"I’m so tired." Pain sighed softly.

"So very tired."

 

Careforism listened deeply,

as the two of them sat on a wide, solid stone,

bathed in gentle light.

 

"In the beginning,

it was quite simple." Pain said.

 

"I had the idea to be bigger than I was.

When the idea was young, I was excited.

The idea energised me.

 

What did it really require?

Just one invention.

One.

A simple one.

 

But then others started asking questions,

and I had to provide answers.

 

And once I gave them answers -

even good ones - they started believing.

 

You probably think that’s a good thing, don’t you?" he asked.

 

Careforism remained present with whatever Pain was sharing.

 

"But when people believe," Pain continued,

"then the denial must grow wider.

Everything was built from the tower of words I had created.

 

And the taller the tower rose,

the more resources it took to maintain the denial.

 

I invented clothes,

I invented language,

I invented customs,

I invented structures -

and everything had a reason, you see?

 

But they were my reasons.

 

Many came to believe in the tower I had built.

 

It was easy to believe -

once they could touch it.

 

If it were only up to me,

I would have let it go.

 

After so long,

the idea of being more than myself

felt too indulgent, too driven, too aggressive.

 

But it’s no longer just me -

it’s also those who believe.

 

And perhaps they see my tower of words as truth.

 

And how could Truth change?

Truth doesn’t change.

 

So it makes sense to fight in its name,

to destroy in its name,

to withhold patience in its name,

to refuse forgiveness in its name,

to avoid understanding in its name,

to reject the willingness to expand within - in its name.

 

"All I wanted was to preserve this."

 

He pulled from a side bag a golden chalice,

engraved with the word: Eternity.

 

"I made it myself." he whispered,

his lips curled into a bitter smile.

 

"Now I just feel terrible.

It’s bigger than me now.

It’s no longer under my control.

It never was."

 

Careforism wept with Pain.

 

"You know," she said,

"You and I have known each other a long time.

 

You may not know all of me -

but I’ve always been there,

in every moment you thought you were alone."

 

"You?" Pain asked, puzzled.

 

"Yes," she said.

"I was there with you -

when you invented the clothes,

the language,

the customs,

the buildings.

 

I was there when you were afraid to know yourself -

and I helped you protect what you didn’t want to see.

 

We are not as opposite as you think.

 

I am part of you, as you are part of me.

 

As we are part of him."

 

"Of what?" Pain asked,

even more confused.

 

"It can’t be bigger than you - because it ends within you.

Let the denial end within you." she said gently.

 

"End myself?" Pain asked quietly.

 

Careforism smiled softly.

 

"I’m afraid to die.

After so long knowing only myself - I’m afraid."

 

Careforism caressed Pain

with all the gentleness and giving she held,

and he closed his eyes.

 

They sat together on the stone -

perhaps for eternity,

perhaps just one single moment.

 

Careforism and Pain embraced, 

as Embrace became Wholofied.

 

Wholofied rose from the stone,

holding the golden chalice in his hand.

 

The chalice then melted -

softened into a clear glass filled with sweet sheer water.

 

Wholofied drank from it,

and turned to offer it to Careforism -

but she had already quenched.