5
For a brief moment,
Beauty is part of our world, and then it leaves.
And though we wish it could have stayed,
We feel so lucky to have seen it.
Edward sat on the narrow steps on the east side of the Castle. He had been there since the morning and had barely stirred since, not even to blink. He simply stared at the blue horizon beyond the small town below, his gaze was hazy and unfocused, dwelling on memories long since past.
Goodbye.
I love you.
The knowledge of Kim's passing had struck his heart with a heavy blow. He did not know if he would ever recover from it. Thinking of the past was something Edward caught himself doing often. But he had never wished so badly to bury himself within his warm and happy memories of Kim so much as he did now.
It was in times like these when Edward found himself feeling even more alone than usual, that he deeply missed his creator. Sometimes he could still hear his voice in his mind, speaking to him with that fatherly cadence which had comforted young Edward while he was still being made.
It was enough to nearly make Edward believe that the old man had not died but had merely slipped into the next room. Standing just out of sight somewhere, behind a corner of stone perhaps.
But of course, Edward knew that couldn't be true.
On the edge of this hour of early twilight, the unfinished creature sat alone and disillusioned. His head lowered down into his lap in defeat. The scissors on each of his arms hung limp and lifeless down at his sides.
Just then, a butterfly, the very same one which had paid Edward a visit just a few days ago…. came fluttering by once again, landing on one of his metal shears. It remained completely unaware of the danger the blades held, and the harm they had done. The butterfly did not care.
It was simply grateful to have found a place to rest its tired wings.
Edward raised the shear carefully up to his face and examined the butterfly. He found himself smiling at it once again. He wasn't even sure why.
Perhaps it was simply a comfort that another living creature did not show fear at the sight of Edward's monstrous-looking hands. That it accepted his presence without complaint or caution and simply carried on as normal.
As the butterfly began to fly away, Edward felt a warm glow rise within him. He couldn't have understood it, but this feeling was hope. Optimism. Anticipation for the future.
Slowly standing up and taking in the beauty of the night around him, Edward found himself wandering into the garden and beholding a shrub which he had not yet seen before. It was blank and shapeless, a perfect conduit for his inspiration.
Forming an image in his mind, Edward began to cut at the large green bush. Hours passed into night, but through the glow of the moon, Edward could still look upon his work, pausing every now and again to make sure the proportions were correct.
By dawn, he had finished his newest creation.
A tall green bush in the shape of a girl, raising her hand skyward to touch the falling snow. It was a perfect and lovely image of Kim, just as Edward remembered her.
Edward stood back and smiled at his new sculpture as the morning sun rose up behind it, casting a golden light down upon all of the garden creations and imbuing them with life.
Kim would never really be gone, so long as Edward was around.
He had found a way to keep her alive forever.
End of Part 1