The scraps of a deserted man

The ashes were held in his hands, surrounding his feet. They rested on the snow peacefully, as if they were flower petals that had finally fallen.

He looked up, his eyes as gloomy as the ruins that surrounded him. He didn't know what happened, but everything was gone in an instant. 

It was as if lightning had hit him, crumbling his entire world. He searched for survivors, only finding his son Tommy. And his other son's dead body. Techno was nowhere to be found.

He knew that his youngest was mourning his brother right now. He had stepped out of the tent ages ago. He couldn't bear to see his child dead, right before him. All because he wasn't there to protect them.

He sighed, dropping the ashes and wiping his hands off of his clothes. The snow crunched as he walked back towards the tent where his child was.

Once he stepped inside, he noticed that Tommy had stopped crying. He was now staring at the wall of the tent, his eyes red and his brothers body resting near him.

Phil sat down in the corner. He had nothing to say. What were you even supposed to do in this situation? He wouldn't know.

He's been gone for far too long.

"Y'know, his last words were about you." There was a small voice. It sounded like it was afraid to speak, and nothing like what his usual tone was. But Phil could assume it was the only other person with him.

He didn't say anything, just looking at Tommy who was still staring anywhere but at him. "He.. He said that he wished he could have spoken to you more. And he told me that he loved me, and he wished you would have said it to him at least a week before this all happened." A few tears ran down his cheeks, which he quickly wiped away as he now looked at his brother's body.

Phil stayed silent.

"Why didn't you say anything to him? You could have at least let him know that you cared for him." His voice held a harsh tone, which was only slightly noticed under the sadness of it. "Even now, you won't talk."

Tommy finally looked at him. Under his son's glare, Phil could see what Tommy wanted him to say. He wanted him to say that he was sorry. He wanted him to say that he wouldn't let this happen again, and he would kill the man who did it.

But he couldn't. Phil couldn't understand anything. He couldn't understand how this happened, why they were so sad, anything.

Death was an inevitable consequence to life, and Wilbur had unfortunately faced it too early. Phil still didn't say anything, looking back down and only glancing at Tommy once.

Tommy kept his gaze on Phil for a bit, before turning back to Wilburs body and whispering through his cries.

Phil couldn't understand what he was saying. He wouldn't be able to even if he tried, as Tommy was sobbing in between and after words.

He couldn't handle it anymore, deciding to go back outside and search for more bodies. This time, it was different.

While the ashes still laid on the ground peacefully, and smoke still rained from the sky, there was a different feeling. Phil couldn't quite understand it, but he thought it was uneasy.

It felt like everything suddenly went silent. He couldn't hear Tommys quiet sobs, he couldn't hear his thoughts, he couldn't hear the fire crackling. All he could hear were his footsteps as he slowly walked through the burnt down village that his family used to live in.

"I'm surprised you got back so early, Phil." Said a weak voice. Phil looked around, spotting someone buried under the rubble of a building.

His eyes widened as he rushed over to him. "Techno?" He whispered, as if he needed confirmation that this old friend wasn't just a ghost.

Techno inhaled sharply. "You know, I saw Wilbur when it happened. I heard Tommys scream. He called your name, but you didn't answer. He had to bring Wilburs body back himself, Phil. Carrying the weight of his brother's death, both physically and mentally." He struggled to say, trying to hold onto his life long enough for Phil to understand everything.

"Tommy couldn't help me, neither can you. I've been here for days, and I've only been holding on to deliver that to you. I wanted you to know the full pain that your child feels." Phil grabbed onto Technos hand, his look getting desperate.

"No, no. T-Tell me more, I have to know what else he said." He begged. It was like he was a poor man again, on the streets asking for anything from anyone.

Techno let out a weak chuckle. "You ask too much from a dying man." He weakly pulled his hand away from Phil's, using it to grab his hat and hold it lightly to his chest.

"You've never let me touch it before. I guess you were serious when you said I would die before I got to wear it, even for a second." He pushed the hat into Phil's chest, then used his hand to grab his crown.

"An exchange. You can live on with me in the dead, and you'll be able to have something to remember me by." He put the crown on Phil's head, grabbing the hat again and holding it closer to himself.

So Phil sat there. Phil sat there in silence with Techno, as he watched his closest friend die. And he sat there for hours after his death as well.

He didn't know why. Maybe he thought that if he waited long enough, something would make Techno come back. Anything that could ease his pain.

And for the first time in forever, Phil felt warm tears slowly run down his face. There were only a few at first, but it progressively got worse.

Phil finally understood what Tommy was feeling. But there was something sick to it. How could he cry this way for a friend, but not even his own son?

He felt like this was all payback for his deeds. Maybe just another curse given alongside immortality. He knew none of this could last. It never did.

Everyone died on him, and he was still eternally waiting for the day that he would finally be able to be with them again. When Tommy died, he would have nothing once more.

He would move on for the next few decades, and then find a new person worth his time. And the cycle would repeat. He would fight, he would love, and he would lose.

All of this until the day that he could finally die in peace. He would finally be let go from an eternal torture.

Some think immortality would be a gift, given by only the kindest of Gods. But once you actually have it, you realize that everything is already destined to be lost.

Nothing but you is permanent. You have the fear of falling in love, because you've already experienced what it's like to lose someone so many times before.

And that's how he would live on. He would walk back to the tent for Tommy. He would retrieve Wilburs body, and bury him next to Techno. Tommy would live on and die.

And Phil would live on forever, already feeling dead. But not quite yet.

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Thank you for reading :) I wrote this when I had no motivation whatsoever, so it may have been a bit crappy. I was just bored and didn't want to forget the idea. Hope you enjoyed 😊