Standing on the Edge of Tomorrow

Note: The story of the Shvetaketu is from the Chandogya Upanishad, and therefore, is not mine. Also, a basic definition of Brahman to help you understand the story is that Brahman is the divine reality at the heart of all things. Just borrowing. Thanks for the reviews and keep 'em coming.

Previously:

Spike imagined he and Kennedy would take her home and sit with her in her darkened room until she fell asleep. Then he would do the same. They too walked away, back to the real world. Looking over his shoulder, he heaved a heavy sigh and knew that Callum was gone.

Chapter Forty-One:

"Where do we go from here?" Kara asked, looking over at the figurative right arm of the Powers that Be. Veronica sat next to her on the beach, her feet resting in the water. The sun was shining down on them, a comforting gaze that lingered on their faces. The water was warm and Kara could smell salt in the air. The beach was deserted for miles and the sound of her voice seemed to carry out over the waves, echoing forever in the vast expanse of the sea.

"Everything seems cloaked in shadow to you, yes?" Veronica responded, closing her eyes and leaning her head back. "You want to know why we let Callum die?"

"Yeah," Kara said, staring out over the waves. It was peaceful somehow, the constant lull of the water, always coming, always going. For all eternity, the waves would follow the same pattern while the rest of the world tipped on its axis and fell into oblivion. Kara remembered, long after the age of man had ended and the world of the demons began, looking out over the water. It was the same then as it was now.

"To be perfectly honest with you, we had nothing to do with it. You see, God, the Powers that Be, whatever it is you believe in, ultimately doesn't exist," Veronica said, smiling as Kara looked over at her in confusion.

"But you do exist, I'm sitting right next to you," Kara said, somehow knowing it was fruitless to try to outsmart a god.

"Yes, you are. But are you sitting next to me because I'm really here, or because you want to believe I'm here? I exist so long as you want me to exist. If I piss you off, or life makes you see things differently, than I no longer exist to you. Then I don't exist to your world, your reality, and thereby, to the rest of the world as you see it," Veronica explained. "I only control the outcome of actions so long as you want me to, so long as you believe I can. You believe that because I didn't do anything to prevent it, Callum died. As long as you believe that, I'll never be able to convince you otherwise."

"So then Callum was supposed to die?" Kara asked, looking back out over the water. She frowned for a moment, as the sun pierced her eyes. "It was noon a minute ago," she muttered to herself as the sun began to sink below the horizon. The sky lit up in a fiery red that spread out over the sea. The water sparkled and she could faintly hear it laughing.

Veronica smiled. "Everything happens in its own time and place. Callum's soul has been here a very long time. Just because he passed from one stage to the next doesn't mean that he's gone. He's still here. The souls of the dead, they're very much like the salt in the water. Do you mind if I tell you a little story?" Veronica suddenly asked, smiling widely. Kara laughed and nodded.

"Very well. There was a young man named Shvetaketu, who left his father's house to study the priestly lore of chants and rituals. When the young man retuned home, his father questioned him on all he had learned. Shvetaketu proudly related to his father all he knew, but then his father asked him what he knew about Brahman. However, in all of his studying, the young man had learned nothing of Brahman."

"To demonstrate his point, his father asked Shvetaketu to fill a glass with water and to put salt in it. They left the water as it was overnight. The next day, his father asked the young man to find the salt in the water. Shvetaketu looked into the water, but couldn't find the salt because it had dissolved. His father then asked him to taste the water from the side. Shvetaketu tasted the water and found that it was salty. Then his fathered asked him to taste the water from the middle and, there too, the water was salty. Likewise, his father asked him to taste the water from the other side. Shvetaketu replied that in this place too, the water tasted salty."

"Then his father asked him to look for the salt again. Shvetaketu could not find the salt, he could only see the water. His father smiled and said that, just as he could not see the salt in the water, you cannot see the spirit behind all things, but it is there all the same, in everything," Veronica said as the sun faded into darkness. The moon rose over the water and lit the blackened waves until they reflected like glass. The stars popped out and Kara looked up at them, tracing the constellations in her mind.

"You see, Callum is like the salt. So are all of the spirits of the dead. They're never gone because they're in everything. We just can't see them," Veronica finished.

Kara smiled slightly. It was comforting to think that Callum would always be lingering around, watching over her and the others, like the souls of everyone else they had lost. "I don't dream about it anymore," Kara said suddenly, breaking the silence.

"Dream about what?" Veronica asked, stretching her long legs out in front of her. The water curled around her feet, embracing them.

"The future. My past. Whatever you want to call it. I used to dream about it all the time. But I don't anymore. Why is that?" Kara asked, looking over at the god sitting next to her.

"It doesn't exist anymore," Veronica answered. "You've changed everything. Even if Sunnydale falls like it did in your world, things are so different now, your future won't happen."

"So what future will?" Kara asked, genuinely smiling for the first time since Callum died.

Veronica smiled and looked over at her, chuckling a bit. "Honestly? I don't know," she responded and closed her eyes again, sighing deeply. "These are the times we live to see. Mankind is taking hold of its own destiny. It's a new world."

Kara breathed deeply, letting the salt air fill her lungs. She could taste it in her mouth. Exhaling, she felt a singular peace that she had never felt before. "We've got one more fight, one more battle. The biggest one we've ever faced. More people are going to die aren't they?"

"There's no stopping that," Veronica responded. "Not even I can stop the flow of life in this place. But I wouldn't worry about it too much. You've got the past looking over your shoulder," Veronica said, her voice laughing. Then she winked at Kara. "It's time for you to wake up."

Kara's eyes flew open, blurry and unfocused on her bedroom ceiling. She blinked several times, until her vision cleared, and then sat up in bed. Dawn was just breaking over the horizon in orange and yellow. The newborn sun seemed to be yawning, just waking up from a century of sleep. Looking over, Kara smiled when she saw Spike crumpled up on a chair next to her bed, sleeping in a way that looked painfully uncomfortable. "Hey," she said, pushing his knee slightly.

Spike jerked awake, looking around the room quickly. Once he sensed that there was no danger, he relaxed and looked over at Kara. "Morning," he said, trying to gauge her mood. She smiled at him and, if his heart had been beating, it would have stopped in his chest.

"You feel like going over to Buffy's for breakfast?" Kara asked hopefully. Spike laughed, the sound seeming so foreign to both of them.

"Yeah, that'd be about the greatest thing in the world," he said as Kara leapt to her feet to get ready. Spike stood up and caught her by the elbow, looking deeply into her eyes as he spoke. "So things are back to normal then?" He asked, relief spreading through every muscle and tissue in his body when he saw the sparkle returning to her eyes.

"Yeah, everything's back to normal now."