One Year Later
[November 7th, 2009]
It's funny, really. In fairy tales, movies, books, all that, once the story is finished, that's the end. Maybe you get an epilogue, with brief snippets to let you know what happened later in the lives of the characters, but that's all. The rest of the story has to be left up to the imagination.
I learned - we all learned - that real life isn't a fairytale or a video game. It's life - even after the end, it marches forward. New stories are written. Every moment we live past "happily ever after" is a sequel, the unending rhythm of life pushing us further, faster, forward into tomorrow. The end is never written.
No one's posted here in a year - strange, isn't it? This community was once our lifeline, our means of communicating, making sure we were all still alive and well. And yet, after we won, activity died. We moved on. Oh, we still see each other - for that I'm glad - between going back and forth on Earth and The Radiant Garden, and exploring all the other myriad worlds. The Federation of Worlds, although new, is growing rapidly, and is truly an inspiration to any diplomatic endeavor. Pretty much all war on Earth has ceased - sure, there's a squabble here or a terror attack there, but when your whole planet almost dies twice, you kinda tend to forget about bickering over religion or land.
The Radiant Garden is well on its way to full recovery too - recently, the main city restored diplomatic contact with the country to the north, Archades. I hadn't known that Dilan and Even were from there, but Braig, in one of his many, many storytelling sessions, started lecturing on the history of the Garden... very interesting, and I'll probably be back in that library to read more. Speaking of the Six, although they still are met with a lot of hate and resentment, the Restoration Committee finally convinced the council to let them live. Even and Dilan have still long-since moved to Earth, but for Braig and Eleaus, I think the two of them are much relieved - especially Braig, who, with a pregnant wife and a love for teaching physics by chucking things over the Rising Falls, didn't want to leave his home.
Ienzo, although he hasn't gone by that since Mabry's party, is somewhere on Earth, going to college. I've spoken with him once or twice, but he asked me not to mention his identity, so I won't. Eric finished school in May, as well as Ryuu. I don't know if they're still together, but as far as I know, the both of them are exploring the Universe. Last I heard, Eric was visiting Roxas on the Islands, while Ryuu was back on Vulcania.
No one has heard from Orpheus or Robin - I suppose the two of them are off doing their own thing, and finding themselves again. I keep both of them in my prayers.
As for everyone else, our lives go on. We explore the worlds, and as we were the first of our World to see the rest of the Universe, we act as guides and frontrunners for other exploratory endeavors. Some of us are finishing school - Brandon, Cheryle and I are due to graduate in June, and the Island kids are finishing up high school. Some of us are living lives and holding jobs as engineers, healers, explorers, writers, and diplomats.
And some of us went back to living ordinary lives.
I've been busy, with finishing college and planning a wedding (and no, Mabry, I'm not letting Nomura design my dress. I don't care how useful you think zippers on my wedding dress will be after the fact, my answer is no). There's also the side work I do for the United Nations - although, now that I'm back in school, they've eased up on me and have started to delegate tasks to people who are better qualified.
I look back on the journey we refugees have taken - we started out as computer-addict nerds, who in Earth's final hours clung to their laptops in desperation. And we emerged a year and a half later as heroes.
Life isn't a fairy tale, and why should it be? Real life is so much more exciting, and so much more worth retelling.
So do we live happily ever after? Who can say? As long as there are people around to tell our story, our story isn't finished.
And so, as an act of finality, and an official ending of this chapter of our lives, of the Saga of the Refugees: War of Hearts, I'll say this:
And they lived.
The End
It's funny, really. In fairy tales, movies, books, all that, once the story is finished, that's the end. Maybe you get an epilogue, with brief snippets to let you know what happened later in the lives of the characters, but that's all. The rest of the story has to be left up to the imagination.
I learned - we all learned - that real life isn't a fairytale or a video game. It's life - even after the end, it marches forward. New stories are written. Every moment we live past "happily ever after" is a sequel, the unending rhythm of life pushing us further, faster, forward into tomorrow. The end is never written.
No one's posted here in a year - strange, isn't it? This community was once our lifeline, our means of communicating, making sure we were all still alive and well. And yet, after we won, activity died. We moved on. Oh, we still see each other - for that I'm glad - between going back and forth on Earth and The Radiant Garden, and exploring all the other myriad worlds. The Federation of Worlds, although new, is growing rapidly, and is truly an inspiration to any diplomatic endeavor. Pretty much all war on Earth has ceased - sure, there's a squabble here or a terror attack there, but when your whole planet almost dies twice, you kinda tend to forget about bickering over religion or land.
The Radiant Garden is well on its way to full recovery too - recently, the main city restored diplomatic contact with the country to the north, Archades. I hadn't known that Dilan and Even were from there, but Braig, in one of his many, many storytelling sessions, started lecturing on the history of the Garden... very interesting, and I'll probably be back in that library to read more. Speaking of the Six, although they still are met with a lot of hate and resentment, the Restoration Committee finally convinced the council to let them live. Even and Dilan have still long-since moved to Earth, but for Braig and Eleaus, I think the two of them are much relieved - especially Braig, who, with a pregnant wife and a love for teaching physics by chucking things over the Rising Falls, didn't want to leave his home.
Ienzo, although he hasn't gone by that since Mabry's party, is somewhere on Earth, going to college. I've spoken with him once or twice, but he asked me not to mention his identity, so I won't. Eric finished school in May, as well as Ryuu. I don't know if they're still together, but as far as I know, the both of them are exploring the Universe. Last I heard, Eric was visiting Roxas on the Islands, while Ryuu was back on Vulcania.
No one has heard from Orpheus or Robin - I suppose the two of them are off doing their own thing, and finding themselves again. I keep both of them in my prayers.
As for everyone else, our lives go on. We explore the worlds, and as we were the first of our World to see the rest of the Universe, we act as guides and frontrunners for other exploratory endeavors. Some of us are finishing school - Brandon, Cheryle and I are due to graduate in June, and the Island kids are finishing up high school. Some of us are living lives and holding jobs as engineers, healers, explorers, writers, and diplomats.
And some of us went back to living ordinary lives.
I've been busy, with finishing college and planning a wedding (and no, Mabry, I'm not letting Nomura design my dress. I don't care how useful you think zippers on my wedding dress will be after the fact, my answer is no). There's also the side work I do for the United Nations - although, now that I'm back in school, they've eased up on me and have started to delegate tasks to people who are better qualified.
I look back on the journey we refugees have taken - we started out as computer-addict nerds, who in Earth's final hours clung to their laptops in desperation. And we emerged a year and a half later as heroes.
Life isn't a fairy tale, and why should it be? Real life is so much more exciting, and so much more worth retelling.
So do we live happily ever after? Who can say? As long as there are people around to tell our story, our story isn't finished.
And so, as an act of finality, and an official ending of this chapter of our lives, of the Saga of the Refugees: War of Hearts, I'll say this:
And they lived.
The End