The misadventures of a Main Character [Complete]

LXXIV - The Cliffhanger

Main edged his toes off the lip of the cliff, teasing them up and down. The sea gnawed at the rocks far below. A slight breeze unbalanced him. Main flapped his arms for balance, before falling over the cliff. Reaching out, he scrabbled at the cliff face. His remaining fingers found purchase. His heart hammered as he hung from the cliff. 

 "Arghh!" he shouted, at everything and nothing in particular. Part of him had wanted to jump, and now another part refused to let go. He sighed, and began scaling the cliff.

When he reached the top, Main wrenched the fork Buttercup had gifted him out of his bag, and launched it over the edge. If only Bevan hadn't brought him back; then his skeleton would be drifting somewhere down there in the waters below, deluded and peaceful.

He kicked numberless stones over the edge, before backing away and collapsing under the jutting skeleton of a tree which leaned precariously over the edge. Main starfished out underneath the tree. There wasn't any point in existing anymore. He'd fulfilled his prophecy, but nothing had changed. He'd managed to lose himself, and couldn't summon enough energy to care. 

 So he lay under the tree, watching the days fade into nights under the creaking branches, and hoping the sun wouldn't rise in the morning. It always did. A herd of deer grazed around him. Maybe the grass would eventually grow over him, and he'd disappear. It didn't. 

*

"Main?" Helena's voice drifted over to him. 

"No."

Her footsteps rushed over to him. "It didn't take me seven years to find you this time. We were  all worried about you, you've been gone for weeks."

She sat down next to him, leaning against the dead tree trunk. Her green orbs narrowed in concern. "Greg put together a care package for you: food, some good novels, that sort of thing. It must be kind of boring up here. What have you been doing?"

"Nothing."

"Don't you want to reconcile with people? You could pick a new quest, or enroll back into school if you wanted."

"Helena, we're whims of thought, tinkerings on keyboard keys. We're pulled about like wet clay, with no thought to what we might want for ourselves.  I don't even know if what I'm feeling now is genuine, or imposed upon me. I might not ever be sure again."

"That's very melodramatic," she said. 

Main closed his eyes. He wouldn't give anyone a proper resolution to this tale. He'd deprive them of any falling action. That'd teach them. "We're pawns. Pieces. Plots. Nothing we do is real."

"Alright, I think you've spent too much time mulling this over. Do I need to make a My Little Pony reference or something? Would that cheer you up?"

He shook his head sullenly.

"Will you at least come to Bevan and Larry's barn raising? They broke the curse a few days ago, and are starting up an organic blood & brain farm. Larry's quite attractive for a vampire."

"Will she be there?" Main asked.

"Buttercup?"

He winced. "Don't say her name, please."

"Yeah, she'll be there."

 "I'd rather tear my heart from my chest than leave this spot."

There was a deep, dramatic pause. Main wondered when this had become a soap opera instead of a comedy.

"Do you mind if I sit here for a while?" Helena asked. "The view from here is stunning."

"All I can see is dead branches," Main said.   

A/N: Congratulations reader! You're made it to the end of Main's mis-adventures.

Thank you so much for reading along! <3 Seriously, you're amazing. Kimmy and I hope you've enjoyed the journey.

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Peace out.