Endless Possibilities

Endless Possibilities

Author's Note: As one story closes...a new one begins

Epilogue

XxXxX

Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away

Now it looks as though they're here to stay,

Oh, I believe in yesterday...

The tiny guest room had changed drastically in but a month's time. True, it remained as white and plain as ever, but it now had the quaint charm of a space actually lived in. A bookshelf had been added, stacked with tomes far more advanced than the occupant's age would imply. Not a toy to be found, an oddity in a sense that the room's occupant had only just graduated from kindergarten. The most prominent decoration was a poster hanging on the wall over the bed, proclaiming to the world "My Special Person".

Suddenly, I'm not half the man I used to be

There's a shadow hanging over me,

Oh, yesterday came suddenly...

The room was draped in a cloak of darkness, not a drop of moonlight slipping in through the window. The curtains were wide open, letting in the night shamelessly. A book, proudly displaying Nabokov as its author, laid open on the floor, the reader curled up on the plain white bed. In her arms she clutched a doll...eerily familiar, yet altered. It was a doll her family had never seen, one she hoped they'd never discover. The ramifications of her poster, her final project, had been bad enough. She didn't dare think of what might happen if they saw her doll.

Why she had to go, I don't know. She wouldn't say...

I said something wrong, now I long for yesterday...

The poster in question was very large, a full sheet of poster board with pink and black lettering. In the center, meticulously crafted with various shades of glitter-something she'd previously have never been caught using-was a portrait of her special person. Though her sister was more commonly known for her artistic abilities, the portrait clearly displayed that the red-haired child was no slouch in design. Other images, some of herself and others of who she used to be, decorated the perimeter, broken up by bits and pieces of information.

Yesterday, love was such an easy game to play

Now I need a place to hide away,

Oh, I believe in yesterday...

A tiny pink CD player sat on the desk by the window, softly playing an old song. A sweet, sad lullaby, so intimate and sincere the little girl couldn't help shedding a tear or two. She held her doll tighter, curled further beneath the heavy comforter and snuggled closer to her pillow. Not fast asleep, but lying awake in the dead of night and carried through painful, beautiful memories. As the song drifted into a close, fatigue overtook her and gently pulled her into the warm embrace of sleep where dream and memory felt...almost real.

The tiny doll she nuzzled lovingly had been altered, carefully and delicately. A dress that before had been pink was now black, shoes and stockings made equally dark, as was the bright red ribbon, the very sign of her leadership. Most careful of all the alterations, her face was now sickly green. The secret doll of Devil Blossom stared at the ceiling, a tiny smile on her plush face.

XxXxX

The city of Townsville! In but a short month's time, the once smoldering crater had been rebuilt to workable order. Yes, while it was still very far from recovered, Townsville was pressing on just the same as always. With the help of some outside sources, officials estimated that the city would be back to normal in but a few more months time. But...as was common in Townsville, the nocturnal hours were seldom silent. Beneath the sleeping city, in the tattered patchwork of the Townsville sewer system, a dark figure shuffled along, clutching a strip of blue cloth.

"Yes...I thought I would never find it...stupid girls..." His breath stung the air, rancid waves of putrid stench radiated from his tattered cloak. Every step he took was pained and slow, dragging the jagged stone walkway and leaving behind a trail of blood. He tenderly trailed a scaly finger across the dark red stain in the blue cloth.

"So this...this is the real power of Chemical X? So beautiful...so perfect...if he could do it, why can't I do it better?" Light from above caught his eyes, reflecting off his tattered sunglasses. He looked up through the scar in the Townsville street and grinned, slinking deeper into the sewer system.

And every night it just stays the same...I dream of absolution...