Empathy Cures All

Chapter 11

Lilith had been following the two ever since they had left the village. She wanted to see what had happened. She truly cared for Finn despite their lack of communication. She introduced herself to Caelum. She did not ask for him to introduce himself, she didn't want to make him uncomfortable and she trusted Finn’s judgment. Lilith sat with them as they explained their predicament. She had told them that she had understood and was thrilled. Finn had finally found someone he could talk to, someone who cared for him, someone who he truly loved, and someone who felt the same. She was glad he found that, even if it wasn't with her. It was well into the night when Lilith said she would go back to the village and explain to the people what was going on in hopes that they would sympathize and understand, but in the meantime, she had asked them to stay in the forest and come back later that night.

They had given it two hours despite how fast word traveled in Finn’s small village. It was the longest wait of Finn’s life. He felt as though he were waiting for death, a clock without a face. Both he and Caelum were indecisive about whether or not they should return but Finn, cold, hungry, and in immense pain, reluctantly asked Caelum to bring him back to the village. He carried Finn in his arms, awaiting an angry welcome. The townsfolk had gathered in the center of their village, waiting for the monster to return. Caelum had placed Finn on the ground and sat there with him, Finn's Mother pushing her way to the head of the crowd, shocked to see what had happened to her son. The people waited with bated breath. Caelum began begging the townspeople to take Finn back and see that he was taken care of; he couldn't bear to see his lover in pain knowing there were people who could help him. In exchange for the promise of Finn’s health and prosperity, he agreed to leave their settlement and never come back. Finn had disagreed with Caelum’s decision. He pleaded with him and tried to convince him that he would be fine. They could go back to the cabin and live a life of freedom and happiness together. Caelum had already made up his mind. “But where will you go?” asked Finn. “I'm not sure where I'll go but I'm happier knowing that the memories we've made together are going with me.”. Caelum, then realizing that these were their last moments together, had one last thing to say: “Promise me one thing . . . you will move on. I don’t want to live forever knowing that I was the only person to ever give you love and happiness, Find someone else . . . for me.”. Finn, with tears welling in his eyes, nodded his head. 

Caelum had gone back to the cabin alone that night, he couldn't sleep, not that he needed to. He walked outside, into the freezing night air and sat in the grass. He felt sick knowing that his friend was in the custody of the people who controlled him. They had said Caelum kept Finn under his spell, in his captivity, but it was with him where Finn felt his most free. He could still see Finn’s shape in the matted grass where he had lain only hours before. He looked up at the stars, everywhere he looked he was reminded of Finn. He hated how he couldn't be with Finn and he hated the fact that his friend struggled to find happiness and right when he did, it was ripped from him. He began to cry, but they weren’t tears of sadness, they were tears of anger and frustration. He had never cried before and to him, it didn't feel good, he didn't know why Finn did it so often. His face grew hot. Every tear he wiped was immediately replaced with two more that streamed their way down his cheeks. Caelum felt useless, he had no reason to stay here. And in that moment of resentment, Caelum lost control of his powers. “I’ll show them true infection.” he thought. He closed his eyes and felt a warm gust of wind radiate from within him and out across the land, shaking the remaining leaves from the bare trees. Unbeknownst to him, out of pure hatred and spite, Caelum had officially released incurable disease into this world. He spent his last few days on Earth collecting all his power and searching for the hole in the Meridian to return back to Aria. Once he found it he closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and sadly stepped through.