To a rock, what is life
To a rock, what is time
To a rock, when is now
To a rock, who am I
To a rock, where am I
To a rock, what is life
To a rock, what is pain
To a rock, what is loss

Tell me, rock
I must know
TELL ME

WHO AM IIIIIIIIIIIIII

The rock looked at me, contemplating
It had more time than me
More time than anyone
Civilizations fell before it
People lied upon it
It had been soaked in tears
It had drank of their blood
It had been washed away
It had dreampt of hills
It had felt of leaves
It had blankets of moss
Now long past
And yet, still it remained
All changed
All passed
Yet the rock persisted

It did not fear
It did not grieve
It did not cry
Every loss, a flowing of the wave

It watched
Eyeless
Dreamless
Soulless
Or perhaps
Full of more soul
Than any other
History etched into its being
Time etched upon its form
Even the rock changed
Even the rock grew
Even the rock lost
Its size had risen
Its size had fell
It had felt the intimacy of time
Its form a testament to its craftsmenship

Thank you rock.
I cried.
It was my last goodbye.
For I was not that rock.
I was simply a human.

• • •

Madness is like a melody. And I, the instrument. It plucks at my strings; a gentle resonance. A forming whole, from a fragmented soul.

There are subtleties to mundane.
There is magic in the small.

• • •

"F-Fellabee-"

My eyes believing they could blink, twitched and writhed. Something horrible had soaked my tastebuds. My nose felt singed in a bitter coating of tar.

I reached for my lips, gasping with thirst. The cracks upon them had become entrenched. Dried rivers, once full of blood, laid dormant upon my flesh.

A small, tender mass rested upon my face.

"Fellabee.."

No sound returned the call of my voice. The once intense heat had settled. The gnawing cold had taken much of my sensations.

I was alone.

• • •

I fought. I fought against every rusty cog in my bones. Every muscle long fossilised. My body creaked, and snapped, as I slowly raised myself up from this dormant despair.

Carefully, I clasped Fellabee to my chest. She had cared for me.

"Why..?"

My throat wrenched a dry, forced wimper.

Why had you stayed. Why had you protected me.

I slapped myself faster than I could think, and began to walk.

I couldn't see. I could barely hear. My sense of smell was heavily impaired. My skin had long gone numb.

I had no idea where I was going. All I knew, was that staying there would mean certain death.

Occasionally thoughts raced through the caverns of my mind.

How had I gotten here? The moment I spoke Fellabee's name, something horrifying had occurred. And yet, not another time since. Had it been chance?

What had happened to my body? Am I going to die? Am I already dying? Will I ever see again?

In my absentmindedness, I slammed into what I could only imagine was a wall. Stumbling, I held fast to its foundation.

Perhaps I would die of thirst before anything else. Swallowing had become a painful, laboreous task.

Sometimes the world, or what I could perceive of it, would spin violently, and I would find myself picking myself up off the ground, again and again.

Each time, I did my best to protect the one I was carrying. I let my sides take the brunt of the damage. Sometimes hearing a disturbing crack, or feeling a sharp pain as I twisted my body to protect this one's.

Why, as my final act, was I going so far to protect another?

"Do you need a reason?", spoke Sam.

"You know, I remember a time I met a young kid who was too afraid to leave his room. Granted, it was mighty dangerous outside."

Sam looked at me, putting his hand firmly upon my shoulder, and spoke one last word before he vanished from my mind.

"Persevere."

• • •

I had began to lose track of how much time had passed. How could I after all. I had tried counting. I had tried using the temperature to guage the days. I scraped little grooves into my skin using my tattered nails.

I felt 16 notches. That many days couldn't have passed. I would have starved to death. Died of thirst even sooner. I then began to wonder why I had carved anything upon my arm to begin with.

Madness was a perditious bastard, I thought to myself. How can a mad person think they're mad? That isn't how it works is it?

Before I could finish my thought, my foot collided with a sharp, spherical object. A shockwave of pain spiked into my nervous system, and I gasped, before falling forward into an ice cold depth.

Before mind could put to reason, I threw my hand out toward the sky. Before my next breath, I felt a tiny twitch upon my palm.

Submerging from the abyss of ice, I breathed a heavy, desperate breath. And then I immediately began coughing. A thick mucous shot from my lungs, staining my other hand. Immediately, I gagged, threw my hand into the water below, and shook it violently. Then, without a moment's hesitation, I drank.

Greedily, I drank. Whether it was water or not, I drank. Whether it mattered or not, I drank. Whether it was clean or not, I drank.

A meager coughing could be heard from above.

"Y-you.. How did you.."

The mighty queen, Fellabee, had awoken.

• • •

I had rubbed my eyes, again, and again. Peeling layer after layer of blood, grime, and sweat from my face.

The meager statured queen had bathed in the moonlight, upon a small clearing of rocks and waves.

Fellabee had asked me not to look, as it was improper to look at a female while bathing.

I had had my assumptions, however, after my other assumptions, I thought perhaps anything was possible. Especially if they were like flower fairies.

Tiny droplets like clouds of mist emerged from her wings as she finished up and flew over to me.

"How's your sight? Still having trouble making things out?"

"It's better now Fellabee.. Thank you."

She smiled warmly, then slapped my shoulder.

"Don't go getting any funny ideas now, alright?"

Fellabee smirked cheekily, flicking her hair to one side.

"Sorry Fel, I'm not much for entrees"

Fellabee's jaw dropped. Then she huffed and sat herself down to my ear.

"Ever heard of fine dining?"

Swinging my head rapidly to the side, it was now my time to be shocked.

Expecting the manouveur, Fellabee had already ducked and hid near my chest.

I looked down to her, feeling rather shy, and said, "Fellabee! Is that any way for royalty to speak?!"

Fellabee, looking a little indignant said, "It's just you and me now. And even Queens have needs."