Fool's Beginning, Fool's End (At The End, Everything is Okay: The 0th Story)

Section 9

Several years had passed after the construction of the canal.

Jone remained in the valley, but he built another shack on the opposite side of the valley. Away from his original hut, and away from the shallow pool the canal emptied into. He had mainly done this because of the wretched smell – something that hopefully needs no further explanation – but also because he wanted the wereghouls to stop visiting him.

After the construction of the canal – and subsequent misappropriation of it as a public outhouse – the wereghouls had begun visiting him about three times a week. As a show of gratitude, they had taken up the arduous task of delivering him clean water from the Purifiers' settlement. The water that he had built the canal for in the first place.

Jone was a certain type of man. A type of man who sees all others around him as enemies, regardless of the goodwill directed his way. A type of man who sees others expressing their gratitude and kindness, and will find a way to hate them.

He took their gratitude as pity.

Wereghouls aren't stupid creatures. On the surface, they seem like the average human. On the inside, they aren't much different, either. Wereghouls can reason, they can have emotion. They can feel just like any of us.

And – probably more so than anything else – they can feel empathy.

The wereghouls weren't stupid. They knew Jone hated them. They showed him kindness anyway.

It took a couple of weeks for the pack to find Jone after he had moved. In Jone's shortsightedness, he didn't realize that rejecting the wereghouls' kindness meant having to make the three-times-a-week trip for water himself again. They spotted him one afternoon, returning from the Purifiers' settlement.

Where had he been, they asked him. Did he need help with carrying the water? Where was his new place?

Jone exploded.

Not literally, although you'd be forgiven for believing so, considering Jone was one for making deals with wizards.

He cursed at them. Spat, yelled, and just generally threw a horrible tantrum. Jone told them he wanted nothing to do with the canal anymore. He didn't want any visitors, any help, any friends.

Jone told them about the deal with the wizard. He told them that all he wanted was to be left alone, so that his soulmate could find him.

The wereghouls asked if he wanted help finding his soulmate.

Jone said no.

As he walked away, the wereghouls told Jone that he would always have a place with them, if he ever needed it.

Jone never took them up on their offer.

Instead, he lived his life out in the valley. Waiting for a companion who would never arrive. Alone, miserable, and without anyone to talk to.