched as he became more and more translucent. Soon all that was left were dust particles in some vague shape of a man. April let out a breath and the dust dispersed, flying in every imaginable direction.

She lied back down on the bed and curled her knees up to her chest.

April closed her eyes. And though she did not sleep, she allowed herself to dream.

END