To a rock, what is life

To a rock, what is time

To a rock, when is now

To a rock, who am I

To a rock, where am I

To a rock, what is life

To a rock, what is pain

To a rock, what is loss

Tell me, rock

I must know

TELL ME

WHO AM IIIIIIIIIIIIII

The rock looked at me, contemplating

It had more time than me

More time than anyone

Civilizations fell before it

People lied upon it

It had been soaked in tears

It had drank of their blood

It had been washed away

It had dreampt of hills

It had felt of leaves

It had blankets of moss

Now long past

And yet, still it remained

All changed

All passed

Yet the rock persisted

It did not fear

It did not grieve

It did not cry

Every loss, a flowing of the wave

It watched

Eyeless

Dreamless

Soulless

Or perhaps

Full of more soul

Than any other

History etched into its being

Time etched upon its form

Even the rock changed

Even the rock grew

Even the rock lost

Its size had risen

Its size had fell

It had felt the intimacy of time

Its form a testament to its craftsmanship

Thank you rock.

I cried.

It was my last goodbye.

For I was not that rock.

I was simply a human.

• • •

Madness is like a melody. And I, the instrument. It plucks at my strings; a gentle resonance. A forming whole, from a fragmented soul.

There are subtleties to mundane.

There is magic in the small.

• • •

"F-Fellabee-"

My eyes believing they could blink, twitched and writhed. Something horrible had soaked my tastebuds. My nose felt singed in a bitter coating of tar.

I reached for my lips, gasping with thirst. The cracks upon them had become entrenched. Dried rivers, once full of blood, laid dormant upon my flesh.

A small, tender mass rested upon my face.

"Fellabee.."

No sound returned the call of my voice. The once intense heat had settled. The gnawing cold had taken much of my sensations.

I was alone.

• • •

I fought. I fought against every rusty cog in my bones. Every muscle long fossilised. My body creaked, and snapped, as I slowly raised myself up from this dormant despair.

Carefully, I clasped Fellabee to my chest. She had cared for me.

"Why..?"

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My throat wrenched a dry, forced whimper.

Why had you stayed. Why had you protected me.

I slapped myself faster than I could think, and began to walk.

I couldn't see. I could barely hear. My sense of smell was heavily impaired. My skin had long gone numb.

I had no idea where I was going. All I knew, was that staying there would mean certain death.

Occasionally thoughts raced through the caverns of my mind.

How had I gotten here? The moment I spoke Fellabee's name, something horrifying had occurred. And yet, not another time since. Had it been chance?

What had happened to my body? Am I going to die? Am I already dying? Will I ever see again?

In my absentmindedness, I slammed into what I could only imagine was a wall. Stumbling, I held fast to its foundation.

Perhaps I would die of thirst before anything else. Swallowing had become a painful, laborious task.

Sometimes the world, or what I could perceive of it, would spin violently, and I would find myself picking myself up off the ground, again and again.

Each time, I did my best to protect the one I was carrying. I let my sides take the brunt of the damage. Sometimes hearing a disturbing crack, or feeling a sharp pain as I twisted my body to protect this one's.

Why, as my final act, was I going so far to protect another?

"Do you need a reason?", spoke Sam.

"You know, I remember a time I met a young kid who was too afraid to leave his room. Granted, it was mighty dangerous outside."

Sam looked at me, putting his hand firmly upon my shoulder, and spoke one last word before he vanished from my mind.

"Persevere."

• • •

I had began to lose track of how much time had passed. How could I after all. I had tried counting. I had tried using the temperature to gauge the days. I scraped little grooves into my skin using my tattered nails.

I felt 16 notches. That many days couldn't have passed. I would have starved to death. Died of thirst even sooner. I then began to wonder why I had carved anything upon my arm to begin with.

Madness was a perditious bastard, I thought to myself. How can a mad person think they're mad? That isn't how it works is it?

Before I could finish my thought, my foot collided with a sharp, spherical object. A shockwave of pain spiked into my nervous system, and I gasped, before falling forward into an ice cold depth.

Before mind could put to reason, I threw my hand out toward the sky. Before my next breath, I felt a tiny twitch upon my palm.

Submerging from the abyss of ice, I breathed a heavy, desperate breath. And then I immediately began coughing. A thick mucous shot from my lungs, staining my other hand. Immediately, I gagged, threw my hand into the water below, and shook it violently. Then, without a moment's hesitation, I drank.

Greedily, I drank. Whether it was water or not, I drank. Whether it mattered or not, I drank. Whether it was clean or not, I drank.

A meager coughing could be heard from above.

"Y-you.. How did you.."

The mighty queen, Fellabee, had awoken.

• • •

I had rubbed my eyes, again, and again. Peeling layer after layer of blood, grime, and sweat from my face.

The meager statured queen had bathed in the moonlight, upon a small clearing of rocks and waves.

Fellabee had asked me not to look, as it was improper to look at a female while bathing.

I had had my assumptions, however, after my other assumptions, I thought perhaps anything was possible. Especially if they were like flower fairies.

Tiny droplets like clouds of mist emerged from her wings as she finished up and flew over to me.

"How's your sight? Still having trouble making things out?"

"It's better now Fellabee.. Thank you."

She smiled warmly, then slapped my shoulder.

"Don't go getting any funny ideas now, alright?"

Fellabee smirked cheekily, flicking her hair to one side.

"Sorry Fel, I'm not much for entrees"

Fellabee's jaw dropped. Then she huffed and sat herself down to my ear.

"Ever heard of fine dining?"

Swinging my head rapidly to the side, it was now my time to be shocked.

Expecting the maneuver, Fellabee had already ducked and hid near my chest.

I looked down to her, feeling rather shy, and said, "Fellabee! Is that any way for royalty to speak?!"

Fellabee, looking a little indignant said, "It's just you and me now. And even Queens have needs."