The Lonely Child

If you’re going to top the world’s most wanted list, I guess the end of the world is the time to do it. With so few people left there’s at least a chance of flying below the radar. Those of divinity still have their ways, I’m sure, but with the protection placed on my mother’s old locket, I’ve been able to avoid their gaze for now. The arcane ruins patterned across the arches of this tiny golden heart keep them from prying and scrying through traditional means, and with urban technology all but erased from this plane I am practically invisible. Most will have forgotten my face by now; only the stories remain of the one who ended it all, of this I’m certain.

I know, I know, but before you go judging just remember, this was not intentional. What kind of psychopath do you think I am? This really was just one big...ok, catastrophic, misunderstanding. The only reason I’m copping so much of the blame is because everyone else there was disintegrated entirely. Talk about playing the scapegoat for an entire organisation. I mean, who let’s a child into the conjuration chamber alone anyway? They had all the seers and the most prestigious professors of the arcane arts this world have ever known and not one of them thought maybe this was a bad idea? It’s just downright irresponsible if you ask me, child prodigy or not.

Now, don’t go feeling sorry for me. It hasn’t been all that bad, really. Once the angry mobs were consumed by the shadowling hoards and most others drawn through the dimensional crack never to be seen or heard from again, it’s really been quite peaceful. To be honest, I’ve lost count of the number of days it’s been since I saw another human face or even heard a scream reach out from within the darkness. I’ve lost count of the number of days since whispered conversations wandered past before being abruptly cut short. I’ve lost count of the number of days since someone stumbled across our little corner of the universe, gasping for air as they choked their final breath; somebody...anybody.

That’s okay though. We don’t need anyone else, you and I. Sure your silence is a little unnerving but I’m sure we can agree I do more than enough talking for the both of us. We do, however, need some kind of sustenance though, that’s for certain. When this little loop I’ve created for us ends, the tummy will start to rumble and yearn for something to fill that empty void. Though I’ve left the looking out upon the world to you for quite some time now, I remain quite convinced that the blighted land beyond our bobbing barrier is not one for growing crops and we both know beyond a doubt that nature’s gifted water ran dry that very first day.

We’ll be okay though. Our time here has given me time to plan and practice. I only need half a mind to keep this going after all. When I get this right it’ll prove to you that I am the greatest of all time and not just because I am the last remaining. You’ll see. It’s just a little longer now, just a little longer.

Forever in the eye of the storm that they themselves created, the lonely child sits in wait. The shattered rocks, the torn debris, suspended in an unending heartbeat around them, pulsing in and out, in and out, as they stare in solitude at the silhouette before them, unable to turn and face the world beyond their sight.