End of the World

      When Silara went to sleep that night her life was made perfect. She didn't know this immediately but the fact was there, buried deep within her subconscious for when she woke up in this new world. It was in the quality of the light, how it streamed in at just the right angle from her windows across the floor. The slightly grayed walls of her apartment were gone and replaced with a pale yellow that reminded her of an early spring sun. The carpet was cream and looked like it was brand new. All this seemed very natural, from the glorious fresh feeling that suffused the place to the quality furniture and decorations that lined the walls.

      She slipped from her bed and carefully pulled the covers across the mattress, admiring the comforter. Silara had never really considered herself a girly girl but there was something inherently right about having a Fyora print bed and the matching furniture. She couldn't explain it, just as she couldn't explain the fresh breeze that swirled through her red fur when she opened the window. It smelled like tulips outside and she leaned out over the windowsill to see a garden growing beneath. The broken glass was gone along with the dust and dirt that littered the lot her apartment stood on. Everything was radiant.

      The Zafara dressed slowly, breathing in the summer air and wondering what she should do for the day. She didn't have to work anymore, not with the fortune she now possessed. It seemed odd, that she would go from doing all right in a rather cheap apartment to not having to worry about Neopoints ever again so quickly. But this was her life now. There was no memory of how this had happened - it just did. She woke up and life was perfect.

      It was a bit of a surprise to not find her best friend and roommate, Tracy, in the kitchen. But then Silara remembered that she had a one-bedroom apartment now since she could afford rent and Tracy lived across the hall. Rach was next door as well. She couldn't remember when that had happened either. It just did. This was a fact.

      Tracy came to her door shortly after she had breakfast. Silara warmly let her friend in. The spotted Gelert surveyed the apartment and Silara noticed that she was carrying her purse.

      "We going shopping today?" she asked, smiling.

      "Of course! Rach coming?"

      "Duh."

      And Silara remembered that she hated shopping and actually preferred solitude. It was more comfortable to her to be alone, in the quiet with her thoughts. She wasn't really an outgoing person and it never bothered her. But today, with everything perfect, she knew she liked going shopping with friends and enjoyed being outside. They picked up Rach, a faerie Aisha, and left the apartments. There were no water stains on the ceiling of the stairwell.

      She led the trio to Neopia Central and everyone smiled and everyone was happy. The sun was surreal and she could smell flowers everywhere.

      "I wish I could live here forever," she said to no one in particular.

      "You do," Tracy replied. "What are you talking about?"

      "I don't know." And she fell silent for the rest of the shopping trip.

      By the time they'd blown most of the Neopoints they'd brought with them Silara was wondering just why this seemed so transitory. There was fragile feeling to it, just a simple statement that she would leave this place and life would no longer be perfect. It was like a flower blossom, beautiful while it lasted, but not eternal.

      She found that everything she hadn't liked about herself was gone when they stopped for lunch. That allergy to peanuts? Not there. Her fur was sleek and she was slim and strong. Perhaps she could even hold her own in the Battledome - this was her world after all and she could do anything here. That thought threw her for a moment and she sat still, the chatter of her two friends buzzing around her while she pondered this. Her world. Was it just her world, though? She looked at her two friends and wondered if it was their world, as well.

      "Hey, you going to get up today?"

     There was the sound of footsteps just outside, in the hallway.

     "Yo? You awake?"

     The door creaked open, throwing a rectangle of light across the dark room.

     "Hey, it's morning."

     Nothing.

      Shortly after noon, Tracy reminded her that she was going to meet with Erik down near the lake. Silara froze. She didn't know anyone named Erik.

      "You know," Rach said with a giggle, nudging her, "Him. How could you forget? You've been going on about him for weeks."

      "I have." She meant it as a question but it didn't come out as such.

      So they parted, her two friends waving and vanishing into the crowd, leaving the Zafara alone on a sea of bricks spiraling out from a fountain in the middle of the plaza. She blinked and turned towards it, watching the light refract off each droplet that fell, like a cascade of diamonds. There was so much detail here and the light never changed. She looked at the sky. A void of blue. Did anything change? Maybe not. This was perfection.

      It was a long walk to the lake from Neopia Central. For a moment, Silara considered renting a carriage to carry here there but the thought was quickly dismissed as silly. Her world, her rules. And she spread her arms and willed herself there.

      The Gelert and Aisha stood on either side of the small bed. The room was dark, the curtains drawn, and the paleness of the walls sucked all color from the room. The attempts to brighten it didn't do much for they were only half-hearted ones.

      "She's late for work now," the Gelert said softly. "I don't understand it."

      "Should we get help?"

      "I don't know."

      It took Silara a moment to orient herself. The lake was there, hovering in the distance around a bend on the path. It glittered and beckoned to her. Erik would be waiting there and with a jolt of panic she dug into her purse, trying to see if she had a picture of him. How would she recognize him? Slowly, she realized that it wouldn't matter, that he would recognize her, and besides, she didn't have any pictures of him, anyways. He was probably beautiful though. Yes, he was. Silara was sure of it.

      A squared off shape hovered in the corner of her vision and she turned. The wind picked up and pulled her ears back, ruffling the red fur along her arms. There was a house there, made of wood the color of honey and intricately carved along the doorframe and windows. She moved towards it. The garden was well tended for and the dirt path leading up to the doorway was free of weeds. There was something wrong though and she wasn't sure why. The house itself was in shadow with only the occasional beam of light breaking through the trees. There were leaves along the roof and all the windows were curtained and dark. She walked up and carefully tried the door. Locked. But there was a key in her purse. Her hand hesitated over it and then slowly closed over the cold metal.

      The pet on the bed was utterly still. Her chest rose and fell, slowly and regularly, and her heartbeat was normal. There was a fluttering to her eyelids but it quickly passed. Maybe her hand curled a little under the covers but other then that, she didn't show any sign of consciousness. The Gelert was pacing the room, her arms across her chest. The Aisha had pulled a chair up to the bedside and was just watching.

     "Maybe the faeries will know what this is," the Gelert said nervously. "This has to be the work of a dark faerie or something. Anything."

      The interior was dark but bore every sign of being a very cozy retreat for someone. It was quaint, quiet, and crafted with love and attention to detail. She moved through the entryway into the living room. There was someone else there, a Maraquan Draik. He was lying twined around the coffee table and had his head raised, looking directly at her.

      "Excuse me," she said softly. "What is this place?"

      "The end of the world," he said in reply and she knew that of everyone in this place, he alone shared her knowledge and perhaps even held more. "Or rather, just the end of your world."

      "It's a puzzle," she replied. "If I solve it, the world ends."

      "Yes. Go upstairs."

      She nodded and did what he said. The second floor was even darker and there seemed to be dark splotches along the wall, leading to a bedroom. The door was half-open and she saw more darkness along the floors and walls. A thrill of terror ran through her and she knew with utmost certainty that she didn't want to go into that room. There was something horrifying there, something that told the full story of this place and what had happened here. Not everything was perfect in this in world, not for everyone. Just her. So she turned aside into the bathroom and tried to ignore the small stains near the doorframe.

      "I think I saw her move."

      The Gelert leapt to the side of the bed and hovered a hand over the Zafara's forehead, trying not to actually touch her.

      "You sure?"

      "I'm sure. She kinda flinched and look!"

      The Zafara's head rolled to one side and her lips curled up. Then everyone was still and even breathing seemed loud.

      Silara found a blanket strewn on the tiled floor. It didn't belong there. She picked it up and carried it back down to the living room where the Draik was still waiting. He didn't say anything, just watched with eyes that never blinked. The Zafara hesitated by the sofa, slowly folding the blanket with both her hands. She knew, just as she had known that this world was perfect, that if she put the blanket where it belonged, part of the puzzle would be solved. And then she could solve the other pieces and the world would end. It was a very important task that had been given to her.

      "But if the world ends, what of everyone else?" she asked and stepped away from the sofa, over to the brick hearth of the fireplace. It was burning but there was very little warmth.

      "We go away," he replied. "But this is the end of your world, not ours."

      "This house," Silara breathed, gazing at the beams of the ceiling, "doesn't belong to me. It belongs to a girl who had someone she loved. He went away, for a very long time, five years actually. And she finally grew sick at heart from waiting for him. How is this just my world, when there are more stories than just mine?"

      The Draik did not answer her and she thought of her friends. Across the room, just behind him, she saw a door with a heart shaped hole cut into it. There was red glass filling the empty space.

      "He comes home tomorrow," the Draik said, "and will find that in his absence he has lost her forever and will be heartbroken. End it then, so he does not find out. This world must end, even with all the stories it contains."

      "I can't. This place is perfect and it is not just my world. You are here, they are here, and if I end it they will end too."

      "We do not care. This is meant to be."

      "I care."

      And she dropped the blanket onto the brick. Quickly, she turned to go and was aware of the Draik's eyes following her. When she opened the door, she saw another Zafara standing at the edge of the main road, waiting for her. Erik, and he was very handsome. She ran towards him and the door swung shut behind her.

      The Gelert had left. She was going to find someone that could possibly help, going to the light faeries and Fyora herself if necessary. This was beyond them. Back in the room, still encased in darkness, the Aisha sat and held the limp hand of the Zafara. There were tears in her eyes and every now and then one would fall across her cheek and vanish into the cloth of her shirt. Her lips moved without ceasing, uttering soundlessly a single phrase, over and over again.

      Please Silara, wake up. Please Silara, wake up.

      Back in the house, the Draik watched as a spark fell from the fire to land on the edge of the blanket. There was a puzzle here, a very simple puzzle that Silara already knew the answer to. The spark flared and caught, sending shadows of orange and black dancing across the room. It reflected in the Draik's eyes who still did not move from his post. This was the key and here he would remain. The fire spread; consumed, and seemed to whisper a phrase a thousand times over as it coursed through the house that was the end of the world. Please Silara, wake up.

The End