Kali's Regress

by Mark Boliek

  Chapter 20

  The overcast sky brought out the details in the snow-covered land and ice-covered tree branches. It looked picturesque, like a postcard, right down to the fresh, cold evergreen trees that dotted the hillsides.

  When the guards brought JT out of the tower, Jenny still sat curled near the dragon, which lay sleeping beside her, its head at her feet.

  She shivered from the cold, continually humming the same melody she had sung, keeping the beast at bay, though her notes were shaky and fearful. She feared what would happen if she stopped her music.

  The guards walked with JT past the dragon and he caught Jenny's eyes. He bobbed his head toward the sleeping dragon, then looked back at Jenny intently, trying to convey the idea with his eyes. Then he shot a look toward the guards.

  Jenny shrugged her shoulders, still humming her tune. She had no idea what JT was trying to tell her.

  JT did it again, looking from the dragon to Jenny and then back to the guards, but Jenny appeared even more confused.

  JT gave up and spoke out loud. “Stop humming.”

  Jenny shook her head.

  “It'll be okay,” JT responded. “Trust me.”

  “Quit your bellyaching and move.” One of the guards prodded JT.

  Jenny snapped to her feet and stopped her humming. She ran toward the gate with one of JT's guards sprinting after her in a flash.

  The guard only made it a few yards past the dragon, when the beast awoke. It snapped the guard up in its mouth, ripping him in half with its razor teeth.

  The crowd gasped.

  JT worked his way free from the other guard and broke toward Jenny, who the dragon had decided to chase. The Munch had posted guards by the gate, who now ran away as fast as they could. Some were so frightened they did not even go through the open gate, but climbed the wall to escape.

  The guards’ screaming and clanking armor caught the dragon’s attention. It shot its fiery breath and burned the guards until they were all dead. Then the beast focused solely on Jenny.

  “Start singing again!” JT yelled, but Jenny was too scared.

  The dragon launched into the air and flew over to block the gate. It crept its way back toward JT and Jenny, slithering and hissing, its grunts heard across the valley.

  JT grabbed Jenny and reached around her waist to unsheath her sword. Then he moved her behind him.

  JT looked into the beast's eyes. What he saw stopped him in his tracks. He had seen that expression before. He had seen that look of despair in the hospital room in Maryland and then here, on the face of a man protecting his daughter from the brutal strike of a madman's whip.

  Could it be?

  The dragon threw itself toward JT, but JT moved out of its way, taking Jenny with him. He felt his heartbeat through his mail. His pity and intuition would not let him attack the monster.

  “Kill it!” Jenny yelled, her voice frantic.

  “I can't!” JT responded.

  “Why not?”

  “Because it is Arthur!” JT answered.

  “What?”

  Together, they dodged the animal's shots of fire breath and dashed toward the gate.

  Can it really be Arthur? But how?

  JT heard his confirmation in the form of a booming laugh from the Munch on the other side of the gate. The crowd cheered.

  “What's it going to be, JT?” The voice of the Munch rose over the crowd. “Will you kill or will you be killed?”

  JT could not think about what to do next. He did not care about himself at that moment, he only cared about Kali. Where is she? Is she okay?

  Everything happened fast. No matter how quickly JT and Jenny dodged the dragon’s wrath, the dragon—Arthur—matched them. Certainly, in his state, Arthur did not know what he was doing or why.

  “Arthur!” JT shouted out, hoping the dragon could hear him. “Don't do this! How did this happen? What do you want?!”

  The dragon did not respond.

  JT thought fast, but again his thoughts turned to Kali. What will she think if I kill her father? What will happen to us? Too many thoughts swished around in his mind. What should I do? Where is Billy?

  Finally, the dragon cornered them. Jenny stood between JT and the gate, now shut. He pressed her against it, trying to shield her with his body. He could hear her cry as the dragon crawled carefully toward them.

  Paralyzed, JT didn't know what to do. If he started to sing, if he could find the breath, it would probably just make the dragon mad.

  Time stood still. It was either them or the dragon. He knew the beast was Arthur, but he also knew that the creature was not the man JT had met in the last few days; it was not Kali's father.

  JT also knew the Munch relished this. That monster, with his fur robes flowing and his condescending attitude, knew nothing but destruction and pain. JT was willing to swear he was the devil himself.

  Please forgive me. The thought ran through JT's brain. He didn't know why it was so difficult to act. Homer had been right; whatever happened would be painful. Why can't I just be a normal guy? Normal guys did not have to face a menacing dragon who was also the father of the woman they love.

  Please forgive me. The thought rushed and compressed in his thoughts. He had no idea what Kali would think of him after he did what he needed to do. She would certainly hate him forever.

  Please forgive me. If Billy was more than just the essence of Bruinduer, he knew what JT had to do. Was there any other way to beat this difficult decision? Why did he, the all-powerful, put these obstacles in front of them?

  JT brandished his sword. Unfazed, the dragon rushed toward JT and Jenny. JT ducked and thrust his sword toward the beast’s heart.

  JT knew the answer to the first riddle; every living creature needs a heart to survive.

  The dragon lurched back, squealing in pain. JT pulled the sword out of its chest. The blood ran red and thick.

  In a moment the dragon toppled and fell to its side. Silence fell over the square and the surrounding area. The cold wind blew over everything.

  JT looked upon what he had done and his heart sank. He wished he could have had the moment to do over again. He wished he had never brought Arthur on his quest. As JT stared at the toppled dragon, the animal began to change. As he and the rest of the crowd watched, the beast transformed into the broken, bleeding, motionless body of Arthur Logan.

  The gates swung open and the crowd cheered.

  JT dropped his sword. Jenny ran to him and threw her arms around his neck. “Thank you for saving me.”

  JT felt his heart wrench. He had killed Kali's father. He knew he probably would lose her love.

  The crowd lifted up Arthur's body like a rag doll, while the guards seized Jenny and JT and took them to the stage in the arena.

  As they marched, the Munch yelled in their direction. “This is amazing, JT! You see? I don't have to do anything. You do my dirty work for me!”

  The crowd cheered.

  JT knew the Munch put him in a no-win situation intentionally. If he had not killed Arthur, he and Jenny would have died for sure. What would Arthur have done if JT had been turned into a dragon ready to snatch up Kali in his teeth? Had there been another way?

  Drums pounded and echoed through the arena. The day had passed; the moon would rise soon. The arena smelled like any ball game or carnival JT had ever attended. Food, tobacco, and an assortment of body odors, from sweet perfume to a putrid socks, wafted through the air.

  As the guards led them to the stage, the crowd yelled and spat at JT and Jenny. One second before, they had been aghast at the tragic scene with JT and the dragon, but now the mob wanted them to die to end the country’s suffering.

  JT kept his head down. He could not look up. When he stood at the edge of the stage with his eyes to the floor, the guards tossed Arthur's broken, limp body onto the hard wood. He looked away from the pitiful sight and, as the woman he loved was marched up the small stairs, he glanced at her. The beautiful blue eyes of Kali Logan st
ared back at him, full of sorrow, wanting, and pain.

  “Now this is a reunion worth waiting for,” the Munch announced as he strutted his way across the stage with his arms held high and a smile on his face. He jerked his hands, gesturing for the crowd to get louder, and louder they became. The noise rose and cut through the early, cold evening.

  “The beauty…” The Munch waved toward Kali. “…and the least.” The Munch turned and pointed to JT.

  The crowd went hysterical with laughter.

  “Are you okay?” JT asked Kali.

  “What have you done?” she asked. Tears welled up in her eyes as she gazed upon her father lying on the stage, bleeding and shattered. She ran to his side and fell to her knees.

  “I had no choice,” JT called to her, but the crowd was too loud for Kali to hear.

  Just as JT started to yell the words again, the Munch glanced at JT. He raised his arms for silence and the noise stopped instantly. JT's words rang out clearly and hit Kali like a ton of bricks.

  “I had no choice!” JT tried to call back his words, but they cut Kali to the heart.

  Kali knelt, saying nothing, but clenching her hands into fists as tears fell from her eyes.

  “I had no choice,” JT whispered. Jenny placed a comforting hand upon his back.

  “What was that?” the Munch began. “What was that? You had no choice?” His tone went dark and gruesome. “Of course you had a choice. You could have died yourself. Then Arthur here would still be alive and Kali would not be all hurt like she is. Seems a little selfish to me!”

  The crowd cheered and the Munch responded. Then he placed his mouth right next to JT's ear and spoke in a clear, calm voice. “You did have a choice. Look at this crowd and how they react. I don't have to do anything. You just make it all bad on your own.”

  “We both would have died!” Jenny screamed out.

  “The little lawyer is back!” the Munch announced. “But shouldn’t you sacrifice your life for the ones that you love?”

  Jenny and JT bowed their heads. They both wondered what would have happened if they had sacrificed themselves. Maybe everything would be okay and Arthur would still be alive. But then again, maybe it wouldn't.

  “I am sorry, Kali,” JT said. “I chose myself.”

  “Me, too, Kali,” Jenny added. “I am selfish. I chose myself.”

  “No worries,” the Munch said. “You’re all gonna die anyway.”

  The crowd launched themselves into a frenzy. Kali jumped to her feet and ran to the end of the stage, her face twisting in pain. She covered her eyes with her hands.

  Worried, JT pulled away from his guards and ran to her side. Jenny squirmed loose as well and ran close behind JT. The three of them gathered around Arthur's body. JT reached for Kali’s hand, but his hand passed through hers once again.

  “What?” His eyes bulged from his skull. Why wasn’t she there? Why was Kali still a vapor? He couldn't take his eyes off of her. His own face turned to grief. He knew the end of his life was near and he would not be able to hold the woman he loved for the last time.

  The Munch rose up, uncoiling two large whips studded with razor blades; their sharp edges stuck out from the leather like metallic thorns. He danced around the stage, getting the crowd worked up and spinning the weapons in the air like a helicopter.

  Jenny screamed, “No!” Tears streamed down her cheeks. In a flash, she saw the first whip flick. Then the blades raked her face, slashing her skin.

  JT, unmoving, gazed at Kali. He did not care anymore. He loved Kali and, though he could not touch her, he could at least gaze at her while he died. “So much for the romance of knights and ladies.”

  Why is a raven like a writing desk? The thought floated through JT's brain. He tried to listen to the question, but it did not make any sense to him at all anymore. At that moment, the answer didn't even matter to him.

  Kali's transparent hand floated in the air and JT pretended to hold it. He let his mind trick his heart, until he could actually feel her soft hand in his. He let himself remember how she felt in his arms as they lay in the sands of Bruinduer after the Bridge of Common exploded.

  Blood, red and warm, splattered on the stage beside him and on his arms. JT heard Jenny's body thump to the hard boards. The air went dead silent. He could hear the whip rush upward behind him and then thrust forward across the stage toward him. He could hear the metal of the razor blades whistle in the air as the whip approached.

  JT did not know if the whip ripped through his skin or not. As soon as he heard the crack, time froze around him. Nothing moved. The arena flashed yellow. JT felt like the sun had burst through the clouds to warm his skin. He fell to his knees.

  The Munch stood like a statue with a large smile on his face and the whip ripping toward JT. Behind him, Homer stepped onto the stage.

  Behind the priest appeared Michael, wearing a white gown with a bright smile upon his face. Then he saw Jenny lying motionless and bleeding at the far end of the stage. He ran to her side and cradled her head in his arms, his white robe turning red from her blood.

  Homer's demeanor did not change. His steps were soft, calm, and deliberate; his eyes were bright and warm. “JT, my son.” He paused and nodded as he stopped beside him. “Why is a raven like a writing desk?”

  JT kept his head down and shook it in disbelief. Homer's voice comforted him, but he had no interested in solving his riddle.

  Had he really witnessed what just happened? Had he just witnessed Jenny being sliced in half? He did not want to, but ultimately he came to the conclusion that he had died. He could not possibly be standing in one piece.

  Homer chuckled a bit and circled JT. As he came around to his right, his footsteps became quieter, lighter on the wood.

  From the corner of his eyes, JT, still looking at the wooden floor, saw two small bare feet land in front of him. A tiny, tender hand reached under his chin and raised his head up.

  JT could not believe his eyes—or the ones that stared back at him. In front of him stood the little blond boy he had met on the Shorts' farm, Willy.

  “JT, my son, a raven is like a writing desk,” Willy said, his small childlike voice speaking in a mature cadence. “Because we are what we are.”

  The small boy grabbed JT's hand and pulled him to his feet. He walked over to Kali, who stood petrified, frozen in time while looking where JT had been standing, her face filled with utter horror. Her eyes reflected the pain of losing another loved one in a matter of seconds.

  “Kali is a perfect example of what I mean, JT,” Willy began. “She is lost and feels she has no purpose in this world or any world. You have been feeling since you set foot on the Shorts' farm. It amazes me that so many of you feel that same way, so useless and worthless.” Willy reached for Kali. “You could not be further from the truth. You try to control things. You try to believe that you know everything, when you know nothing—as if knowing nothing somehow is a bad thing.

  “You are what you are. Just like a writing desk is meant for writing on and a raven is meant for flying in the wind, bothering vermin, and eating whatever it sees. You all have a purpose. You all are connected. You are what you are, just as I am what I am.”

  Willy passed his hand through Kali's body and she moved again. Confused for a second, she soon realized who was standing in front of her. She smiled, then looked over at JT. He walked to her and tried to hold her, but, still, she was a vapor.

  “Kali, my dear,” Willy began, walking over to Jenny and Michael. “You cannot save yourself, no matter how hard you try. And, JT, you cannot save Kali either. That is why you find yourself incorporeal, my dear. You fear that someone may control what you do, so in this world, where you still have some power as the steward of the key, you keep yourself like a ghost. You seek a place where you belong, but are not sure whether you would be better off living or dying. And, JT, no matter how you try, you will not be able to save your friends. That, my friend, is not your job. The best you can do is to be ther
e for them. And trust me when I say that that is plenty.”

  Willy knelt and passed his hand over Jenny's hair. Within a few seconds, her wounds healed, closing and sealing as though nothing had happened. When she opened her eyes and saw Michael's face above hers, she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him.

  Willy chuckled like a schoolboy, rose to his feet, and knelt beside Arthur, who still lay on the hard wooden stage.

  “Arthur, my dear.” The little boy placed a graceful hand on his back. “You cannot protect your daughter from the world and you cannot save her, either. My poor friend, you have done your job, but it is time for you to come out of your daze and be the father you should be. That's all your daughter wants. She does not care if you fail, she only cares that you love. And that you love her.”

  Arthur turned over and sat up.

  Kali and JT could not believe their eyes.

  Arthur smiled at them all.

  “Are we dead?” JT asked Willy.

  “No,” the small boy answered, chuckling again. “You are my witnesses.”

  This time Willy took Kali's hand. She looked surprised that she could feel the small hand squeeze hers. He gently placed her hand into JT's. JT began to cry, then laugh, and Kali followed suit.

  JT grabbed her waist and held her tightly against him, then swung her around in the air. She was real again, solid and human. The couple's happiness was contagious. The rest of the group laughed and danced as they stood in the bright, yellow light, its warmth caressing their souls.

  Willy winked at JT and the rest of the group, then walked gingerly to where JT had stood before the whip crashed into him. The leather strap with its razor blades, hung above his head, locked in time.

  “What are you doing?” JT demanded, his laughter turning to a growl.

  “You will see,” Willy answered. Without wasting a second, he snapped his fingers and spread his arms out wide.

  Cold, frozen air replaced the warm, yellow light. The gray of winter returned. Snow fell; a flake even landed on JT's nose.

  “No!” JT reached for Willy, but he was too late. The Munch's whips ripped through his small body like knives through butter. As each whip struck, JT felt dizzy. He could not stand. He stumbled to the stage, where the little boy named Willy fell limp, drawing his last breath.

  “What?” the Munch sounded confused after what had just transpired right in front of him. “What was that?” He ran toward the small boy. “No, who was that?”

  The Munch towered over the small boy. The expression on his face made it clear that he realized what he had done. He sucked in a deep breath and exhaled. He appeared to know who the young boy really was, for he realized he had lost.

  “So be it.” The being called the Munch, turned, dropped his whips to the ground, and walked toward the entrance to the square to leave. The crowd went quiet as quiet could be and waited. They did not know why or what for, but they waited.

  JT swam in the dark. This time he truly believed he was dead, but something felt just a tad different in his thoughts. He could not put his finger on it, but he sensed that something might change in his mind. He felt comfortable in the dark, more relaxed than he had ever felt in the land of the Vryheid.

  He heard footsteps behind him. He heard the whisper that he heard many times in Bruinduer. He believed it to be Billy, but he also heard a higher voice with a slight lisp that might have been Willy. It was different, friendly and warm. He heard the words and then his dark world changed. “Wake up, sleeper.”

  Like a lightbulb exploding when it is too hot, a flash cut through the darkness. JT's brain opened up. The memories of his whole life emptied into his mind. Every memory that he had forgotten, every person he had ever met before his mother's accident or after his mother's accident relentlessly filed one by one into his head.

  He tensed his neck, feeling pain and joy at the same time. The memories triggered emotions with those memories. He remembered his father and the day that he left for the airport. He remembered the man in the black suit who told him his father was dead. He remembered his grandfather and the adventures they had and, most importantly at that moment, he remembered everything about Bruinduer and everything in his grandfather's journal.

  He laughed, he cried, he screamed out, he was hysterical inside of his mind. He actually remembered the day he met Kali, the day his mother died, and he remembered why she cut him off from the outside world.

  It overwhelmed him. Years of memories exploded behind his eyes. He wanted to stop at every one of them and visit, but the recall was relentless.

  Time stood still, then a giant light blasted from the stage in the arena. The cold blue and white of the Bruinduer winter released into a golden spring. The temperature swung and the crowd in the arena panicked. They knew that something major had changed, but they did not know exactly what. Many people rushed from the castle while others watched to see what happened next.

  It happened fast, for JT came back to himself and leapt to his feet, his demeanor changed. He had been reborn and, without a doubt, he knew he was in total control of his mind and actions.

  He eyed the back of the Munch's head and yelled for him. “Hey, coward!”

  The Munch stopped and turned back. The monster stared at JT, visibly scared. JT had not seen that before, but now he knew the monster's past.

  “I know who you are, Jato Bindi!” JT yelled out. There was a pause in the air and then yelled out again. "Jato Bindi…Junior. “That's right! I know who you are. I know you are not a Vryheid. I know you are the little boy that carried the basket of fruit to my grandfather's team. The messenger of his father that lured my granddad into Bruinduer so many years ago! It's the eyes. Your father realized death was a gift, and I know he's dead. You look just like him!” JT marched toward the man he now called Jato and the man shook.

  “I never really understood children or how to be a child.”

  The Munch reached for his whips, but recoiled as JT came up to him. JT easily grabbed the Munch's arms and ripped the whips from his hands.

  “You of all people should know that Bruinduer is not a real place, Jato. You knew that I couldn't remember what this was all about, but that has definitely changed, now my friend. To think my grandfather trusted your family after all of that. He forgave your father for his wrongdoing. Why did you not continue that legacy?”

  JT swirled one of the whips above his head and lassoed the Munch around his hips. “I really apologize for this,” JT said. “But it has to be done.” JT paused for a second and peered up to the sky as though he were thinking. He snapped his head back down and eyed the Munch. “On second thought, I don't apologize. You know better.”

  JT pulled on the whip until the Munch squeezed together and, with a pop, disappeared.

  JT wheeled around to gaze on Kali with pitiful eyes. “I'm so sorry.”

  Arthur stepped toward his daughter. They stood in front of each, face to face, neither knowing what to say to the other or, more importantly, how to say what they were feeling.

  “I've waited what seems like an eternity to say this, Kali,” Arthur started, his voice soft. “I just want you to know that I tried as hard as I could to make you proud of me, but after this incredible adventure, I understand that I can't save you now—only one person can do that, I believe.

  “I tried so hard to protect you and, in the end, I couldn't do either one. I should have just been there for you, to love you, to hold you when you needed to be held by your father. I never should have taken you for granted. I just want you to know that I am truly sorry for everything that I didn't do right and I love you.'

  “Oh, Daddy,” Kali said. “I wish I could have been a better daughter for you. I wish that I would have taken those walks with you and let you be my dad.” Kali ran to her father's arms.

  “Kali,” Arthur said. “Nothing was or is your fault. You were the perfect daughter, because you were and are the perfect you.”

  “I love you, Daddy.”

  Kali a
nd Arthur rocked back and forth, held tight in each other's arms. Michael and Jenny held each other and, for a brief second, JT cracked a smile, but he could not help feeling overwhelmed by the emotion at the scene.

  His memory was back. He liked it; he savored the memories and wanted to protect them. He knew exactly what to do in Bruinduer and how to do it. A memory of his last adventure in Bruinduer against Charlie flashed in front of his eyes. His heart skipped.

  “Oh my god,” JT said out loud. His smile went flat.

  Michael released Jenny and went to his friend. “What? What is it?”

  JT looked at Michael and shook his head. “I don't believe I let you do what you did the last time in Bruinduer.”

  “You have your memory back?” Michael guessed, his voice shaky and concerned.

  “Uh, yeah, I do, as a matter of fact,” JT confirmed. “And it is amazing.”

  “JT, I tried—”

  “Save it, Michael. It's in the past now, right?” JT's voice sounded more confident than it had since he could remember. He went over to Michael and hugged his friend’s shoulders, laughing and crying. Michael looked a little confused at first, but the feeling was contagious. Soon he hugged his friend as well.

  “I missed you, Michael. You are my best friend.” JT buried his head into Michael's shoulder.

  Tension and pain released from Michael's chest. He had finally found his friend, the way he remembered him. Being with him felt right again. He had done it. Tears flooded from his eyes.

  “Bruinduer,” JT said, beginning to smile. He pulled Michael in front of him. “Bruinduer.”

  “Bruinduer,” Michael repeated out of habit. The rest of the group repeated the word. “Bruinduer.”

  JT went to Kali and hugged her. He kissed her mouth and his body became weak. “Before I lose my mind completely, I just want you to know that I love you.”

  Kali said nothing, but smiled at JT. In spite of the torture she endured, her eyes sparkled. She knew that she loved him, too.

  “Arthur,” JT said after a moment with Kali. “I think I can help you, but I don't know if what I have planned will work, exactly.”

  “What do you mean?” Arthur asked.

  “Well, everyone who enters Bruinduer, must leave Bruinduer. And, like my good friend Michael over there,” JT teased, “Reminded me earlier, there is always a catch. He is right. You see, when we leave Bruinduer, you will return to the way you were before you entered, so you will be catatonic—the way we found you in the hospital. And, in case you had forgotten, we are actually twenty three years old and you are fifty-five.”

  Arthur did not speak. He took a deep breath, looked at the ground, and smiled toward his daughter. “It's okay; I don't mind. I said what I needed to say. I can leave here in peace. Besides, I have never had such a wonderful adventure.”

  “Well, I don't want that to happen.” Kali threw herself into JT's arms. “Can you do something, JT? Please.”

  “I think so, but you know what you have to do, right?” JT asked, his voice assured.

  “Anything,” Kali answered.

  “Just make me the steward of the key,” JT said. “I believe I can do the rest.”

  Kali stood back and, in a nice, easy voice, said, “JT, I make you the steward of the key.” She let out a huge breath, as though the weight of the world lifted from her shoulders.

  “That's all I need,” JT said, turning toward the assembly by the end of the stage.

  “What happens to us?” called someone in the crowd behind him. One after another, the crowd responded to the question. “Yeah, what happens to us?” “Yeah, Yeah.”

  JT waited for a moment for the crowd to calm and held up his hands. The remainder of the crowd fell silent, staring at JT, the arena thick with anticipation.

  JT knew how the adventure ended. He also knew that rule number 5 said that the people in Bruinduer are people.

  With his memory back, JT knew that, as soon as he walked through the door back into Warhead Dale, the citizens before him would vanish. They were part of the world created to allow the first person entering Bruinduer to complete their task. Not even JT knew exactly how the people came into existence, but his grandfather knew that Billy had created Bruinduer, not the Vryheid. So logically, he assumed Billy created whatever the first through Bruinduer needed for that adventure, or even more likely, Kwaida, the Essence of Bruinduer did as he pleased.

  JT spoke in a clear, loud voice that echoed across the arena. “Citizens of this land,” he began. “I do not know what will happen to you as time moves forward, but I do know that something very special happened here.”

  JT looked at Willy's broken body lying on the stage, a perfect, child smile on his face. “You should remember it.” JT took a deep breath and paused, scanning the crowd and peering at their empty faces. He did not know if the people actually knew what had happened or would even believe what he was about to say. “This boy died for you. He took the place of Arthur and Kali and the rest ofus, so that you may live in the peace you so desperately want and deserve. The Munch is destroyed. You can live your lives as you see fit.”

  The crowd mumbled to each other. JT did not understand exactly what they said to one another, but one citizen spoke up. “What if we forget?”

  “Write it down. Let the scene live in your minds forever. Just be aware that this is a beginning and not an end. Know that, in this death, you have your peace.'

  “Will we see him again?” the man asked, sincerely, as if he would miss him.

  “I do not know the answer to that question,” JT responded. “I can only say that I hope so.”

  The man gathered his friends and family, then walked to the stage. They surround the small boy and lifted him up. “We will bury him at the Egleese and build a monument in his honor, so that we will never forget. The posts will remain here as a symbol of the one who was willing to die for us.”

  The people walked out of the arena and into the night. A chorus of song lifted in the arena as they went. The citizens of Bruinduer knew complete peace. There was no need to wonder about the next beating. There was no need to wait for the next sacrifice. Payment was complete.

  As the crowd filed out, following the procession bearing Willy’s body, JT turned to the posts and stood between them. He bowed his head, rubbed his hands together, and clapped twice. A bright, white door opened.

  He motioned for Michael, Jenny, and Arthur to walk through, for their adventure was over.

  As Kali came to the door, she and JT stood silently and smiled at each other. They held each other and Kali laid her head on JT's chest. She heard his heart beat, lifted her head, and kissed him gently on the lips.

  JT knew that he had found an angel and he would spend the rest of his life with her, from that moment on.

  They took each other's hands and stepped through the white light and out of Bruinduer.