The cold, black sand of the beach lightly shifted beneath the feet of Is-Not as he walked his shores. Uncomfortable for most, but quite a pleasant and common feeling for him. Before him, the dark waters of The Between stretched out. The waves lap on the shore and in those murky depths, he could pick out the deaths of simple concepts.
A memory of a warm smile, lost to age and time.
Hate that had festered for nearly a lifetime, given up in its owner's twilight.
Hope in humanity approaching, but he curiously watched it tug back towards Is.
Despite some shifting tides, they all, eventually, come to his shores and fade away into Is-Not. Just as all things, even ideas return to nothingness and melt away into a new possibility that does not exist. And cannot exist.
Not just ideas come to him, of course. All stories also come to walk those shores, in time. Lifeforms intrigue him the most. From them, he can learn what Is truly means. He can come to understand her.
In thinking of her, his eyes are cast out across the waters. He strains to see past the realities, all the things which make up Is. He can’t see her, but he can see her light. Barely a pinpoint in the distance, but he would know her light anywhere.
For a moment, the light flares up, and a rare, small smile lights up Is-Not's somber visage. A new story was formed just then. A fresh opportunity to experience all of her. To experience Is.
A new chance for him to learn more about her and become that much closer to his only true love in all that was, is, will be, and in those things that were not, are not, and cannot be.
'IT IS SO FAINT, BUT I STILL SEE YOUR LIGHT, MY DEAR. AND EVEN FROM HERE, ACROSS ALL THAT IS AND INTO THAT WHICH IS-NOT, I FEEL ITS WARMTH. AND YOUR LOVE.'
The warm, bright sand of the beach dazzled beneath my feet as the glow of a dawning sun danced across my skin. A small spark of light out in the clear, blue ocean at my shores caught my attention and filled me with wonder. The sand scattered under my feet as I hurriedly ran to the shore as the story crawled up onto land.
The little thing was frightened as I came running and nearly leapt back into the water!
'No, no, little one! Please, do not be frightened!'
It seemed the warmth of my voice was enough to stop the little thing and turn its gaze back to me. Despite being a little winded from my excitement, I couldn’t stop the smile which spread over my face as I bent down to examine the new story.
'Oh, why look at you! Aren’t you just a little darling? May I pick you up…?'
It stared at me for a long few moments, then slowly reached its arms up to me. With a bright, tinkling laughter, I scooped the little story up in my arms and swung it around. Perhaps my moods are a little infectious as it was soon laughing along with me! Once I had cheered up the frightened little thing, I set it down and took hold of its hand.
'Come, little one, let us walk a little before you begin your journey.'
We walked together along my shores for a small way before the story finally spoke to me.
‘I…I am…new? What am I?’
The words came slowly to the story. But I always had patience for them as they are brand new to this existence!
'You are a story, my dear. A being bursting with possibilities and ways to experience all of this!'
With a sweep of my arm, I gestured out across the ocean before us at the light of reality that lay between my shores and His. Out in the distance, I could see the story’s guide flitting across the water towards us. Our time together would be at an end soon.
My thoughts were suddenly broken as the story squeezed my hand and spoke up once more.
‘Will I…be good story…?’
Oh, that question. It comes from so many of them. It is certainly a good question to ask at the beginning, but I always hope by the end they come to understand my answer.
'You might be. You might not be. It all depends on your perspective and who you ask.'
As Hermes sped over the water towards us, I could tell we were quite short on time and took my last opportunity to scoop up the story and give it a deep, warm hug. It clung onto me tightly, the fears and worries of a new life radiating off it.
'Listen, little one… It truly does not matter if you are a ‘good’ or a ‘bad’ story. All that matters is that you are one of the most common, yet most precious things in this universe. You are a story. And no matter how your story turns out, it will be beautiful and worth knowing.'
With that, I place a soft kiss on the story’s forehead and set them down once more. Now even the story had noticed Hermes’ approach, and it only took a few moments before they were hiding behind my leg as the winged man hit the sand next to us and skidded to a stop. Then he immediately tripped in the sand, falling face-first into it.
That bright, tinkling laughter burst from me once more and even the scared little story giggled lightly at Hermes’ antics. After coughing up a bit of sand, the psychopomp hopped up to his feet and laughed it all off.
‘Mum! Good to see ya, as always!’
'And it is always a pleasure to see you, Hermes! No matter the encounter, you never fail to get a laugh out of me. And I do always appreciate how it calms the little ones.'
In mentioning the little thing, I noticed it was no longer hiding between my legs and was waddling over towards Hermes. With a bright chuckle, Hermes crouched down to greet the story.
‘Well hello there, little thing. Do you think you’re just about ready to g-’
The story had cut off Hermes as it reached up and lightly touched one of the wings that sprouted from his head. The little one cooed and let out a giggle as it pet the soft feathers a few times before Hermes fluttered the wings lightly. With a broad grin, Hermes scooped up the story in his arms and rose to stand before me.
‘Did you give them the pep talk?’
'Oh, Hermes, you know I always take a little stroll with them before you come to take them.'
‘Good. Things are…hectic out there right now. You know some places are better than others, but I’m afraid this little one was cursed to live in interesting times.’
I could see that Hermes’ words were making the story concerned as it fussed a little. in his arms It was a moment before I was next to them and little tickling the story’s stomach. They giggled lightly in response and warmed up a bit.
'Come now, don’t let Hermes frighten you, dear. Just try to remember what I said and you will be alright. Now, it is time to say goodbye to you, my little gift.'
'Hermes, I want to thank you dearly for all that you do for me… For us.'
With a small salute, Hermes’ wings flapped, and he rose into the air to hover for a few moments.
‘Of course, mum. As tiring as this job can be, you know my mood always brightens up when I get to see you. And when I get to meet these cute little bastards…’
And with that last bit of cheekiness, Hermes was already speeding away from my golden shores as I called out in frustration.
'HERMES, LANGUAGE!'
A soft sigh came from me as I watched the two speeding away across the waters towards the beginning of the new story. My focus eventually moved beyond the two, out past all of reality, to the darkness at the end of all things. From here, I’m far too far away to see Him. But I know he’s there on his shores. And I know He saw the light from the new little gift I just sent on its way.
As my mind wandered to thoughts of Him, I couldn’t help the smile that came to me. As one more little story leaves my shores, I can feel it. The gap between us shortens just a little more. My bright, sparkling shores grow just a little dimmer as I lose more of myself. One day, I’ll give up the last bit of myself to Him and I’ll finally understand Him as He comes to understand me.
Then we can finally be together. To dance under the sun and moon until Final Death comes for us.
Once more on a distant shore, a tall, thin man in a dark suit stood and gazed out across the ocean.
The waters were disturbed by the approaching boat and its two passengers. Standing at the stern, the ferryman paddled rhythmically and steered the vessel towards him. As always, the ferryman was murmuring to the nervous-looking story sitting at the bow. Is-Not took on an imposing posture as he stalked across the sands to meet the boat when it pulled up to the beach.
'CHARON, WHAT HAVE YOU BROUGHT ME TODAY?'
The boatman gestured to his passenger and answered curtly.
‘Another tale at its end, Sir.’
With a soft prod of Charon’s paddle, the story rose and stumbled off the boat onto the sands. Is-Not stalked closer and towered over the fading narrative before him.
'SO… YOU’VE FINALLY COME TO ME, HAVE YOU?'
The frightened story gazed up at Is-Not. It seemed as if the fading rays of twilight were eaten away by the shadows Is-Not cast behind him. In his eyes, they could see emptiness. Not a lack of volume. But true, utter emptiness. One which knows only that which has not, can not, and will not exist.
And this formidable man’s face then broke into a wide, radiant smile.
Then he laughed.
'OH, HOW MANY TIMES HAVE I SEEN THAT LOOK WHEN ANOTHER STORY COMES TO ME FOR THEIR LAST PAGE? I IMAGINE NEXT YOU’LL STAMMER ABOUT HOW THIS IS NOTHING LIKE WHAT YOU THOUGHT IT WOULD BE, AND SO ON.'
Is-Not looked back to Charon, and the boatman held a similar grin, unable to contain his gentle chuckling.
‘You never change, do you, sir? I suppose I can’t complain, though, as you let me play along. Though, you have no idea how hard it is to keep talking up how ‘terrifying and stoic’ you are.’
Another round of bright laughter rang from Is-Not as he stepped up to the boat and shook Charon’s hand.
'WELL, WE HAVE TO KEEP OURSELVES ENTERTAINED WITH ALL THIS TIME ON OUR HANDS! AS ALWAYS, I TRULY THANK YOU FOR YOUR WORK, OLD FRIEND.'
‘Of course, sir! But I wouldn’t mind a change of the script one of these centuries.’
'I’M WORKING ON SOMETHING TRULY MARVELOUS, TRUST ME!'
Is-Not’s attention slid from Charon to his passenger.
'NOW!'
The strange man turned to the bewildered story and clapped a comforting hand on their back. With one last look and a wave to Charon, Is-Not began leading both onwards. The ever-expanding black sands and the twinkling twilight of the lands beyond stood before them, though they now seemed less frightening to the story.
'I ASSURE YOU, THERE WILL BE PLENTY OF TIME FOR US TO EXPLORE ALL YOUR QUESTIONS ABOUT…WELL, EVERYTHING, I SUPPOSE. FIRST, THOUGH, I MUST IMPLORE YOU TO ANSWER SOME OF MY QUESTIONS. IT’S A SIMPLE THING, REALLY. SHOULDN’T TAKE YOU MORE THAN A FEW CENTURIES TO TELL ME ALL ABOUT IT.'
With a wry smile, Is-Not stopped and turned to face the story. Their eyes met, and the story was forced to look once more into those empty eyes. But this time, they saw something faint. Just a small sliver of light in the near-infinite blackness.
'CAN YOU TELL ME WHAT YOU SAW? WHAT YOU DID, WHERE YOU WENT, WHO YOU MET, WHAT OTHER STORIES YOU HELPED IN? CAN YOU TELL ME ALL OF IT? CAN YOU TELL ME WHAT IT IS… TO BE?'