The King is Dead

Posted on Thu 1st Mar, 2018 @ 4:24pm by

761 words; about a 4 minute read

Mission: A Phaser as Deadly as a Candlestick
Location: Tivoli Gardens, Bridge on Deck
Timeline: Evening of the Announcement

If she'd been on a planet, Ms Lantz would have called the lighting early dusk. Visitors to the River Walk were mostly non-existent at this time of day, though a few pet-walkers strolled the pathway below the bridge or wandered the distant temple gardens. On the bridge itself, she was alone for the moment. She ambled more than walked toward Rock Falls Inn. Maybe she was going to have dinner there, but she wasn't in a hurry ... and maybe she wasn't.

Jade came to a stop leaning against the bridge railing and staring down at the scene below. The village was back to the right, at the start of the River Walk, and below her was the path, blossoming cherry trees, and patches of daffodils. There were other flowers, too, ones for which she had no names, since they weren't orchids.

Her mind contemplated the concept of death. It was different for her species, because it was generally a long time coming. The legendary Guinan was over half an Earth century, and reportedly had a living father, as well. By those standards, Jade was a mere infant at 161. The thought made her smile, but the smile soon turned sad. Another imperfect human whom she'd liked was gone into the great abyss.

The girl sitting on the railing, one foot trailing over the edge, over the water, spoke. "The lamps will come on in a few minutes. 'Gloaming,' they call it."

The quietly elegant woman hadn't realized she wasn't alone and turned slightly to view the person speaking to her. She saw a young woman of human teen years. Dressed in leggings and a shapeless sweater that drooped slightly over one shoulder, as if not quite sure where it should rest, the girl Jade saw was someone in the process of becoming.

"Do they?" she asked. "It's an interesting word, don't you think?"

The girl spread her hands. "I collect interesting words," she said. "They're less expensive than stamps."

That caused Lantz to smile. In a completely unusual way, the young woman was charming. "There's a word for people who love words. Do you know one for people who collect them?"

The young woman looked thoughtful. "Not as such, no. I know one for an inappropriate display of knowledge -- that would be pedantic. And for using more words than called for, pleonasm." She shrugged. "I've been accused of both."

"Hmmm, I'd say that's a good sign," Jade said. "Only the very best brains know enough to be either pedantic or pleonastic, I would think."

She looked out across what appeared to be a valley, but was something of an optical illusion. "Your knowing the word gloaming to describe this time of early evening is a perfect example. It pulls the evening out of the mundane and into the extraordinary." Around the two, street lamps began to glow softly. After a moment, it occurred to Lantz that she was feeling contentment, quite an unfamiliar emotion for her.

"It's from the title of an old story," the young woman explained. "About a man whose son is dying, and how the man feels about it." She swung her leg and looked away from the adult.

Jade was silent, thinking about how it might feel to have a child, and then to watch the child die. "A difficult position, filled with anguish and ... desolation. Perhaps that would be the right word to collect for that." Another few moments went by, and she added, almost to herself. "How odd that a beautiful description like gloaming would come from a book about desolation. Perhaps desolation can be beautiful, if looked at with the right frame of reference." She'd known her own desolations, and it was only long afterward that she found anything beautiful in those times.

"Well," she straightened after a moment. "We certainly climbed down into the pit of sorrow tonight, didn't we? Would you care to come to dinner with me and look at happier things? Or no, you have a family expecting you home, I suppose."

The girl shrugged. "Just my Dad and Mr. Frankel. Though my Dad would probably look askance at me going off with strange women offering me dinner."

Jade laughed, "I object to being called strange, but your point is well made. I will extend an invitation another time in his presence. Thank you for your company and your thoughts. It's an evening for reflection, but not necessarily for being alone with those reflections."

"Live long," the girl said. "Prosper." It felt more like a command than a wish.

 

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