When We Were Mortals
Page 38
Ryan and Anessa resumed their life in Heaven City, as if they never skipped a beat. He knew in time he would have to tell her what happened; he couldn’t stand the thought of her going through that again, but he knew they had time. She was satisfied with their life and didn’t question anything beyond it.
Ksenia and Erik finally had the life they deserved, taking their clan from city to city to help build the shelters that Anessa needed, while Constantine and Sabine rode off to Romania to enjoy a much-needed retirement.
Gabriel agreed to stay in Heaven City with Renada. The thought of leaving behind the city that he and his love had been so many times before just didn’t sit right to him. He had lived there so many lifetimes that no other place felt as much like home. Zara had offered him the protection of the Gypsies, which he refused under one condition, stay with him and his daughter and be the mother she would need. Of course, she agreed, who wouldn’t give in to the request of such a man, but she did so with her own stipulation. That someday, when he was ready, he would find it in his heart to love her, even a little bit.
Seraphine took pity on Samiel, bringing him back to Caelum with her, where she would take care of him until he was able to get back on his feet. Eventually he would assist his daughter in spreading knowledge and by becoming one of the greatest voices of their generation. He spoke the truth, using his own sins as a starting point and welcoming all to learn from his mistakes.
And then there was Hyperion, who found himself desolate and alone, living on the same streets he had forced Father John to live on, eating out of the same dumpsters and wearing the same clothes. He had gone to the Church to request shelter, but in turn was given a lesson in humility as he was handed the Priest’s old jacket, $40 and a bus ticket out of the city. Instead of seeing it for what it was meant for, he sold the ticket, took the money and crawled into obscurity.
So, you see, there is a happy ending for everyone. There was a dawning of a new age where knowledge and truth was worshipped. Religions broke down, one by one as mortals learned the truth of their origins and the purpose of their existence.
People were finally able to live a life full of truth, of true choice and life was good.
*****
But now is the part where you ask yourself one very important question.
One, how the hell am I able to write this story if I was expelled from my body and scattered all over the universe? Well remember, I do exist, in every form and I live outside of time. I am an entity that can return to a human body whenever and wherever I please. I keep my distance and never make myself known, due to previous complications, but I am always around. So, this story I am telling you is from a life I have already lived and you have not experienced yet. As a matter of fact, this is only one version of it -- it could change drastically based on what happens after you read it. But it wasn’t until I found myself in a far distant future that I felt it necessary to tell this tale.
Somewhere along the way, things will go wrong again. One of the children I bore in love will become corrupted by an evil much greater than the one we battled before and everything I fought for will be gone. You will someday forget who you are and who you were meant to be and all of this will be for naught.
And you’re right to ask why I don’t go back and stop all this from happening in the first place. I tried that, numerous times and I got a very different outcome with every single attempt. But it didn’t erase this version of the story or any other, it just wrote alternative ones. So, this always ends up happening, since it already did; I can’t change any of it. But I can warn you, so you are prepared and maybe you can find a way to do something I couldn’t – to rewrite your destiny.
Afterword
On a final note, I need you to know that I have loved so many, and leaving them behind, even for an entity like me, was the hardest thing I have ever had to do. So, to all of you who I have loved, to each and every one of you, I hope you are reading this story. Because if you are, go back and re-read the first page. That letter is addressed to you.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
E.S. Mercer is a self-published author and poet as well as a professional photographer and amateur artist. Formerly of the United States Air Force, E.S. worked as a Television and Radio Broadcaster, eventually turning her sights on print news. While in college, E.S. fell in love with creative writing and soon started her journey with poetry and short stories, which were published in a few college journals. After school she chose to continue her perfecting her creative
writing skills and self-published her own Poetry book, Love, Hate and SelfLoathing. E.S. became inspired with the idea to write a novel after writing one of her poems, Requesting Your Fancy, in a darkest time in her life. Overcoming a lot of adversity in her own life, she created Evangeline's character as a way to find the strength in herself. This blossomed into a story that took on a life of its own and E.S. has never looked back since.