The End of the World

One day there was a Town that was created by the Giver, the source of all goodness in the world. The people of the Town were happy in the Town. They smiled as they greeted each other in the streets. They shared their food, their work, and their time. The women wore pretty pastel-coloured dresses. The men wore handsome creamy white shirts. The children all had curly hair. The houses were all painted bright colours. The food was sweet, the air was fresh, and the sun shone brightly. But they knew that all this must soon come to an end. There was a vase full of Evils, hidden away in the cellar of the Town Hall, locked in a box that was locked in another box that was locked in another box. Soon the Taker would rise. The Taker was foretold by prophecy. The Taker would break the seal of the vase, releasing the Evils out into the Town. The Evils would cause havoc and wreckage, and they would kill everyone before descending into the World Beneath the Horizon. The Taker would then descend into the World Beneath the Horizon. There they would rule as the Kingfather. This was tragic, as it was. But it was foretold by prophecy so thus it would be.

One day a baby was found in a blue box on the train tracks. Everyone knew that this baby was the Taker, just as prophecy had foretold. Some people suggested leaving the baby Taker on the train tracks so that a train might run over them and the Town would be safe. But the majority of the Townspeople knew that they couldn't leave the baby on the train tracks. The prophecy was very clear on what was to be the fate of the Town. The Townspeople took the baby Kingfather off the tracks and into the Town to be raised there. They knew they were a creature of unholiness and corruption. But they had to follow the prophecy.

Alas the baby was raised inside the town by the Townspeople. The baby was fed, but with milk made from chalk dust not milk from the cow. For the milk from a living being was said to help one form connection with the living world. And if the baby had connection with the living world they would not be able to destroy it. As the baby grew they were passed from family to family, spending a week with each family. This was so that the child could not form any close family bonds. Because if the child learned to love, they would not fulfill their prophecy. The child was sent to school to be taught in the ways of the world. But they were not allowed to play with the other children. Because if they made friends they might feel love for the Town. The child had straight hair. The child was fed, but not with food that came from living beings. Their food was made of dust and rocks. The child was clothed, but not in soft, warm clothes like the Townspeople. They were made to wear the bags made of plastic that were normally used to store garbage in. The child was given a bed to sleep in but their blankets were made of plastic sheets, not hand-sewn quilts. When the child's host family would gather around the dinner table and laugh and talk as they shared their meal, the child would have to eat alone locked in their room. When the Town had festivals the child was not allowed to attend, but rather locked in the cellar of the Town Hall.

The child spent a week straight locked inside the cellar of the Town Hall each year as the winter solstice was celebrated. It was dark. It was cold. It was small. It was suffocating.

The child knew their destiny. The child knew that one day they would be expected to kill the citizens of the Town and then descend back into the depths where they came from. It was something that was always taught to them. It was taught to them that they were a form of destruction, they were meant to be a form of destruction. It was taught to them that they were only capable of cruelty. It was taught to them that they should look forwards to ruling the World Beneath the Horizon. That it was where creatures like them lived and where they would be accepted.

And so the child grew. The child knew that they did not have the capacity to love, but they felt grateful that the Townspeople loved them enough to care for them and raise them anyways. The child was terrified of ever reaching their fifteenth birthday, which would be the date where they would be compelled to destroy all creation. The child did not want that day to ever come.

The child did continue growing. And soon they were a teenager. Soon they turned fourteen. And then the day of their fifteenth birthday was a mere day away. And then, it arrived.

The teenager felt a feeling of fear they had never felt before as they were led to the stage at the centre of town hall. On the stage there was a podium with a vase on it that was covered in thick, waxy cloth. Beside the vase there was a knife. There was a crowd gathered all around the stage. The whole Town had come for the devastating event. There were families with children. There were lovers holding hands. There were friends whispering to each other. The teenager looked out into the crowd and saw it all. Saw all the love they knew they could never understand.

The Mayor of the Town was standing beside them. He told them to go on. They looked at the Mayor with big, wide eyes. And they shook their head. The Mayor was angry. He demanded to know what they meant. They clasped their hands in front of their chest, pleading. Then they waved a hand over the crowd, so as to gesture towards all the people there. They clasped their hands together again. And gestured back towards the crowd. They brought their hands up to form the shape of a heart with their curved fingers and thumbs. The Mayor was enraged at the wide-eyed fifteen-year-old standing before him. He told them that if they didn't break the seal on their own then he would take their hands in his and make them break the seal.

The teenager stared up, terrified. They held their hands up, placating, in surrender. They looked at the Mayor. They looked at the crowd. They looked at the knife. And they made a decision. The Taker took the knife in their hands. The Taker aimed the knife towards the vase. And then at the last moment they changed direction and drove the knife instead into their own neck.

The crowd gasped as the small body fell upon the rapidly-growing pool of blood on the wooden floor.