The Last Chapter

Light shined through the window and Zephon sat up in bed. He saw his father next to him still asleep.

"Good morning, dad."

Since his father was still sleeping, he got up and went into the kitchen, eating an apple and reading a book as he waited for his father to trail into the kitchen with a book. It didn't happen. Zephon waited and it still didn't happen. He went back into his dad's room.

"Dad?"

The king didn't do anything as much as stir. Zephon remembered how light of a sleeper he was. He raised his voice a bit louder.

"Dad."

Still there was nothing. Not a stir. Nothing. The air around him hung in a sticky thickness of absolute nothingness. The air that wafted up Zephon's nose had no scent. Everything was plain. He began to shake him, with out any reaction in return.

"Dad!"

He shook his father over and over, screaming his name repeatedly. "Dad, dad, dad!" But, as he had suspected there would be--there was nothing. "Dad, please get up!" Absolutely nothing.

"Mother, get in here!"

He shook the king repeatedly but it was all for nothing because he knew what was coming. The queen burst in, gasping at the sight of her son screaming and shaking her husband. Her hands flew up to cover her mouth in horror. Her screams pierced the plain air. Everything was in slow motion-- the queen screaming and crying as the maids rushed into the king's bedroom, holding dishes that soon smashed to the ground, breaking into thousands of pieces.

His father. Not breathing. His father. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. Oh crucified Christ, his father.

Flashbacks flooded through Zephon's mind.

"He's falling asleep earlier and earlier."

"Why is he so tired?"

"I love you, Zephonic."

He ran. That's all that Zephon did. He kept running and didn't stop.

"I love you too, dad."

The voices pounded in his ears. Pretty soon, he was pounding on Onika's front door. They ran back to the palace so helpless and weak. Onika gasped at the sight of the king. Her shriek pierced a hole through Zephon's heart.

"No, no, no! I never finished the book! I have to finish reading to him!" Onika was pulled away by the guards.

The last thing that Zephon remembered was being pulled from his father and everything was black.
~
Zephon woke up in his comfortable bed to the sun setting. Everything that he had never wanted to happen flooded back to him. His eyes filled at the sight of a suit and tie on the edge of his bed.

Funeral.

He wiped his eyes as the word jabbed him in the gut. Without thinking, he slipped the suit on and met his mother along with the maids. Everyone was dressed in black. They ended up at the church, where just a few weeks earlier he had met Onika. No one cried because the pain that engulfed them was cold and bitter. The pain had frozen their tears. Onika and Stephen along with their parents sat with him and his mother. Adell and her family walked inside. Their eyes were swollen and red. Jayde's arm was wrapped tightly around Dany's arm. Tucked under Onika's arm was the book she wasn't able to finish.

Zephon and his mother were the first to go to the front of the church. "I have nothing to say except that I loved him and so did my mother. With all of my heart. He was not only my father, the king, and a loving husband to my mother, but he was also my best friend."

The queen burst out into tears, screaming. "Come back! Please, I need you!"

A tear trickled down his cheek. The guards helped Zephon calm down his mother. Onika gasped at the sight and a tear trickled down her cheek.

She solemnly took her walk to the front of the church. "I didn't know the king for very long but I can remember how he chuckled. He had a hearty laugh and a heart full of gold. I started reading him a book but I couldn't finish it," her voice began to crack but she pulled herself together before going on. "I'm going to finish it now. Chapter ten..."

On the last page, she started crying but forced out the last couple words between sobs. She kissed the book and placed it in the king's casket.

Adell went up after Onika took a seat. "I never knew the king all too well but I know his son. All I can say is, he was not only an amazing king but an amazing father. He raised Zephon better than any other king I've ever heard of."

Zephon mouthed a thank you to her.

After the mass, Adell was walking with Zephon and faced him with a melancholy look on her face. "I'm sorry." She kissed him on the lips softly.

Zephon was quiet for a while as he stared down at the pavement underneath their feet. Adell grabbed him and kissed him again. He was still quiet, lost in his own thoughts. She went to kiss him again when he pushed her off, harshly.

"Stop, Adell! My father is gone for god sakes! Onika is mine. I love her and not you. It's always going to be Onika. Always! I don't love you, okay?"

A tear trickled down her cheek. "But I love you, Zephon."

A/N:

That was it, guys. This is the end. How do you feel? Did the story leave any lasting impressions on you? No? I didn't think it would. Yes? Thank you for taking my passion to heart.

If any of you were wondering what happens next: nothing does. I know you are probably really mad that nothing else happens but I've never thought about what would happen after I put my pencil down. The characters are frozen in that last moment. This is basically a short story since it's only like 130 pages! I wrote this story when I was twelve.

Here's the reason for that:

I wanted to create a story about passion and despair.