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Ginseng and Yew [人蔘 + ᚔ ]
43 - What are you afraid of?

43 - What are you afraid of?

There is a hill, there is a barrow, there is a child.

And there everything else.

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You're back!

you're BACK you're back

we knew you'd come back

And just the same as you were Before

a Frightened Child

a child

at least ONE thing has changed

what?

what

you've realised

THIS IS WHERE YOU BELONG, after all

As you should

As It Should

always come back

You've never left.

never left this cave. Why do you still wear those thorns in your ears, after all? Why do those marks still crawl through your skin, after all.

Through your mind.

After All

How delightful.

How delicious.

Where else could you go?

The OTHER PLACES?

ha

To that... temple your lover calls home?

HAHAHAHAHAHA

You know it too, don't you? You came to the border of life and death when you were barely born.

You became a God as a Child.

god-child

And yet... your body continues to age.

Can you feel it? Of course you can.

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The slow decay.

The death of each Cell.

What will happen when it all breaks down?

A ghost haunting a stack of rotting flesh...

A soul bound to a corpse...

Eternal Life!

Trapped!

Like a MOUSE in a BOX -

- A SOUL in a SKULL

hahahahahahahaha

what will your lover think then

EVERYONE LEAVES

(Don't pretend it won't happen)

Who would want to stay with a dead thing?

US

Only Us

of course us

Stay with us

stay stay stay

Don't you think it's life that's scary? You're scared of living.

What are you afraid of?

You can't be scared if you're one of US.

One of us

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There is a hill, there is a barrow, there is a child.

And there is something else...

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Stay

It's peaceful here. It's quiet. It's dark. It's empty. It's meaningless. It's safe.

SAFE

It hurts, you say?

If it's pain you feel, cast off that absurd mortal body.

Leave it for the things that die.

a frog in the swamp of your skull

a bird in the cage of your ribs

flowers in the bowl of your pelvis

How pretty.

SO PRETTY

You could even grow a tree in your blood.

Yew

yew

YEW

rowan

Yew.

You

Why are you making so much noise?

Stop that. It's loud. It's annoying.

Fine, keep screaming.

SHUT UP

No one can hear you.

Your mother? We are far, far older than your mother. Than this plane of existence.

Your lover? That human? What can they do?

even if they could there's no one here

Sing your little song if it makes you feel better. Sleep if it makes you feel better.

LAY MY DEAR TO SLEEP HAHAHAHA

Decide whether you'll Cry or Sing you can't do both.

Do both. Our little friend is very talented.

Listen to all those curses!

keep going keep going

I'm learning so many new words.

Human Words. WE don't need them.

You don't need them either. You can speak in the language of the world. Like the gods. Like the spirits. Like that poor bird mother your lover so cruelly murdered.

HAHAHAHA YOU'RE ANGRY? ABOUT THAT?

Your Anger means Nothing. It's Small. It's Pitiful.

If you insist on pretending to be human, go and play with them, then. Let them tie you with their ropes and chains and cantrips. Let them mock you and judge you with their laws and morals.

Would that make you happy?

Playing pretend?

sounds boring

sounds STUPID

because then what?

what then

What then?

What now?

what when

Why?

You feel safe with that person?

you felt safe with your mother

And look where that led you.

YOU'RE ALONE

All those lovers you've had in the past, what's so different about this one

there's no one to help you here don't even look don't even try don't you dare shut up shut up

don't even THINK about it

enough.

You want to rely on them and not on us?

Go on, then.

No, go on.

We won't make a sound.

We won't talk to you any more, if that's what you want.

If you want to be completely, utterly alone in your stupidity -

STUPIDITY!

- then so be it.

We'll give space.

- we'll give you VOID -

We'll give you time.

- ALL of it -

We'll leave you alone.

Alone.

You're all alone.

..

.

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There is a hill, there is a barrow, there is a child.

And there is nothing else.