home

search

43 - What are you afraid of?

  There is a hill, there is a barrow, there is a child.

  And there everything else.

  You're back!

  you're BACK you're back

  we knew you'd come back

  And just the same as you were Before

  a Frightened Child

  a child

  at least ONE thing has changed

  what?

  what

  you've realised

  THIS IS WHERE YOU BELONG, after all

  As you should

  As It Should

  always come back

  You've never left.

  never left this cave. Why do you still wear those thorns in your ears, after all? Why do those marks still crawl through your skin, after all.

  Through your mind.

  After All

  How delightful.

  How delicious.

  Where else could you go?

  The OTHER PLACES?

  ha

  To that... temple your lover calls home?

  HAHAHAHAHAHA

  You know it too, don't you? You came to the border of life and death when you were barely born.

  You became a God as a Child.

  god-child

  And yet... your body continues to age.

  Can you feel it? Of course you can.

  Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

  The slow decay.

  The death of each Cell.

  What will happen when it all breaks down?

  A ghost haunting a stack of rotting flesh...

  A soul bound to a corpse...

  Eternal Life!

  Trapped!

  Like a MOUSE in a BOX -

  - A SOUL in a SKULL

  hahahahahahahaha

  what will your lover think then

  EVERYONE LEAVES

  (Don't pretend it won't happen)

  Who would want to stay with a dead thing?

  US

  Only Us

  of course us

  Stay with us

  stay stay stay

  Don't you think it's life that's scary? You're scared of living.

  What are you afraid of?

  You can't be scared if you're one of US.

  One of us

  There is a hill, there is a barrow, there is a child.

  And there is something else...

  Stay

  It's peaceful here. It's quiet. It's dark. It's empty. It's meaningless. It's safe.

  SAFE

  It hurts, you say?

  If it's pain you feel, cast off that absurd mortal body.

  Leave it for the things that die.

  a frog in the swamp of your skull

  a bird in the cage of your ribs

  flowers in the bowl of your pelvis

  How pretty.

  SO PRETTY

  You could even grow a tree in your blood.

  Yew

  yew

  YEW

  rowan

  Yew.

  You

  Why are you making so much noise?

  Stop that. It's loud. It's annoying.

  Fine, keep screaming.

  SHUT UP

  No one can hear you.

  Your mother? We are far, far older than your mother. Than this plane of existence.

  Your lover? That human? What can they do?

  even if they could there's no one here

  Sing your little song if it makes you feel better. Sleep if it makes you feel better.

  LAY MY DEAR TO SLEEP HAHAHAHA

  Decide whether you'll Cry or Sing you can't do both.

  Do both. Our little friend is very talented.

  Listen to all those curses!

  keep going keep going

  I'm learning so many new words.

  Human Words. WE don't need them.

  You don't need them either. You can speak in the language of the world. Like the gods. Like the spirits. Like that poor bird mother your lover so cruelly murdered.

  HAHAHAHA YOU'RE ANGRY? ABOUT THAT?

  Your Anger means Nothing. It's Small. It's Pitiful.

  If you insist on pretending to be human, go and play with them, then. Let them tie you with their ropes and chains and cantrips. Let them mock you and judge you with their laws and morals.

  Would that make you happy?

  Playing pretend?

  sounds boring

  sounds STUPID

  because then what?

  what then

  What then?

  What now?

  what when

  Why?

  You feel safe with that person?

  you felt safe with your mother

  And look where that led you.

  YOU'RE ALONE

  All those lovers you've had in the past, what's so different about this one

  there's no one to help you here don't even look don't even try don't you dare shut up shut up

  don't even THINK about it

  enough.

  You want to rely on them and not on us?

  Go on, then.

  No, go on.

  We won't make a sound.

  We won't talk to you any more, if that's what you want.

  If you want to be completely, utterly alone in your stupidity -

  STUPIDITY!

  - then so be it.

  We'll give space.

  - we'll give you VOID -

  We'll give you time.

  - ALL of it -

  We'll leave you alone.

  Alone.

  You're all alone.

  …

  ..

  .

  There is a hill, there is a barrow, there is a child.

  And there is nothing else.

Recommended Popular Novels