Before a Once Upon A Time

A Single Lamp - A Greater Loss

Story 2 - A Single Lamp

Part 3 - A Greater Loss

"Okay,” He whispered, knowing she would hear and understand even if she was on death's door. He would do everything in his power to prevent her little brother from suffering some awful fate, especially if it was by his hand. He softly kissed her forehead and completed the spell by saying "I promise."

Even if he hadn't meant to, or hadn't known, now he could feel it. She was his true love; a bond forged somewhere deep within the soul that allowed for acts of miraculous magic and virtuous action. That was why she was willing to give her life for a few more hours of his. And by promising something to her with all of his heart, he created a spell that linked their two energies together, keeping her alive for as long as it took to fulfill the promise.

He knew all of this and his instant thought became that if he kept the boy with him unsafe as it was for him, she would live for as long as he did, he could see her everyday and it would be glorious and - then he realized that she wouldn't get better.

 She would simply remain in this sick, tired, ready to die, worn out state for all that time, and she would grow to hate him for keeping her alive in suffering instead of fulfilling his promise. And even if that wasn't enough, the thought of breaking that promise grated at him, made his skin feel raw and hot and his heart hurt like it was being dragged on a sidewalk, slowly burning and chaffing it away.

He stood and put his hands over the hand that peeked from the thin, holey blanket she rested under. He wished it were something thicker, as she was obviously cold, but he knew that soon she wouldn't feel it anyway. He doubted that he could have one sent to her before that happened, and it wouldn’t matter either way afterwards. He smiled the tiniest bit.

“See you in another life."

*This was the formal way of saying- I will never see you again. Ever. Sometimes it was said as an insult or an order, such as when someone was bullying someone of lower class, or when telling them to get out of their sight. In fact, Gene had used it many times in his travels in the seedy underbelly of the world. He had used it when very angry and when banishing people from the group - normally after they beat him in a fight or something of that nature. It was normally when he had been disgraced and would not be able to redeem himself. Except, of course, this phrasing is totally true in this case. Oh, fudge sticks, there I go again, getting ahead of the story.

The thin, small girl flashed him the thinnest smile he had ever seen and it warmed his heart, even though the previous one she had shown him had done nothing but disgust him. In the smallest gasp of air, she repeated his words.

 “See you in another life."

He looked at her and tears blurred his vision. How could he leave her? He knew it was irrational to want to stay, that it would do nothing good at all, and in fact, it would hurt her more since she didn't want to be seen in her final moments. He forced himself outside where the boy had retreated some time ago. He cried his heart out bitterly until her eyes were swollen and his face hot. It was then that an idea he had never contemplated before stuck him.

"What are your names?” He asked, suddenly curious.

The boy gave him a curious look. “Her name was Arty. I'm Apollo."

Gene pondered a moment and asked “Wait. Who were your parents?"

The boy scuffed his heel in the dirt, drawing patterns there before he abruptly changed the subject. “We don't have much time. We should get moving."

Gene shook his head. The whole family had a thing about sharing information apparently. He sighed a bit and wondered if he would ever know. Maybe when the kid was at death’s door too?