Copyright 2019 Albert Oon
Published by Albert Oon at Smashwords
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Chapter 1 – Face to Face with Death
There is a boy named Schivo who just wanted to spend some time by a lake. His family and he usually fish for food if they aren’t farming crops or hunting. For some reason, he is pushed by an invisible force into the lake and into a world that’s lost most of its color. Everything that was once green and lush, is now pale and white as if it had just lightly snowed. Schivo tries to go back to through the lake, but he only gets wet. Looking at his reflection in the water reveals that he looks plain and white as well with most of his features gone.
With nowhere else to go, Schivo walks back in the general direction of his house. Along the way, he sees trees withering and growing back. The grass and flowers gain their color then lose it within a matter of seconds. Animals and insects become young, old, then young again as they live their normal lives seemingly unaffected by what’s happening to them. He tries to touch them and feels that their skin really does change from young to old to young again.
“What’s going on here?” Schivo says aloud.
Usually, animals run away from him when he’s hunting them, but they don’t seem to be bothered by his presence or touch. Unnerved by the sight of rapid aging, he continues on his way back home to find nothing there.
“Now where should I go?” Schivo asks himself.
As he thinks of what to do, he begins to hear a crowd in the direction where a town should be in Schivo’s world. His family and he only go into the town for church, community events, and to sell whatever they hunt and grow. Going into the town, Schivo finds a group of people, who look like him, having a good time with drinks, food, and dancing. Curious as to what is happening, he goes into town and talks to a man who is resting after dancing.
“Excuse me, sir, what is going on here?” Schivo asks the man.
“My boy, we are enjoying life and death!” the man says with great joy.
“What are you talking about?”
“We here become young, old, then die in a short amount of time, therefore, we enjoy the joys of all stages of life over and over again.”
“That sounds repetitive and boring. Isn’t one life enough?”
“What’s boring about enjoying the joys of youth and fun times of adulthood? You should join us!”
“No, thank you. I’m trying to find my way home. Do you know where that might be?”
“As far as I know, no one has been able to make it out, but then again, I’ve never checked. Why should we anyway? We can never die!”
“I’m going to look for a way out. My parents are going to worry about me.”
“What if you leave and it’s the same time you left in the real world?”
“What?”
“What makes you think time moves normally here? Just look all around you. We have all eternity to go back to the normal world.”
“I’d rather do it now than later.”
“How on a second. Let me show you what you’re missing.”
The man grabs Schivo’s hand and pulls him over to the party.
“Hey!”
“Look at what you’re missing.”
“I’m sorry but I’m not a party person.”
“But I’m sure you can find a pretty girl to take home with you.”
“Everyone here looks different than normal humans. How do I know that they’ll look like they do now when we go back?”
“Good point, but I’m sure you can find a good personality here that’ll make up for it.”
“I’m sure I can find a pretty girl in the real town. I should be going now.”
“Come on, boy, give this place a chance!”
The ground starts to shake. The food and drinks fall to the floor along with all of the decorations. Some people continue to party while others stop to clean up. After a little while, the shaking stops.
Schivo says, “Does that normally happen?”
“It’s been happening for a while,” the man responds, “It’s a pain, but not a big deal.”
“Huh? Was this bulge in the ground here before?”
Schivo touches a bulge in the ground, which makes worms and rats come out of it. The worms crawl within the skin of the partygoers while the rats eat all of the food and drink while having a party of their own. Schivo tries to get rid of the rats, but they make him join the party.
“Thank you so much, Schivo!” one of the rats say, “We were trying to get through the ground to teach these people a lesson and you let us through!”
“Huh? What’s going on?”
Schivo tries getting the worms out of the partygoers, but they push him away and crawl onto him.
They say, “No, no, no. You mustn’t get involved with them lest you end up like them.”
The party goers reach out to Schivo for help, but they are soon devoured by a large half worm, half rat creature. Scared by the sight of it, Schivo runs away from it back into the forest.
“Wait!” the rat side of it says.
“Yes, we mean you no harm!” the worm side says.
“Why would I trust a talking rat, worm hybrid?” Schivo asks.
“You weren’t harmed by our rats and worms, right? That means we won’t harm you.”
“Okay. Fine, but if I see you move strangely, then I’m going back to bolting it.”
Schivo stops running as the rat, worm catches up to him.
“Schivo, we are Decay and Death. How can we not move strangely?”
“I don’t know. Start by telling me why I’m here.”
“Were you pushed into a lake or body of water by chance?”
“I was.”
“Then you are meant to be here for a reason that will become clearer to you, but for now, we must lead to your destination. Someone important is waiting for you.”
“Someone important? Like who?”
“We can’t say, but you will be pleasantly surprised. Ride on us and we will show you.”
“Uh, how will I know I won’t fall off?”
“You can ride on Decay and his fur will give you a better grip, but he has lice.”
“Friendly lice!”
“But lice nonetheless. You could ride on me, Death, but you might stink after.”
“Can I just walk?”
“You could, but it will take forever to get there.”
Decay picks up Schivo and puts him on his back.
“Hey!”
“Don’t be a stranger. You’re among friends! Now let us be off!”
Decay and Death head off into the distance at high speeds with Schivo holding onto Decay.
“Who are you two?”
“Death and Decay. The two forces which keep the cycle of life going in the world.”
“Why did you consume those people at the party?”
“They were so in love with us that we were allowed to make them a part of us.”
“Were allowed?”
“There’s a force here restricting us from acting on people. Once a person falls to their own fears and after a certain amount of time has passed, we are allowed to act.”
“Why should I trust that you won’t go after me?”
“Because you do not fear us. Oh! I might’ve spoiled the reason why people are taken here. Look ahead! There’s the girl we want you to meet?”
“Girl?”
Ahead of Schivo is a girl his age with pigtails. She’s been waiting for a while on a small hill of flowers for someone like Schivo is arrive. Now that he’s here, she smiles in joy.
Chapter 2 – Unwanted Love
Schivo is brought to the waiting girl by Decay and Death. He is somewhat hesitant to approach the smiling girl, but he steps forward with a smile and his hand extended.
“Hello, my name is Schivo. What’s yours?”
“Sanitas. I’ve been waiting for you to come here. Thank you for taking him to me Decay and Death.”
“Do not worry about it, miss. We must get back to our duties. There are other people we must attend to.”
The half rat, half worm heads off leaving the two alone in a weird silence. Sanitas seems to enjoy just being with Schivo for some reason known only to her.
To break the silence, Schivo says, “Why are you waiting for me?”
“Because I’ve been a good girl here and I was allowed one wish.”
“What did you wish for?”
“A boyfriend that would love and protect me to his dying breath.”
“And that’s supposed to be me?”
“It looks like it.”
Schivo is a little embarrassed and tries not to blush, but then he realizes something.
“Wait. Where’s my choice in this? Did I just get dragged here to be your boyfriend because I would be a good choice?”
“I guess. What’s the problem?”
“I don’t know you. Do you expect me to just fall in love with you? We need to get to know each other first before we enter any kind of relationship.”
“Okay. Let’s hold hands.”
“What?”
“Isn’t that okay to do?”
“I guess, but it seems like a thing that a couple would do.”
“If you were brought to me, that means we’re probably going to be a couple. It’s not like I’m asking you to kiss me.”
Sanitas’ face despite not being truly human pulls on Schivo’s heart.
“Okay.”
“Yay!”
As Schivo takes Sanitas’ hand, their hands start to meld together. Their bodies start gravitating together as a connection is being formed.
Unnerved by the feeling of connecting, Schivo asks, “What? What’s going on?!”
“Haha, you see? We’re compatible. We’re meant to be together.”
“Get away from me!”
Schivo runs away from Sanitas and into the forest.
“Wait, Schivo!”
“No!”
Schivo runs deeper and deeper into the forest while dodging between the trees to break Sanitas’ sight of him. He hides behind a large tree in a clearing that reaches further to the sky than the other trees.
While planning out his next moves, the large tree asks him, “Why are you running, little man? The girl you are running from is pure and sweet.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“Why not?”
“One, you’re a talking tree. Two, that girl was doing something weird to me.”
“Making a connection with you isn’t weird.”
“The way she was doing it was.”
“No, it wasn’t,” a familiar voice says from the trees.
Sanitas descends from the large tree as Schivo backs away from her.
“I’m friends with these trees so they take me wherever I want to go and tell me what I want to know,” she says as she begins to hold out her hands.
“That’s neat. I’m sure one of them will gladly find you a better boyfriend than me.”
“You were the only one that was brought to me. You are the only one for me.”
“You don’t know that. We just met and know nothing about one another!”
“You felt that connection we had. I know you felt it too. Let’s connect.”
“Stop it! We don’t have to connect that way!”
Schivo tries running back into the forest, but the trees enlarge their branches and slow down his movements.
“This is why I don’t trust talking trees!”
“Relax, Schivo. This won’t hurt.”
“I’m uncomfortable with it. It’s weird. How am I going to use my right arm if we’re connected?”
“You can trust me.”
“I don’t even know you beyond your name!”
“It’s okay. You’ll get to know me better as we live together.”
Schivo and Sanitas’ begin to connect again, but the process drives him away again.
“I don’t like this!”
Once he breaks away, he enters into a tight labyrinth of branches and trunks as the trees have grown bigger to trap him.
“I am going to make a house out of all your friends when I’m out of here!” Schivo yells at the trees.
“Don’t be mean!”
“You stop! We’re fine like this. We don’t need to be so close.”
“But we have to connect, Schivo! You have to be mine!”
“Okay, now you’re sounding really creepy.”
“You’re the boy I wished for. You have to be!”
“Sorry, but do I seem like I am right now?”
The trees grow bigger until Schivo has to slide his way through. Sanitas’ manages to get close to him since the trees are giving her space. She begins to connect to him, which slows him down and gravitates him to her.
“Stop making this difficult,” Sanitas says.
“Don’t you think it’s weird that these weird creatures and plants want us to connect? Maybe this is some kind of evil plot. Maybe we’ll stay connected like this even when we leave.”
“That’s great!”
“I think you’ve lost your mind while staying here.”
Schivo breaks off a branch from one of the trees and tries to break the connection.
“What are you doing?!”
“Trying to save us. I don’t think you know what you’re doing.”
The trees let Schivo move so he can get away only to close in on him. He struggles to move away as Sanitas begins to connect with him again.
“Listen to me, Sanitas. I-”
Sanitas hugs Schivo which gets them to connect much faster than normal. Schivo’s right foot connects with Sanitas’ left foot along with his right arm and her left arm. During the quick process, Schivo feels comfortable and happy from Sanitas’ embrace but tries to resist at the last second. His efforts are in vain as the connection has been completed. The trees shrink their trunks and branches as the forest returns to normal.
Schivo is in shock as he sees his physical connection to Sanitas. He tries moving their connected limbs to see that they’re permanently connected together for now.
“What did you do to me?” he asks.
Sanitas hugs Schivo then answers, “We’re connected. Do you see how easy it was for us to connect with one another? That means we’re meant to be with one another.”
Unable to do anything to break the connection, Schivo sighs. “I guess I can’t do anything about this now. You’re not going to force me to stay in this world, are you?”
“No. I only stayed for you. We can leave now if you want.”
“Alright. I promise to keep you safe to the best of my ability. I could probably do more, but no. You wanted us to be this way.”
“Yup!”
“Okay then. Let’s go. I’ve had enough of this place.”
“Okay. Bye trees!”
The trees say bye to Sanitas and wave with their branches as Schivo and Sanitas leave the forest.
Chapter 3 – Toxic Attention
In their search for an exit, Schivo and Sanitas come across a dusk and gloomy city made of stone. The shadows are darker here and move around There’s an unnerving silence that’s found nowhere close in this dying and rebirthing world, but Schivo is currently more unnerved by his physical attachment to a girl. Sanitas, on the other hand, is quite happy since she’s attached to a boy she was promised. Her head is filled with things they will do after they leave this world.
“Hello! Do you think there is anyone here, Schivo?”
“I doubt it. Decay and Death eat up people who tend to stay in one place.”
“If someone lived here, what do you think it would be like?”
“Freezing winters and hot summers because of the stone.”
“I wouldn’t want to live here. It doesn’t seem to be a good place to grow flowers. You mentioned that you could build a house out of trees. Can you build a house out of stones?”
“I think I can if you give me enough time to learn how to do it. I can do a lot of things by myself. Cook, bargain, clean, and farm. My parents taught me how to do all sorts of things by myself. I even go to church and to town by myself.”
“Wow, you must really have good parents. I can’t wait to meet them.”
“Yeah…”
“Is something the matter?”
“No. Do you feel like we’re being watched? These shadows look like they’re moving in the corner of my eyes.”
“I see that too.”
“We should get out of here as soon as possible.”
“Hey, do you see that?”
“What?”
Sanitas points in the darkness of one of the houses. There appear to be white faces in the shadows.
“Hello!”
The shadows in the darkness silently wave. Sanitas pulls Schivo forward to see who the shadows in the darkness are and only see the silhouettes of people. Their faces are completely white with permanent expressions on them while their bodies are as black as the shadows. Some of the faces on these shadows are grins, looks of disappointment, predatory, amused, and variations on these. Mumblings and light laughter fill the streets of the city from the shadows as more faces appear from the darkness of the houses.
Unaffected by their presence, Sanitas says, “Hi! Can you show us the way out of here?”
Dark fingers reach out from the buildings and point north.
“Thank you,” Sanitas says with a wave goodbye.
The shadows respond with a friendly wave as well.
“Okay, come on, Sanitas.”
“What is it, Schivo?”
“I don’t trust these shadows. I mean, look at them.”
“They’re friendly.”
“It doesn’t matter. Do you hear their mumblings and laughter? They’re probably talking about us.”
“I hope they have nice things to say.”
“Me too, but I doubt it. We’re not going north. Let’s go this way instead.”
Schivo instantly finds himself in a dead end alleyway.
“That was the wrong way.”
“You think?”
As soon as they leave the alleyway, Schivo bumps into a smiling white face that’s revealed to be bigger than him. He punches it in fear and runs away with Sanitas.
The grinning mask laughs then says, “He got you good!”
“Never speak of this again!” the mask that got punched says before the shadows chase after the two.
Three faces, one grinning, one judgmental, and another predatory, chase Schivo and Sanitas throughout the stone city. The shadows in the house try telling the two to stop, but Schivo keeps running. Since he runs faster than Sanitas, he tries pulling her forward while running to help her keep up. The shadows split up to try to cut off the two. The grinning shadow cuts them off at a corner.
“I got you,” the shadow says with his large shadowy hand out.
“No, you don’t!” Schivo says as he kicks the shadow in the face before running the other way.
“Oooowww!”
“Hahaha, how do you like it?”
“Not very much.”
The shadows continue their chase and the judgmental mask cuts them off.
“It’s my turn!” Sanitas says.
“Go ahead!”
Schivo pulls Sanitas forward and she punches the mask before they run off in a different direction.
“She punches harder than you!” the mask yells.
The shadows use their final plan and use their shadows to scoop the two in the grasp then appear to them. Schivo tries fighting them off but can’t manage to reach their faces. Punching and kicking the shadows themselves don’t seem to do anything, but he still tries to break them free.
“Stay back, Sanitas. I’ll protect you.”
“Look at the little knight without his shining armor.”
“Stay away from us creatures of shadow!”
“Or else you’ll do what? We’re only trying to help you.”
“Help us how?”
“We showed you to go north and you didn’t go the right way, so we’re trying to show it to you.”
“Who are you, shadows?”
“We are the whispers of people who mock, ridicule, judge, and so on. In short, we are the Whispers of Condemnation. Did we unnerve you with our talking of you? I’m sure you’ve heard us whispering about you in the real world.”
“You don’t bother me. I don’t mind it when other people talk about me.”
“Then why did you punch us?”
“Because you have creepy faces.”
“Fair enough.”
“For who?!” the judgmental mask asks.
“For you. I’m as handsome as can be.”
“You were the first one to get punched.”
“You got kicked in the face.”
“You got punched in the face by the girl.”
“At least I’m always happy unlike you who has to be judgmental about everyone.”
“At least I’m always pretty.”
“But you never go out on dates.”
“That’s because a good shadow never asks me out.”
“I’ve been asking you out since we got here.”
“And I’m going to keep rejecting you.”
“Uh, excuse me?” Sanitas interrupts, “But aren’t you supposed to be helping us?”
“Oh, that’s right. Let us show you the way out.”
“Why are you helping us? This entire world seems like it’s either a death trap or some kind of test,” Schivo asks.
“It’s both of those. You no longer need to be here. There is nothing that either of you truly fears or need to learn from us.”
“Okay, I guess. If what you are saying is true, then lead us out of this city.”
“Hold on tight.”
The shadows move the two through the city as if they were riding a wave until they are outside of it.
“Go on now children,” the shadows say.
Before they can get far, the predatory shadow approaches Sanitas and says, “Before you go, here.”
The shadow tries handing her a black rose with red leaves on it.
“Oh, uh. Thank you.”
Schivo moves Sanitas away then says, “Don’t trust it, Sanitas. Who knows what that black rose could do to you?”
“I thought you didn’t want to be with this girl, Schivo?”
“I’m trying to protect her. She’s my responsibility now that she’s connected to me, and I’m not going to let anything happen to her.”
“Aww,” the shadows say while Schivo blushes.
“Aww, thank you, Schivo.”
“I’m-I’m just being responsible.”
The two walk away while feeling their connection increase.
“Aww, why can’t we have that kind of connection?” the shadows ask themselves.
“Because all we do is bicker at each other.”
“Well I know it’s not my fault.”
“It is too.”
“It is not!”
“Here we go again…”
Chapter 4 – Humorless Attractions
“Look, Schivo! A circus!”
“Yeah? It’s weird that one’s here.”
Schivo and Sanitas come across a circus that stretches across the land.
“What do you think is going on there?”
“Probably nothing good knowing this place. I mean, look how grey the colors are. We should find a way around.”
“There doesn’t seem to be a way around. Let’s just go through it. What’s the worst that could happen?”
“A lot of things could happen.”
“Oh, stop being a baby. Let’s go!”
Sanitas drags Schivo to the circus to see that it consists of a series of tightropes over alligator pits, animal performing arenas, and floating platforms as small as drums over bottomless pits with rings of fire around them.
“Wow!”
“Yeah, wow! What a bunch of death traps I’m not interested in going through. Let’s find a way around this Sanitas. This looks like a performing area.”
“Wait there just a second there, young man!” a duo of strange voices say.
Two clowns, one man and one woman, ascend on a small drum from the void in the circus. They are combined at the waist and alternate with the man or the woman at the bottom with their hands as feet. The duo jumps through rings of fire and do stunts in the air.
“That was amazing!” Sanitas says.
“Why thank you, young lady,” the duo says.
“If that’s what’s going to happen to us, Sanitas, then I need a knife to cut us apart now.”
“Do not fear, Schivo, this will not happen to you, but you will have to go through our little circus in order to find the exit you seek.”
“Impossible. Do you see the way we are? Maybe if we looked like you, then…nah, I wouldn’t want to do that either.”
“Oh, come on, Schivo. Don’t you trust, Sanitas?”
Schivo looks at Sanitas who’s giving him a sweet smile.
“I guess. I don’t know. She might be the only reason why I’m here, so she could forcibly connect herself to me so I could be her boyfriend. I don’t know about you, but that makes a person questionable in my opinion. What?”
Schivo’s connection to Sanitas makes him feel the guilt she is beginning to feel about bringing him here.
“I’m sorry, Schivo. I didn’t think I would be causing you trouble. I was being selfish, wasn’t I?”
Sanitas begins to cry after feeling guilty.
“What kind of man makes his lady cry?”
“Hey, hey. I didn’t mean to make you feel guilty,” Schivo says as he puts his arm on her shoulder, “You got a wish and you got it. I’ll be your boyfriend that you want if you give me enough time. Okay?”
“Okay…”
“Thatta boy, Schivo.”
“Is there some kind of trick in getting past this circus?”
“Just trust one another and you’ll make it through. You’ll succeed with the power of love!”
“That sounds corny.”
“But it’s true.”
“Fine.”
Schivo and Sanitas begin to walk across the tight rope with alligators ready to eat them should they fall.
“Schivo, do you think I’m cute?”
“Do you really need to be asking that question now?”
“I feel like I have to.”
The two clowns say, “This exercise makes you talk about your relationship. If your relationship isn’t stable, then you won’t be stable, and you’ll fall to your death.”
“Thanks for telling me now. I think you’re cute Sanitas.”
“I think you’re cute too.”
“How can you tell? I look so plain now.”
“I can just tell by the way you are. Even if you don’t look exactly like how I imagine in the real world, I still think I’ll be with you.”
“Are you just saying that because I was brought to you to be your boyfriend?”
“No. Are you just saying I’m cute to keep our relationship stable?”
“No, not at all.”
Before they know it, they’re across the tight rope that was at least a couple of miles long.
“Do you two see? This is a simple obstacle to overcome.”
“But this next one doesn’t seem so simple.”
“Do you not know how to dance? All you have to do is a dance with the animals to get to the other side.”
“Okay.”
The two dance with the elephants, tigers, alligators, hippos, and other circus animals who are dancing within an arena.
“What do you think of me, Sanitas? Do you think I’m a good person?”
“You’re helping me get out of this world, so I think you are. You’re even giving me a chance at being your girlfriend even though you don’t have much of a choice. What about me? What do you think of me?”
“I think you’re persistent and generally a good person to be around. You seem to find something good in everything, which is probably why you got your wish granted.”
“Do you really think that?”
“Of course I do. I know I was hesitant at first, but I’m giving you a chance now.”
“Thank you so much, Schivo.”
The two have now made it out of the animal dancing arena.
“Now how are we going to jump across all these platforms with rings of fire? We aren’t performers like you two,” Schivo says.
“You don’t have to be. This test is to see if you answered your partner truthfully or not. Let your soul do the work for you.”
“If you say so.”
With only one step, Schivo and Sanitas leap from the edge of the ground and onto the floating platforms. They manage to land with precision on each one despite how small the platforms are. They leap through the rings of fire like professionals to the applause of the clowns. Both of them feel free and happy until they reach the last platform. Schivo finds it hard to stand on it and finds that it’s slippery for him and not for Sanitas.
“What’s going on, Schivo?” Sanitas asks. In her confusion, a possible reason for his struggling comes to her mind. “Are you afraid of something?”
“I…I’m afraid of losing you.”
“You won’t lose me. What makes you think that? Have you lost someone important to you?”
“…I have. I still feel pain from the loss every now and then.”
Sanitas helps Schivo keep his balance.
“I promise you, Schivo, that I will never leave you. I will always be with you no matter what happens.”
“That’s what they said too.”
“Don’t you believe me?”
“I believe you, but…I don’t know if I want to feel the joys of loving someone only to lose them later in time.”
“You won’t lose me.” Sanitas holds Schivo’s hand. “I promise you.”
Sanitas then leans in closer to Schivo, which makes the platform continuously flip over and over again with them on it. It isn’t until Schivo accepts Sanitas’ promise in his heart does the platform begin to stay still. The two then make the final leap to safety.
“Okay, Sanitas, and I promise to be faithful to you and never let you down.”
Sanitas hugs Schivo as their connection grows to its limit and is perfected. The clowns float over to the two with a pair of balloons.
“Good job you two,” the clowns say, “We’re so glad that you made it through these tests.”
“Tests, tests,” Schivo says, “So that’s the purpose of this place, huh? It’s supposed to be one of those magical places that test us that I hear about in fairy tales?”
“In a way. This place manifests fears of all kinds to better your character. This test was more for you than Sanitas. If you failed, then we would’ve gotten her a better boy.”
“There is no better boy for me,” Sanitas says.
“We can see that, and we are very glad that he passed.”
Schivo asks, “Wait, what happens if you fail?”
“Then your soul might be lost forever here, but you shouldn’t have anything to worry about if you stay the course.”
“That’s reassuring.”
“The exit you seek is close. Be good you two and you might end up as in-sync and close as us, metaphorically speaking.”
“I hope.”
Strengthened by their last test, the two head off away from the circus to their next and last challenge.
Chapter 5 – Evils and Innocents
“This is weird,” Schivo says as he looks out at the flat land in front of him, “There’s usually something weird ahead of us.”
“Maybe we just can’t see it,” Sanitas says.
A white elephant’s trunk pops out of the ground then an elephant’s smiling white face. It has pinkish round cheeks and ears.
“Hello there!” it says in a squeaky voice, “Can you help me get through? I’m kind of stuck.”
“Uh, sure.”
Schivo pulls the elephant’s head out and just the head while its body stays in the ground. He falls down in fear, which makes Sanitas fall down too. The elephant still appears to be alive as its face makes expressions.
“Oh. You pulled my head off,” it says.
“I-I-I’m sorry,” Schivo says while feeling horribly guilty.
“You don’t have to worry about it. Just pull the rest of me out.”
“Oh-Okay.”
Sanitas helps Schivo pull out the rest of the elephant. He then puts the elephant’s head back on its body, but then, the elephant’s body falls apart with its arms, legs, and tail plopping to the ground. Again, Schivo shutters in guilt.
“You put on my head too hard.”
“I’m so sorry!”
“It’s okay. I’m just a little fragile. Be careful next time.”
The two put together the elephant. It then does a little dance and spins around in joy.
“Hahaha, thank you!”
“You don’t have to thank us. I kept breaking you apart.”
“That wasn’t your fault. You didn’t know.”
“Are you supposed to be our last test?”
“Not really unless you count Schivo’s fear of harming innocent creatures and people.”
“Oh, that’s right. I’d hate to hurt innocent beings. I remember this one time that I accidentally made a baby cry or the time I didn’t kill a rabbit with one shot.”
“You don’t need to worry too much about things that were accidents.”
“I know, but it still bugs me every now and then. So what are you doing here then?”
“I’m going to guide you to the exit.”
“That’s great! Thank you, mister elephant,” Sanitas says.
“You’re welcome! Just be careful about the dragon.”
“Dragon?”
“There.”
Schivo and Sanitas look to their left to see a huge dragon staring them down. They fall to the ground at the sight of its smiling face and imposing presence. The dragon has a mane like a lion with strings for its beard and mustache. It’s colored white and various shades of pink. Pink is also the colors of its eyes and the inside of its smiling mouth. Its body is incredibly large and stretches for miles and is shaped like the symbol for infinity.
“You have nothing to fear from the beast as long as you keep away from it and don’t let it bother you,” the elephant says, “Follow me. The exit isn’t too far from here.”
The two cautiously walk around the away from the dragon and follow the white elephant. The dragon slowly follows them as if an invisible barrier is in front of it. It then screams in a high pitch loud enough to shake the ground. Schivo and Sanitas are shaken a bit but continue walking. The dragon laughs in a deep tone before flying close to them and tries to coil them in its body.
“Don’t worry about it,” the elephant reminds them, “It won’t hurt us as long as you don’t allow it.”
The dragon coils in the air like a tornado before coming down on them and stopping only a few feet from their heads. Schivo and Sanitas duck a little but keep walking forward. Seeing the small reaction it got, the dragon uncoils then reveals the death and decay of the real world. Innocents lie crippled in the mud, parents cry over the graves of their children, souls are sent into a fire, and people walk over the broken as if they weren’t there. This sight is enough to stop Sanitas in her footsteps, but Schivo keeps walking.
“Schivo…”
“It’s okay, Sanitas. I’ll be your strength to help you get through this. Trust me.”
“I…I trust you.”
The two walk through the illusions much to the distress of the dragon who retreats.
“You two made it! We’re at the exit!”
“Phew! Thank you, little elephant,” Schivo says.
“Bye, bye mister elephant!” Sanitas says while waving goodbye to it that waves back.
Both of them walk through a circular portal that makes them walk out of the lake Schivo was at and back on land. Schivo’s brown hair and eyes are restored to him while Sanitas has her brown hair and green eyes restored to her with both of them in the same servant clothes they left the world with. They look around in amazement that they really escaped the other world and see that they’re holding hands. They then smile at each other in appreciation of seeing the real face of the other. Sanitas loosens her grip, but Schivo holds on, which makes both of them blush.
Schivo says, “This is where I was pushed into that other world. Should I take you home to your parents? They must be worried about you since you were in there longer than me.”
“You don’t have to worry about that. I’m an orphan.”
“Oh. So you’re like a girl from a fairy tale.”
“I am?”
“Yeah. I mean you went on a weird adventure and fell in love. Girls from fairy tales are also supposed to be beautiful and you are.”
Sanitas kisses Schivo’s face. He blushes and smiles then kisses her in return.
“Oh, what about your parents, Schivo?”
“I uh…to tell you the truth…they’re dead.”
“They are?”
“Yeah. They died while hunting one day after trying to go after a wild bear that was terrorizing the town. I buried them around this lake where we used to fish and have picnics at while star gazing.”
Sanitas tightens her hand.
“Well now you have me to fish and star gaze and whatever else you do with. I promised you that I will always be with you and that’s what I’m going to do.”
“Alright. I promise you that too.”
Schivo and Sanitas sit by the lake and enjoy each other’s company as they begin their new life together after facing fears of all kinds.
The End
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