The Moribund People

by Kount Xero

Each and every one of them deserved to die because of the crimes they had committed against him but he too remembered the promise he had taken from one of them, a promise that bound them together even at the end of all hope... as it had before.

9. Epilogue: A Penny's Worth of Heart

"The Moribund People"

Epilogue

"A Penny's Worth of Heart"

ONE YEAR LATER

A year has passed since then.

Sometimes, in my dreams, I still hear his last words; but this time, he just falls asleep, and wakes up, smiling. In my dreams, he smiles truthfully, and the people we used to know walk up to us; still alive. We walk and talk and laugh and cry together in those dreams; back in that place we used to call home.

I cry at night, sometimes; just lying awake. But everytime, my tears turn into laughters, and Seifer wakes up, by my side, and laughs with me. Then, when I start to cry again, he holds me to his arms, and tells me all the things that I need to hear in this world. His conviction to me, and his love kept me safe from the abuse Squall has taken into his heart, with all his heart. Seifer's love kept me safe from the horrid reality of Squall Leonhart.

We talk about him, every so often. On long nights, or winter. We talk about the man he used to be; the man he would always be in our minds. There is only one day that we do not speak at all; and on that day, Matron joins us as we take our nice dresses, and walk into a garden made of headstones. Matron, Seifer and I weep at his grave; and the graves all others. All those that we held dear.

In those days, Matron tells us about the loss of all; even those that we hold dear. She tells us that in the orphanage of hearts that she had revealed to us, there are still only laughters. But, with sadness in her voice, she tells us that the laughters echo longer each time she hears them; and that the adopted hearts fall to silence after a while.

A year has passed since that day.

And here I am, standing in front of his stone, with orchids in my hand, and tears in my eyes. The familiar grief, the all-too-familiar chill of his vacancy. The void of him.

"I'm here, Squall..." I say to him, "I came..."

I tell his cold stone of a face everything that happened ever since he left. All that has changed since he left this world. I tell him, that there isn't much change; only some grow older and some grow colder. I tell him everything, until my words start to fail me.

I stand at a loss for words.

Suddenly, there is this presence, by my side. I know that if I turn around, I will see him. His right hand stands on my shoulder, as his free hand rests on his hip. His mid-riff furry jacket, his leather pants, his brooding frown and scar. He is just as I remember him.

I ask, my voice shaking with hope, and fear, "Squall..?"

Whatever the presence is, it is now gone. I smile, briefly. I feel the words, and I blow them into the air; kissing them.

"A penny's worth of heart..." I say, "...Hyne, it's so precious."

The wind takes my words away.

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Author's Notes: And there you have it, the end of "The Symtoms Trilogy" (Symtpoms of Mercy, Mind Fields, The Moribund People). The love, fall, redemption of a man. Heh, I'm so pompous. On the other hand, the song that takes the title with the epilogue, is strangely, the second song of Peccatum's album "The Moribund People"; "A Penny's Worth of Heart". This, most probably is my final fanfiction. I'll look around though.