Live and Learn (Short Stories)

The End

     There is such a thing called The End. It's the end of everything. The End is the loss of all things; to no longer gain and only be able to lose everything you are until you lose yourself as well in the forbidden madness. It's not death... It's much greater than death could ever be. The only reason I know about this, any of it, is because I was the child that was given this choice, and I chose...

                                                                       December 29th, unit 40123 of 89

     I guess you could say that I had given up on life. The longer the days seemed to get, the more they began to blend together... Of course, I can't deny that I had been quite happy once. I had so much, so much in fact that I couldn't even bring myself to want more, to need more. That may have been why I felt lousy all the time and couldn't motivate myself to do things. I had everything I wanted, and I had grown content with my life with how it currently was. There wasn't anything wrong with being content, it was just... I always had everything.

     Now, I was old enough to understand how miserable that had been. Happiness wasn't what had filled my as a child with everything. I may have had everything, but I had nothing at all in my eyes. When it came to life, what was the point in having everything? I never got to work or try... or live. I didn't want a life I couldn't live.

     "What the point?" I muttered, throwing the pen in my hand at the wall. It hit with a solid tap and fell to the carpeted floor. The room was pitch black; no light and no sound. It was also a small room, about nine by nine feet, with black painted walls and a fluffy black carpet that squeezed itself between my toes whenever I stepped into the room. The room had no windows to let the morning sun shine through. I was sitting criss-crossed on the floor in front of where I assumed the door was; I had been sitting in this room for a few hours and I had lost my sense of direction. People would probably think that I had gone crazy, since people knew how deathly afraid of the dark I was.

     I don't know why I did this, knowing I shake like a leaf every time I locked myself in here. I let my mind slip from reality as I watched the shadows move in the inky blackness. Maybe I did this to myself for the little taste of insanity that came with it. That fear brought life, brought meaning to my monotone life. It pumped adrenaline into my veins and gave me the need to fight and survive. It was like a addictive drug, I guess, that my brain had grown accustomed to. The insanity is keeping me sane. It was quite a thought, actually. I felt it was too late to think like that though because I had lost myself long ago. A click resonated in my room of sorrow.

     It clicked again shortly after, reminding me of the pen I angrily took my frustrations out on. "There's something in here, isn't there?" I called out, making a statement rather than asking a question. The fear increased tremendously within me, choking me with it's death like grip, but I stayed put. There was no reason for me to run. What was there to lose? I hadn't really lived.

     "Yes..." A deep voice answered. It was low, very low, and it vibrated my ears with a soft, tingling sensation. It was pleasing to hear. The voice was smooth, calm, and unthreatening. It cleared my thoughts of doubt and fear that had been consuming me. I felt... renewed.

     "You're here for a reason." I stated in a quiet, calm voice. "What is it?"

     "I came to answer the cries of my children, to lesson the pain of their burdens, to take away their sins and purify them. I am here to strengthen the bond of life and death." His voice continued to rattle my ear drums pleasantly. I still sat on the ground, unable to see through the back fog of darkness but no longer feeling the need to be afraid of it.

     "What do you mean, 'strengthen the bond'? What does it have to do with me?" My voice grew weary. His presence was easing my muscles and making me feel sleepy. 

     "I am here, my child, to offer you a choice. It is a choice you must choose to strengthen the bond. I am here to grant you your wish, my child. Will you continue to wither away on this plain of existence or will you fade into the dusts of the lands and come with me?" His words were poetic and enchanting, and hard to understand. But I knew, I knew what he wanted. This man was like a shadow of Death, not here to collect the souls of the living but to separate the dead from the living. He was offering me a different life, a second chance.

     He was here to offer me that choice. "There is no need for you to try to convince me of anything. My decision is already made. I will take your offer but... Who are you?" I whispered into the air. There was a whispery hum of a response that I was sure wasn't English. I stood up and cocked my head to the side. He was blending into the darkness and I could only see the outline of him every time he swayed when he talked.

     "My child... You wish to know my name?" He hummed. There was a chuckle that vibrated the walls, along with my very soul. "They call me the Husband." He chuckled again. "What you shall wish, what you shall gain. All in the realm of the of the deadly pain. The End in near, The end is here, and The End is the place that you shall go."

     "The End?" I raised an eyebrow.

     "Come..." His voice teased me as he reached his hand out for me. I couldn't see but I stretched my hand out into the darkness. A hot hand grabbed onto mine and pulled my forward. My face hit the mans chest and it instantly warmed up my whole body. Arms wrapped around my body and hugged me close. "Let's go... to The End."

     Everything began to spun and moments later, the dark room was empty, except for the rotten corpse that lay crumpled on the floor.