The Tales of Vast

Chapter 10: A Holiday That Hurts More Every Year October 31, 2022

              Life Support. On the day of Halloween, the doctors put Mr. Anderson on life support. They told Iyo, Rory, and Mrs. Anderson that morning when they came back over to visit him. And there was nothing they could do to help him anymore.

             That little sliver of hope they had left disintegrated with those six words: "We are running out of time." And they were right. His lungs failed, and his heart started to go down with it, and before long, it was like 'hoping for their tomorrow' would be in vain, and despite how much people wanted things to remain the same, it couldn't any longer. Rory should have known the day he was admitted to the hospital- no- the day he met Spixter, that soon things would only begin to change more over the course of the next few years.

             If he never met Spixter, things might have stayed the same- Things could have remained just the way they always had been. Maybe his perfect story wouldn't have had to change. 

             But that's silly. It wasn't the pink-haired boy's fault that this town decided to finally grow up. He was just brought into the scene right once the good got worse. And no one was at fault. Rory just felt guilty that he ever let himself get used to the serenity that this town once was.

           Rory slowly buttoned his overcoat with shaky hands, eyes glued to the ebony-haired friend through the mirror. Iyo was sitting on the edge of Rory's bed, eyes puffy and tearful from crying the few minutes prior. He was dressed in a dark turtle neck, adorned with a button-up of the same color. His makeup was done nicely earlier that morning, but he washed it off after crying. Today, of all days, the two were supposed to be dressed in costumes for Halloween. Iyo had paired together two nice outfits for them both to wear, but after hearing the worsening news of Mr. Anderson, Iyo didn't think he had the strength to have fun or try to be happy this holiday.

            Rory wasn't sure he would either. He tried to remain hopeful after the first news came out, but it seemed everything was going downhill so fast that before he could catch his breath, things went from shaky to 'the end'. Mrs. Anderson told Rory that morning that she was going to pull the plug on her spouse, as she stated, "Couldn't bear to allow him to endure this agony any longer than he already has." As grim as it was, Rory agreed. And reluctantly, so did Iyo. 

            He wasn't there when it happened, but Rei received a phone call the following two hours, from Mrs. Anderson, crying, telling him that Reginald had died. Reginald was finally at peace. 

             Rory hadn't cried in public or in front of the town since it all began, Iyo noticed. But that didn't mean that after he got home late on most nights, after having worked long hours tending to Iyo, Mrs. Anderson, and the others who were in mourning, he didn't cry himself to sleep. He'd lay there in bed and finally let himself crash. Because nothing was ok anymore. And even more, he hated how emotional this made him. His story was crumbling before his eyes, and he wasn't ready for "The End"

             It wasn't just because he was watching his friends and family fall apart, or because he was losing someone so close to him, but also that nothing was the same anymore. Not even Iyo, the one thing he thought he could trust to never change. 

            It was like one moment Mulsberry Peak was ok, and calm, then he closed his eyes, and everything changed. And sure, change was okay and healthy, but what if things changed too fast? They would get out of control and this town wouldn't be the same it used to be.

            Reginald was dead, and there was nothing anyone could do to help, or to fix it. And worse? Rory never said goodbye. 

              He would have to live with that guilt for the rest of his life. And there was nothing he could do to stop it.