It comes.
It crashes.
IT DEVOURS
The wind is a mouth, open, screaming, swallowing branches whole. It gnaws, it rips, it shreds through bark through bone through breath through us.
It does not stop. It does not stop. It does not stop.
IT DOES NOT WAIT
IT DOES NOT PITY
it does not pity
We run. We fly. We thrash we scramble we tear into the sky but the sky is no escape no escape no escape.
NO ESCAPE
Clouds choke air tightens we claw at the dark.
but the dark claws BACK
DO YOU UNDERSTAND
DO YOU SEE IT
DO YOU FEEL IT
The moon tries to flee but it cannot silver pale turns nothing turns void.
It VANISHES
IT IS GONE ERASED CONSUMED
CONSUMED CONSUMED CONSUMED
we tremble we break we FALL
But him.
Still.
Misty sits.
he sits
HE SITS
HOW
the ground tears itself apart the trees beg the sky SCREAMS
but HE SITS
delicate fingers press to splintered bark grazing it honoring it
what is there to honor
what is there to hold
what is there to praise
it is broken
it is falling
IT IS GONE
he breathes
HE SMILES
HE LAUGHS
soft warm impossible
floating through the air floating through the ruin floating through the madness that
SHOULD HAVE SWALLOWED IT AWAY SHOULD HAVE SWALLOWED HIM AWAY
why
why does he stay why does he smile when nothing else does
the ground breaks pleads the sky RIPS OPEN collapsing folding breaking breaking BREAKING
the end is here
the end is here
THE END IS HERE
IT COMES
IT TAKES
IT RIPS
IT TEARS
AND ALL THAT REMAINS IS BREAKING
except HIM
what does he see
what
what is left to praise
WHAT. COULD. HE. POSSIBLY. SEE
~~~ ~ ~ ~ ~~~
branches crack and fall
tumbling like reckless laughter
yet he calls it grace
Part 4 of Misty's Journey
Aevonance (noun) Pronunciation: /'eɪ.və.nəns/
Definition:
1. The profound and timeless resonance of fleeting moments, wherein the beauty and significance of impermanence echo across memory and eternity.
2. The lingering presence of an idea, emotion, or energy, subtly influencing and shaping the course of existence through thought and feeling.
Example sentence: "Standing in the ancient ruins, Misty felt an undeniable aevonance, as if the voices of the past still whispered through the stones."
(I combined aevum and resonance because I like the juxtaposition of Part 1's meaningless syntactic barrage with Part 4's profound minimalism. Titles deserve some character development too.)