DAY BY DAY

A/N: I do not own The Dark Crystal or the characters. They are solely the property of Jim Henson's Muppets.

"I may be quiet,
but I have so much on my mind."
—ANONYMOUS

"Everything will be okay in the end.
If it's not okay, it's not the end."
—JOHN LENNON
1940 - 1980

"Jen?...JEN."
The voice sounded sluggish and barely recognizable to the young Gelfling's ears. When Jen turned to see where it was coming from, he saw the familiar, yet oddly distorted landscape of the valley in which he was raised. Everything was exactly the way he remembered it, right down to the little forest clearing where he always sat and played his pipe. There was nothing he enjoyed more than that, especially after a swim in the pond. He loved it there, and he would always be grateful to the Mystics for taking him into their home, and therefore rescuing him from the same fate as his family and the rest of the Gelfling race.
And then he saw him: his Master, the wisest of the Mystics. It seemed like only yesterday that he was on his deathbed, and delivering his final message to Jen. "Before the three suns meet, you must find the shard, the Crystal shard," he had said. And here he was, looking nary a day older than he did when the Mystics first found him.
"Hello, Master," Jen said. For some reason, it didn't occur to him to ask what he was doing back in the valley, or how the Master could be here. He was just glad to see the one being in the world who was like a father to him. "It's been a long time."
"Indeed it has," the Master agreed. "And I fear it shall be even longer. I have come to say goodbye."
"Goodbye?" Jen echoed, a touch of alarm in his voice. The landscape slowly began to darken, and that's when he figured it out: he was asleep in the Podling Village dwelling that he and Kira shared, and dreaming of his Master and his childhood home.
"But—I thought you already had," a confused Jen went on. "I mean..."
A hint of a smile creased the Master's wrinkled face. "Yes," he answered. "But I still watched over you as you were on your quest. I made certain that you healed the Crystal, and I cannot be more proud of you."
"Thank you," Jen said softly. He was pretty proud of himself, too.
Then the Master's smile faded. "Nevertheless," he continued, "I have little choice in the matter. I can no longer postpone my journey from this life to what lies ahead."
Jen lowered his head and sighed. "So this really is goodbye," he murmured. Deep down, he knew this conversation was bound to take place, but he still wasn't fully prepared for it.
"Yes, it is," the Master confirmed. "It is a part of life to leave behind the ones you love, but that does not mean you will never see them again. As long as you keep the memories alive, they are never really gone."
"I remember when you first taught me that. We were talking about my real parents, and how remembering them keeps them alive. You've taught me so much."
"And you have done well," the Master acknowledged. "You have shown great courage and perseverance before, during, and since the Great Conjunction." Then, looking Jen dead in the eye, he added, "But you must always remain on your guard. The Skekses have been vanquished, but there is still the potential for evil in the world. Never forget that."
"I won't," Jen promised.
As the valley continued to darken, the Master's face softened, and again he smiled. "And now, farewell," he whispered. "We may meet again in another life, but not again in this one."
A memory struck Jen like a thunderbolt: those were his Master's last words before he took his final breath and vanished into oblivion. "Master?" he cried frantically. "Master, wait!"
But he was already gone. Only then did Jen realize that he was finally on his own.
All of a sudden, the valley started to tremble, and finally, everything went black—and that's when Jen woke up.
For a minute or so, he lay in bed, staring at the ceiling and listening to the wind whistling outside. He shivered, despite the warm temperature in the room. After all, this was one of the homes that had to be rebuilt after the Garthim soldiers had crashed the party the Podlings were throwing. Kira had told him that nobody blamed him for what had happened that night, but it was a feeling he was never able to shake, even now.
Jen sat up and rubbed his eyes. He hadn't been getting much sleep lately, and it was really starting to get on his nerves. With everything he had on his plate, why wouldn't these feelings just stop already?
When he looked over to his left, there, sleeping soundly beside him and without a care in the world, was Kira.
His beloved Kira.
As dark as it was, her features were still unmistakable. Her fair, rosy complexion seemed to glow as bright as the moonlight. Her whitish-blond hair cascaded down either side of her face, over her shoulders, and across her breasts. Her wings were folded back and tucked under her naked body like two oversized maple seeds. And a relaxed, contented smile was painted across her full, pouty lips.
You're so beautiful, Kira, Jen thought. I never believed there was anything good in the world until I met you.
When he placed his right palm over her round, protruding stomach, it twitched almost automatically. He could feel the presence of the twins she carried within her, and he couldn't wait for them to be born. But as happy as he was, the overwhelming, all-too-familiar feelings of sadness and loss were just as powerful, if not more so. First his Gelfling family had been murdered; then Kira had sacrificed her own life to save Jen's, even though she'd been resurrected after the healing of the Crystal; and now, even his Master's spirit had gone away.
For the third time in his young life, he'd been abandoned.
Sighing, he slid out of bed and pulled on the reddish-black tunic that Kira had given him on their wedding night. After fixing himself a drink from their kitchenette, he softly opened the door—being careful not to wake Fizzgig, who was snoring at the foot of the bed—and made his way out to the balcony.
It was a gorgeous, starlit night with a full moon, and the gentle wind made standing out there a little chilly. But Jen wasn't bothered by it, even though he had on the tunic and nothing else. His drink was nice and hot, and the stone mug he held in his hands warmed him right up. He leaned against the chest-high railing and looked out across the village. Granted, it wasn't completely rebuilt yet, but the Podlings were nothing if not persistent. The one word that was never in their vocabulary was quit.
Off in the distance, he could just barely see the outline of the castle in which the Crystal was housed. Its sparkling walls contrasted against the bluish-black darkness of the sky, and the stars were like flecks of glitter in comparison to this massive, diamond-like piece of architecture. Even in the middle of the night, it was a sight to behold.
However, the castle's beauty notwithstanding, Jen was still haunted by the traumatic memories of what he and Kira had endured, the worst of which was being buried under the pile of rocks while trying to protect her from the Skekses' Chamberlin. If there was one ordeal he never wanted to experience again, that would've come in second behind seeing the Ritual Master stab Kira just mere seconds after she'd thrown the shard up to him. Until the UrSkeks brought her back to life, he was so sure that he'd lost her forever.
But despite everything that had happened that day, and in the last few years, Jen had to admit that the view from the balcony was spectacular.
He'd just taken a sip of his drink when he heard a door open three meters behind him and to the right. He glanced over his shoulder, and who should happen to come out of the room but Aughra.
"Jen," she greeted him. She was always a great friend, and she looked pretty much the same as she always had—well, almost. Her matted, tangled hair was now white as snow, and a touch of arthritis was causing her to move more slowly and carefully than she did when they first met; but her wise and maternal demeanor, albeit somewhat abrasive at times, remained intact.
"Hello, Aughra," Jen responded as she joined him at the railing. "How are you tonight?"
"Still getting around. You?"
"Okay, I guess. I was just getting some fresh air."
Aughra leaned against the railing. "Having trouble sleeping, I see," she observed.
Jen set his drink down beside him. There was no fooling Aughra, and he knew it. Despite her advancing years, nothing got by her.
"Yes," he admitted. "I was so sure everything would be back to normal once the Crystal was healed. I never realized how much more there was to it. Pretty stupid way to think, huh?"
"I wouldn't say that. Things happened. Lots of things happened, things you didn't expect."
Jen brought the mug to his lips to hide his smile. "I can't argue with you there," he said. Then, returning his attention to the village below, he quietly finished, "Mostly, I'm just missing my Master tonight."
Aughra put a comforting hand on Jen's arm. "Aughra knows," she told him. "Aughra always knows."
For the second time, Jen had to smile in spite of himself. If there was one thing he could always expect her to say, that was it.
"It's normal to miss him. By missing him, you still remember him."
"True," Jen agreed. "I just wish it wasn't so hard to deal with."
"In time, it gets easier," Aughra told him before instinctively changing the subject. "How are Kira and the babies?"
Jen sipped his drink again before turning around. "Fine, for the most part," he said. "Her morning sickness has subsided, but she still gets exhausted from carrying them everywhere she goes."
"I'm sure she's anxious for the big day."
"She sure is. We all are."
"The dawn of a new Gelfling race," Aughra remarked. Then she noticed the mug in Jen's hand. "Good?"
Jen looked down at it. "Actually, yes," he said. "Ydra (pronounced EE-druh) introduced it to me the night before our wedding. You know, Kira's mother."
Aughra nodded.
"I'd never even heard of it, mind you, but it's still really good, and I think you'd like it. She said it's called apple cider."
Aughra thought for a minute before saying, "I'll have to try it sometime. So, you're sure everything's okay?"
"I'm fine, Aughra," Jen reassured her. "I guess I'm still trying to process everything that's been happening these days."
"There's no hurry. Things fall into place when they must."
"I suppose."
"Well, I suppose I'll be heading back to bed now."
"Okay," Jen responded. "Thanks for the talk, Aughra; and goodnight."
"Goodnight, Jen," Aughra whispered, and she shuffled back to her room.
Jen watched her door close and turned back around. He and Kira always enjoyed the talks they had with Aughra. If anything, she always managed to help them put things into perspective.
Things fall into place when they must.
Jen was well aware that Aughra knew what she was talking about, but it still seemed like an uphill climb with no one to help you get there. Between the lack of sleep he was getting, the fact that he was going to be a father, and helping the Podlings rebuild their homes—which limited the time he got to spend with Kira—he felt like he was carrying the weight of the whole world on his shoulders. Yes, he was glad he was no longer in danger, and he loved Kira more than anything, but he still wished he could enjoy his life, look forward to starting his own family, and not feel obligated to take care of so many people all the time.
Stop that, he firmly chastised himself. There are some things in life that have to be done. And besides, nobody ever said it was easy, so what's the point in complaining about it?
Finishing the last of his cider, which was now just starting to feel lukewarm, Jen sat against the wall with another sigh. He wasn't the type who ignored his responsibilities, and no way was he going to start now. Kira needed him, as did the Podlings, and his unborn twins. But even so, another cold, hard fact was relentlessly gnawing at him like a dog on a bone: there was no magic wand that could be waved around to make everything all better.
Not even for a Gelfling.

THE END