Empathy Cures All

Chapter 12

Caelum had finally returned home. He was thrilled to share his adventures on Earth with his mentor Solomon, but he was nowhere to be found. He later learned that he was shunned. Punishment for encouraging a young and impressionable Daemon to cross the Meridian and into a realm of bitter and dangerous monsters. Caelum had told the people that all the beings of Earth were not all bad and that he even had a special connection with one. A connection that had not existed in Aria. They saw this as something strange, they were afraid that their world was no longer a secret, no longer being kept safe by the Meridian. Caelum had come in contact with the creatures of Earth. Something no one had done for years. Or so he thought. They explained to him how the stories Solomon had told him weren't of Aria’s past but of its distant future, one that might never come to fruition because of Caelum’s curiosity and reckless behavior. The Humans now saw their kind as horrid creatures that would enchant their children, causing them to harbor feelings unheard of by their society. He was banished to forever live in the space between the two worlds. To spend his eternal life amongst the glittering black treads of the Meridian, where he still lives to this day. At first, Caelum was terrified, he was alone with nothing to do. But soon he started to reminisce about his time with Finn. He pictured himself reliving every moment with him and even creating new ones. He was finally at peace knowing that for just a moment he was able to do what his kind was made for, he helped Finn feel better, he untied his knots. He finally did what no Daemon, Succubus, or Incubus will ever do. He served his purpose.

Back at the village, Finn was being cared for. The only people who came to visit him in his room were his Mother, to wash and bandage his wound, and Lilith, who kept him company. Once he was fully healed his Father finally came to visit him. “Son, you have been infected by that monstrous beast and there's only one way to ensure no one else catches this disease.” He had led his Son out of his room and out to the center of the village. He was scared, he knew what was coming. He took a deep breath as members of the village began to fill the square. They started to throw stones. Finn screamed in pain while being pelted with the large rocks just like those he and Caelum used to skip across the lake. He caught Lilith’s eye and weakly shook his head. She looked away in sadness and on the verge of tears, understanding his message. No matter how much he had needed it he didn't want her to help; he knew it wouldn't end well for either of them. As he lay there bleeding out from the skull on the ground, still freshly covered with morning dew. He caught a glimpse of a golden butterfly and couldn't help but smile. Was his death punishment for the crime of individuality or was it an escape from a life of cruel and unjust mistreatment that awaited him? 

Caelum still doesn’t know that Finn was stoned or that he never received the burial he had wanted but some say that this is for the better considering the thought of knowing someone he loved was always thinking of him just as he was, would be his only glimmer of hope in the glimmering emptiness of the Meridian. Some might say that what Finn and Caelum had wasn't true love, that it was just infatuation, an interest in something so strange, something so unfamiliar that it consumed their every thought, their every waking moments. Whatever it was, I can say with absolute certainty that it was pure and that there will never be anything like it again.