The Eye of the Llama
by Gary D. Snyder
Epilog:
When Jimmy, Cindy, Sheen, and Libby arrived at the Candy Bar the following Saturday they found that Carl was already there, sitting alone in a booth and eating one of Sam's exotic sundaes. To be more precise Carl would scrape indifferently at the ice cream and topping, transfer the mixture to his mouth, and then stare wordlessly into space for several minutes before taking another spoonful. His friends stared at his performance for several minutes, not certain what to do or say.
"What's the matter with Carl?" Sheen finally whispered.
"If it's one of Sam's new flavors that's all the explanation we need," Jimmy whispered back.
"Are you kidding?" Sheen asked in a low voice. "That's Sam's Cherryatric Treatmint. It's one of Carl's favorites."
"Then what could it be?" Jimmy asked.
Cindy shook her head in disgust at the boys' obliviousness. "Are you blind or just naturally stupid? It's Leama."
Sheen looked again. "Really? It sure looks like Carl to me."
Libby punched him on the arm, but Sheen had gotten so used to this from Libby that he barely reacted to the blow. "Come on, Cindy," Libby said. "It looks like Carl needs some female understanding and sympathy." The girls headed over to the booth, closely followed by Jimmy and Sheen.
"Hi, Carl," said Cindy brightly.
For a second Carl didn't seem to notice the four of them standing there. Then his eyes seemed to focus and he blinked. "Oh. Hi, guys." He took another mouthful of ice cream and lapsed back into silence.
Libby tried next. "How are you feeling, Carl?"
Carl shrugged. "Okay, I guess."
"Just okay?" Sheen asked. "Dude, you just had the most excellent adventure ever! You helped a keep a bad guy from taking over an entire planet and were even made a knight for it. Even Useless Rich can't say that."
"Eustace Strych," Libby corrected.
"Close enough," countered Sheen.
"And what you did helped in forming the Stellar Alliance of Felangians, Gorlocks, Needleheads, and Brains," Cindy pointed out.
"Yeah, I know," said Carl. "It's just that…well…"
"Carl, we understand about Princess Leama," Jimmy said. "It's always hard to leave a friend."
Cindy shot Jimmy a warning look, but Jimmy's words seemed to be the catalyst that Carl needed to start talking. "No, it's more than that," Carl answered. "I really liked here as more than a friend. Kind of like you and Cindy, or Sheen and Libby. And…I think she liked me, too – once she found out I was just a kid like her."
Jimmy automatically went on the defensive. "What do you mean, like me and Cindy?" he asked. "We're not –"
"Later, Jimmy," Libby said. "Big picture here." Jimmy subsided and Libby went on. "I know it's hard, Carl," she said in a gentle voice. "But you'll get through this. Everyone does. Trust me."
Carl shook his head. "It's not the same was with everyone else. This is different."
"But it's not like you can't see here again," Cindy pointed out. "You're a knight of the Felangian Royal Guard. You have diplomatic privilege to visit Felangie at any time."
"Not to mention the fact that you're ranked ninth for the Galactic Heavyweight title now," added Sheen.
Carl's shoulders slumped. "But it's not the same as being friends. Whenever I see her she'll have to be a princess and I'll have to be a Royal Guard and we can't just go to the movies or take a walk together or share a sundae or ever even hold hands."
Sheen sounded puzzled. "I thought you said that you break out in hives when you think about holding a girl's hand."
"That's not the point," Carl answered miserably.
"Yeah, I know," Jimmy nodded. "She's a Felangian princess and you're an commoner C- student from Earth. It's like you're people from two different worlds."
"Who are from two different worlds," Sheen put in.
"Well, if the Lee's ideas ever become official policy maybe all that will change someday," Libby suggested. "Maybe
Carl's face showed the classic battle between hope and reality. "But that could be years in the future!" he said. "That doesn't help me now."
"As much as I hate to say it," Cindy said slowly, "that's probably true. It might be years of waiting and hard work before you could hope to see Lee on a social basis."
"You see, Carl?" Jimmy said. "It's better to just put it all behind you and move on."
Cindy immediately bristled. "Just what is that supposed to mean, Neutron?"
"What?" Jimmy asked, taken totally off-guard. "It doesn't mean anything. You just said –"
"I said that there would be challenges. But everything worth fighting for has challenges."
"He should be practical about this. There will be other girls that will be easier for him to have a relationship with," Jimmy argued back.
"Oh, so you think the most important aspect of love is convenience? What if I lived across town? Would you refuse to get involved with me because it was inconvenient?" Cindy was fuming now.
"I'm not saying that!" Jimmy nearly shouted.
"Men!" Libby snorted in disgust. "You're all alike!"
"Hey, what did I say?" Sheen protested.
"Nothing," Libby shot back, "which obviously means that you agree with Jimmy."
"Hey, what a minute! What kind of reasoning is that?" Sheen spluttered.
"Love has nothing to do with reason."
"You can say that again, Vortex."
"I don't know why I believed for even one second –"
"I didn't know your mind could focus that long –"
"You can forget about that movie today –"
"But I already got the tickets –"
"Sorry if that's not very convenient for you –"
As the squabbling between the couples grew in volume and intensity Carl watched with an oddly growing sense of inner contentment. He swallowed another spoonful of ice cream and syrup, enjoying the flavor and sensation of the sticky concoction for the first time that day. I guess can wait after all, he thought happily.
Fought the fight, stayed on his feet,
Saved the girl, went the distance.
Showed them all he's the person to beat –
Had the will, had the heart, had the drive.
And the Eye of the Llama will stay cheerful and bright
From the hopes of the day he'll see Leama.
And he knows that the day will always be within sight
If he's true to the view in the Eye of the Llama.
The Eye of the Llama…
The Eye of the Llama…
THE END
Author's Notes:
This is by far the longest story I've written to date, by a factor of almost two. A very strange thing is that it could easily have been longer. There were many obvious openings that would have added another dozen chapters – what happened to Jimmy and the formation of the Alliance that were alluded to, for example. Rather than dragging it out, however, I decided that it was in everyone's best interests to not extend it any more than I did. I think most authors have discovered that doubling a story complicates things by a factor of four and it is easy for quality to suffer as a result. I also think that there is a limit to how long a story can be. I definitely don't want to test the patience and rules of those hosting the FanFic web site by seeing just how long.