Chapter Eight: Reunion
It was nearing ten o'clock, and Dib paced the floor nervously. "Tak should have been here three hours ago! What could be keeping her? I hope she's all right, I hope she's all right..."
"She's probably talking to an old friend, or something."
"A friend! You're probably right, I'm making a big deal out of nothing...oh, please be okay, please be okay, please be okay..." Three more hours passed, and Dib was getting frantic. "Tak, please get here! Tak, you can't die! No! You can't be! You have to be all right! I love you! Don't leave! I love you..."
"Wait, someone's at the door!" He ran like lightening to the door, and discovered Zim.
"Zim?! What are you doing here?!"
"I came to deliver some news."
"Tak! Is she okay?!"
"Tak has...Tak is...Tak was...killed...by an...I-Irken, by m-mistake."
"Do you have her?"
"Huh?"
"I want to see my Tak."
"I don't think you want to."
"Did I ask your opinion?! I want to see Tak!" Zim showed him the lifeless form of Tak, with a look of utter sorrow on her face. Dib took her into his arms and cried. He began to recite a poem to her:
"I want so much to bid farewell with a tender kiss,
But I dare not soil your pure untainted lips,
So beautifully your eyes always shimmer,
For me the sky never grows dimmer,
Undaunted when in peril,
You make me feel like singing a carol,
So swiftly your gaze,
Meets up with mine,
As if in a haze,
If this isn't love,
Tell me what is,
This feeling more precious than a dove,
Seeing you leave makes me want to cry,
Because I know I'll surely die,
If I am to be kept apart,
It will surely break my heart." He brought her face close to his once more, and kissed her farewell. "Bury her in the most honorable place, and tell me tomorrow where. I want to visit her."
Zim carried her outside, and disappeared into the deep cold of night. Dib turned to his son, and hugged him. "I thought I was going to see her alive, Dad."
"You know, Tad, I see your mother in you. Such a strong resemblance. She got to see you for the first couple of days. She held you, she talked to you, she sang to you - oh, if you could only remember her voice. It was like that of an angel's. It was true love she possessed for you. Her last nights here she cried when thinking of leaving you behind. And she doesn't cry that often. I have a strong feeling that she was thinking of you when she died. The last time she ever saw you in person was when you were a newborn baby. And during the transmissions, she always wanted to tell you what happened, but we were concerned that you'd be afraid. But it's good that she got to tell you. That you didn't have to wait until now to find out. She left a long letter to us explaining everything she felt about the whole situation. She left recordings, and videos, and - a will. I don't even want to look at it. I don't want to know what she left me."
"Can I see? Can I see one of the videos she left of herself?"
"Sure. I think it would comfort me to see her alive and well too." He left the room, and came back shortly afterward with a videocassette labeled, "Transmissions - Tape #1." It played, and it showed Tak on the screen.
"I love you so much, Dib, Tad. I'm thinking of you every day. It's hard, but with you two in my mind, I think I can do it. I have to leave now, but it's great to see your faces. I look forward to seeing you again in person. I love you. Goodbye." They continued to watch the transmissions recorded on the tape until they fell asleep. When the sun rose, they awoke, but did not bother to eat, or drink anything. Dib picked up a book about Irk, and began to read it. It was written in Irken, but Tak had taught him how to read it, and it had become a second language for him. After about an hour, Tad asked him to teach him how to read Irken script, and after a few weeks, he could read it just as well as anyone born Irken.
"You have it in your blood. That's what Tak always told me. I love you, so much. You're all I have left of her. A living person, just as alive as I am. My only son, because I could never love anyone as much as I loved her." With that statement, he remembered the girl who had come into his time, and allowed him the luxury of life, and that even if he couldn't live to see it, there was a future worth surviving anything life would dish out, even if it meant the loss of loved ones.
Note: I'm sorry about killing Tak off; she's my favorite character, or at least second favorite. In my stories, I'm bound to kill someone off, especially if they're one of my favorite characters. Yes, I don't blame you if you all hate this weird and stupid story.
It was nearing ten o'clock, and Dib paced the floor nervously. "Tak should have been here three hours ago! What could be keeping her? I hope she's all right, I hope she's all right..."
"She's probably talking to an old friend, or something."
"A friend! You're probably right, I'm making a big deal out of nothing...oh, please be okay, please be okay, please be okay..." Three more hours passed, and Dib was getting frantic. "Tak, please get here! Tak, you can't die! No! You can't be! You have to be all right! I love you! Don't leave! I love you..."
"Wait, someone's at the door!" He ran like lightening to the door, and discovered Zim.
"Zim?! What are you doing here?!"
"I came to deliver some news."
"Tak! Is she okay?!"
"Tak has...Tak is...Tak was...killed...by an...I-Irken, by m-mistake."
"Do you have her?"
"Huh?"
"I want to see my Tak."
"I don't think you want to."
"Did I ask your opinion?! I want to see Tak!" Zim showed him the lifeless form of Tak, with a look of utter sorrow on her face. Dib took her into his arms and cried. He began to recite a poem to her:
"I want so much to bid farewell with a tender kiss,
But I dare not soil your pure untainted lips,
So beautifully your eyes always shimmer,
For me the sky never grows dimmer,
Undaunted when in peril,
You make me feel like singing a carol,
So swiftly your gaze,
Meets up with mine,
As if in a haze,
If this isn't love,
Tell me what is,
This feeling more precious than a dove,
Seeing you leave makes me want to cry,
Because I know I'll surely die,
If I am to be kept apart,
It will surely break my heart." He brought her face close to his once more, and kissed her farewell. "Bury her in the most honorable place, and tell me tomorrow where. I want to visit her."
Zim carried her outside, and disappeared into the deep cold of night. Dib turned to his son, and hugged him. "I thought I was going to see her alive, Dad."
"You know, Tad, I see your mother in you. Such a strong resemblance. She got to see you for the first couple of days. She held you, she talked to you, she sang to you - oh, if you could only remember her voice. It was like that of an angel's. It was true love she possessed for you. Her last nights here she cried when thinking of leaving you behind. And she doesn't cry that often. I have a strong feeling that she was thinking of you when she died. The last time she ever saw you in person was when you were a newborn baby. And during the transmissions, she always wanted to tell you what happened, but we were concerned that you'd be afraid. But it's good that she got to tell you. That you didn't have to wait until now to find out. She left a long letter to us explaining everything she felt about the whole situation. She left recordings, and videos, and - a will. I don't even want to look at it. I don't want to know what she left me."
"Can I see? Can I see one of the videos she left of herself?"
"Sure. I think it would comfort me to see her alive and well too." He left the room, and came back shortly afterward with a videocassette labeled, "Transmissions - Tape #1." It played, and it showed Tak on the screen.
"I love you so much, Dib, Tad. I'm thinking of you every day. It's hard, but with you two in my mind, I think I can do it. I have to leave now, but it's great to see your faces. I look forward to seeing you again in person. I love you. Goodbye." They continued to watch the transmissions recorded on the tape until they fell asleep. When the sun rose, they awoke, but did not bother to eat, or drink anything. Dib picked up a book about Irk, and began to read it. It was written in Irken, but Tak had taught him how to read it, and it had become a second language for him. After about an hour, Tad asked him to teach him how to read Irken script, and after a few weeks, he could read it just as well as anyone born Irken.
"You have it in your blood. That's what Tak always told me. I love you, so much. You're all I have left of her. A living person, just as alive as I am. My only son, because I could never love anyone as much as I loved her." With that statement, he remembered the girl who had come into his time, and allowed him the luxury of life, and that even if he couldn't live to see it, there was a future worth surviving anything life would dish out, even if it meant the loss of loved ones.
Note: I'm sorry about killing Tak off; she's my favorite character, or at least second favorite. In my stories, I'm bound to kill someone off, especially if they're one of my favorite characters. Yes, I don't blame you if you all hate this weird and stupid story.