Famine’s Lament (Epilogue)
Content: Depression, Anxiety, Touch Starvation, Death, Loneliness
Characters: Female Human/Famine (as in one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse)
She couldn’t see you anymore, but she kept coming to the cafe. At first, she always came alone, but eventually she came with a friend. They frequented the cafe at least twice a week. After a while, she’d come in with a group of people. They’d laugh and talk about lots of things.
Every once in awhile, though, she’d look up and stare around the cafe, as if looking for you, but would return to her conversation after a few seconds.
You could reveal yourself to her; you did have that power, but you never did. It took effort to make yourself corporeal to mortals. Anyhow, you were not good for her, you knew that. She had called you kind, and you had told her kindness was easy when it didn’t matter, but you were lying, of course. It had mattered rather a lot to you. You were Famine. Famine is many things. Kind was not one of those things.
People didn’t see you unless they were starving, when you had decimated their crops and killed their livestock, and you stood above them, watching them wallow in their despair. It gave you no pleasure, but it was necessary sometimes. Necessary to control populations, to punish the wicked for their misdeeds. Needless to say, you weren’t good for her, or anyone.
When you first met her, you were confused at first, but you realized quickly what her affliction was. It was the same as yours, the longing for touch. Being invisible to mortals had afforded you few joys. When you made the offer, it was purely for your own benefit. It was just a bonus that she got something out of it, too.
When she had fallen asleep after, you’d meant to leave right away, but for some reason you stayed to watch her sleep, holding her in your arms. It was nearly dawn when you finally left. From then on, you thought of her often but you never tried to interact with her again. It made you happy that she had made friends. She had even started dating. She was seeing a doctor, taking medication. She looked healthier. And it made you happy.
Eventually, years later, she married and moved away. You were pleased that she was doing well, but her absence left a hollow in your life. You went on as you always had, but you still thought of her.
Some time passed, and Death came to your small cafe out of courtesy. She had died. It was peaceful; she had died in her sleep. She was quite old now. Death told you where the funeral was going to be held, and you went.
The church was full of people, packed to the rafters, of people who loved her. Since no one could see you and you passed right through them, you went right to her casket as her spouse gave her eulogy. Standing and looking down at her, she was indeed rather old, but that made you happy. She’d lived a long, happy life. She had struggled, but she never gave up, and her perseverance was evident in the grief of the many people she’d left behind.
You reached into the casket and stroked her cheek, bending to kiss her forehead. Sighing and turning, you saw Death standing in the doorway, beckoning you outside. You followed them.
There, out in the courtyard, she stood, wearing the dress she wore in the casket. But instead of an old, decrepit woman, a vision of the young lady you had met and spent a life-changing night with stood there. She smiled ear to ear when she saw you and ran into your arms.
In shock, you gathered her up and kissed her face. Death smiled and told you that you owed them a favor.
She whispered thank you into your ear over and over, holding you close, just as warm as the last time you held her. She couldn’t stay long; it was her time to move on, but she wanted to tell you how much that one night had helped her change. It didn’t fix everything, of course, but it gave her the push to find ways of living better. She didn’t know how long she could have kept going otherwise.
She kissed you, long and sweet, and told you she’d be waiting for you.
“It’s only forever,” She said, quoting her favorite movie. “It’s not long at all.”
You wanted to cry, but you were unable to, so you laughed instead. You told her you were eagerly awaiting the end of the world, if only to see her again. She was also no longer able to shed tears, so she laughed with you.
A golden door appeared, and Death ushered her toward it. With a parting kiss and a wave, she was gone.
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