Above

Epilogue.

“I have known the golden disc,

I have seen it melting above me.

I have known the stone-bright place,

The hall of clear colours.”

-Ezra Pound – A Song of the Degrees

            We sat at a tea shop near the beach, Felicity and Euphoria facing me at a small red table.

            A world may consist of only two people, but it should never be controlled by two people. This small tea shop, red and black and exotic, had come from the imaginations of Felicity and Euphoria, but it was certainly not their tea shop any longer. What a difference the people made! Their conversations were no longer background noise, and they did not look perfect anymore. This was a real tea shop, loud and crowded. I relished every accidental brush of skin.

            "They're not ours anymore," Felicity said with a wistful look at the customers in the shop.

            I watched her stirring her tea. "They were never yours," I reminded her, trying not to sound harsh.

            Euphoria looked me in the eyes steadily.

            "And you were never alone," I added, remembering their childlike loneliness. I looked through the window at the beach. The people weren't robots anymore; they moved independently and carelessly, as people should.

            I regretted having no money to pay for the tea, though maybe money was not a concept in this world, but as soon as I wondered, I heard a clink in my dress pocket. I reached in to discover five heavy golden coins.

            Euphoria smiled. "It's yours now."

            "It's ours too," Felicity added. "But it's yours."

            Their smiles were genuine, much more than ever, and I thought I knew what they meant.

            Euphoria's head slumped to one side, eyes rolling back. The waiters and customers reacted as they should have, going to the beautiful girl's side and asking Felicity what had happened. Felicity shooed them away gracefully, and though they were living people and cared about Euphoria's safety, Felicity's authority was still powerful.

            I slipped out of the cafe into the darkening night, reflecting on what Euphoria and Felicity had told me. I was no longer their loyal dog; I was free. They had handed me their world.

            It was my world now, too, since I could not go back to my first world. That world had finished with me long ago.

            Of course, I missed it, all of it. But I didn't want to struggle with something that didn’t want me.

            Anyway, I had a mission now. I had to take care of this world, after Felicity and Euphoria had spent so long shaping it. They still had more work to do, but I was confident that I could wander as far as I liked without returning to the nothingness. Euphoria and Felicity didn't need me as close anymore.

            But they still needed me, of course. I would be seeing much more of the sisters.

            There are plenty of eternities. But for now, ours is the best.