Afterglow
By Sean Drabik
Under a sky of red and by a sea of blood, the mismatched and estranged pair laid together in the afterglow of the apocalypse. As the young man sobbed, his eyes bleeding the salted waters of his own self loathing, as the young woman stared into the scarlet heavens, contempt burrowed deep into her body, deeper into her soul, and radiating from her presence.
She took a look at the young man. Shinji Ikari; Stupid Shinji, the idiot, the boy who caused Third Impact. All she wanted to do now was hate him. Really, it was all she felt she could do, just as all Shinji could do was cry and whine. "Even after Armageddon" she thought, "Some things never change." She wished to hate him. She wished dearly to hate his whining voice, his pathetic nature, his stupid crying face….but for whatever reason, she was unable to. For all the reasons shed wished to hate him , she could only manage pity. Unabashed, silent pity. She sat up, red hair dangling back as she adjusted her arms to lean on them.
Shinji remained sobbing on the broken ground, curling up upon it. Shakily he began to raise his head, trembling as tears continued to fall down his face. He looked up at the young woman, and in turn her eyes condescended upon him. In fear he turned away, returning to his ball of tears and inner torment. Asuka Langley Soryu sat over him, the woman who Shinji only but a few minutes ago tried to strangle the life from. But he knew he'd never do it. His mind could no longer handle any of that pressure. He was a coward and a wimp and a murderer, and was now alone with the contempt and pity of the woman who always talked down to him, and now had all the more reason to see him as the pathetic mess she he knew he was. The pathetic mess he knew he was. Shinji forced himself to it up, arms wrapping around his legs as he stared into the red emptiness of what was once existence.
Shinji and Asuka stared into the red for hours, silent and stotic, as if all they say was already said by the vast and incomparable destruction. Neither could tell what length of time had gone by as they looked on. Night and day no longer existed, disappearing into the vaguest of concepts, just as all of humanity's great works had disappeared into the great stew that now covered what could only barely be called Earth. Time no longer existed. Nothing existed. Even the concept of nothing had been purged. All that was were Shinji and Asuka, alone on the dead planet with their emotions.
Asuka smiled, something that shocked Shinji. "How could any be happy next to all this…" He thought. Soon though, Shinji realized what it was that caused her to smile, and dwelling on it could only make him smile as well. Looking at each other, their faces emitted a feeling of great warmth. These were not smiles of happiness, of friendship, of love, but of contentment. Contentment in their self loathing and pity, in their rancor and misery, in their hatred to themselves and their hatred of each other. They came in close to one another, continuing their staring.
"Hey…Asuka?" Shinji asked with a whimpering inflection.
"….Yeah Shinji?" Asuka replied in an unusually calm response.
"….you hated this place too, right?"
"Yeah…..yeah, I really did…."
They sat in a happy silence after that short discussion. All they knew now was their hatred and sadness gave this dead world a reason to go on, a purpose for which it had to hold onto. And in the afterglow of the apocalypse, what emotions filled the world no longer mattered. Insecurity was confidence, sadness was happiness, and hatred was the single greatest sign of love. Shinji and Asuka smiled at each other once again. Their hatred would make them the closest and most loving of friends, and bring them together to face what no one else could survive. With them, the world would continue, and humanity would live on, in its most honest and most passionate form.