Chapter Text
And one day, an end. But is it really the end? What lies beyond the world? Saul, or at least his soul, is about to find out, to enter the realm of the dead, the one defended by the very essence of existence, the one that no one knows anything about because no traveller has ever returned. For the moment, floating in the air as the morning mist on the ocean, the Specialist rises gently above his inert body, soon to be engulfed by this man-eating earth. He feels so light, so free, as if nothing could hold him back and control him. The world seems so pure to him, all his senses are alert, sharpened, as if nothing could prevent them from reaching their maximum capacity. Saul is dead, he realised it the moment he saw his body disappear, and yet he has never felt so alive. The world is a strange thing at the end.
And one day, the entry into the light. White and pure like snow; radiant as the full moon in the dark night. Farah's friend feels himself leaving the world he has always known and flying to unknown skies. He guesses that he will never see the forest, Alfea and its inhabitants again. From now on, it's official, he's off on a new and long journey into the spirit realm from which he will never return.
And one day, revival. The blinding light gradually fades to a vast meadow of tall golden grass, illuminated by the warm sun of a summer evening. In the middle of this vast expanse stands proudly a majestic hundred-year-old walnut tree with slightly yellowing leaves. The azure sky gradually turns a mixture of gold and pink as Sky's adoptive father arrives in heaven. He can't help but open his mouth in wonder at the beauty. If he had known that the world of the dead was so welcoming and splendid, he would not have wasted his time among the living. Everything here is so divine. He starts to frolic happily in the meadow, running to the big tree and laughing out loud. He is once again the child who was trapped in his heart for too long and who missed him so much.
And one day, a woman. A female figure dressed in long dark clothes walks towards him, with a graceful gait. She is tall, slender, with brown hair tied up in a bun. She is the epitome of perfection. If his heart had not stopped beating, it would have literally exploded in his chest. His beloved continues to move closer, slowly but surely. In a few seconds, his Farah will be standing in front of him, but what will be her reaction? She will probably be disappointed in him, even furious. Will he dare to look her in the eye? Nothing is less certain. He has betrayed her, he has abandoned Sky, the probability of her forgiving him is infinitesimal, even if she has seen right through his feelings.
The Specialist feels pitiful, unworthy of this flawless, extraordinary woman, unworthy of her love. She is so strong, and he is so weak. Lost in his thoughts, he is only aware of her presence before him when he hears her whisper his name in a voice as soft as the shimmering light.
"Saul...did the journey go well?" she asks calmly, without resentment, her face impassive but her eyes sparkling with joy.
Her friend lets out a nervous laugh. He cannot believe it, he has found the same Farah he has always known and with whom he has fallen madly in love, as if nothing has happened.
Overcome by emotion, he collapses into her arms, thinking he will find warmth and comfort. However, the energetic vibrations he feels instead bring him back to the harsh reality. They are both dead, and they will never regain the sensations of a real hug.
"Yes," he answers simply, trying to melt his soul into hers.
Feeling his anxiety rise, she tightens her embrace and reassures him affectionately:
"I'm here, don't worry."
"I'm sorry, Fa, so sorry," apologises the Specialist, his throat tight with guilt. "I screwed up, I abandoned Sky and Alfea to be with you, I'm a selfish bastard. It's only natural you should be mad at me for that..."
The fairy laughs innocently, pulling herself slightly from his chest, against which she feels at home. Sure, she finds his act thoughtless, but this emotional and hotheaded side makes him the man he is.
With her innate delicacy, she puts her hand on his cheek to caress it gently, the other behind his neck, running it through his ghostly hair.
"My big lug, I love you as you are, I know you didn't mean to hurt them, I understand the reason that pushed you to commit the irreparable," she confides in him, teasing him kindly, with tears in her eyes. "How could I blame you when I would have had the same reaction if I had known that I had lost you forever?"
Suddenly, an overflowing joy floods Saul's soul, who feels more than alive, despite his death. Realizing what his fairy has just told him, his eyes light up with cheerfulness and adoration. Has he heard correctly? Has she really just told him how she feels? Or is he still alive and this is just a pleasant dream, the most wonderful one there could be? He continues to stare at her with the most huge admiration, as he used so often to do in the world of the living. To be loved by Farah Dowling would be the greatest honour.
"You...you do love me, don't you?" he stammers, almost incredulously.
An enigmatic smile appears on his friend's face, and the only answer to his question is to snuggle against his chest and wrap her hands around his cheeks to cup them, before coming dangerously close to his lips to place the ultimate gift: a chaste and languid kiss. At this moment, new sensations overwhelm the Specialist's soul, who finds himself completely at the mercy of the one he has loved for so long. No, he is not dreaming, she is kissing him with her silky lips, here, under this walnut tree, in the world of the dead. The warm light of the low-angled sun that is stroking their faces adds yet another touch of magic and romance to this surreal scene.
"Do you have your answer?" she retorts with an air that is both malicious and benevolent.
Completely shaken and moved by her declaration of love, he remains stoic and trembling for a moment before bursting into tears in her arms, holding his partner close to his heart, his face buried in her neck, which, alas, no longer gives off those delicious amber scents of cinnamon and benzoin.
"Oh Farah, I'd rather die with you than live without you," he sobs, his lips sliding sensuously down to her protruding collarbone.
The fairy sighs with ease, comforting her beloved man with her vibrant energy.
"I'm so glad to have you back and to know you feel the same way I do," she murmurs in his ear, becoming more cuddly.
Feeling her need for closeness in the sweet golden heat of summer, a soothing breeze enveloping them as if they were one, Saul tenderly embraces her in turn, placing frivolous kisses down her bare arm to her slender hand.
"I love you, Farah darling," he declares with fondness, clasping her hand in his. "More than infinity times infinity, and for eternity."
Upset by this childish phrase, she no longer holds back her tears and pushes her lover against the trunk to melt passionately on his lips, blending her tears with their saliva, which takes on the taste of the sea. Gradually, carried away in a passionate whirlwind and in the urgency to love each other, the two soul mates lay themselves bare, taking advantage of the tall grass and the sunset to enjoy a timely intimacy. Their lovemaking is slow and gentle, the fairy's view alternates between the subjugated and concentrated face of her Specialist, and the cirrus clouds that take on a purple hue as the sun descends in the sky. Both beings, driven by unusual sensations because they have no body, discover the other with ecstasy; Saul is only concerned with the pleasure of his beloved, who does her best to make him forget the violence of his previous act. They both regret having been so shy as to keep their feelings hidden for so many years. They could have loved each other in the world of the living, in their bodies, had a life together, experienced physical pleasure. But nothing happened like that, they had to be separated by death for them to become aware of the reality of their feelings, from which they cannot dissociate themselves.
Now free to love him and certain of their feelings for each other, Farah, for the first time in her life submerged by this wave of love and happiness, knows what she wants for their future as deceased and for their new life.
She wants him, her faithful lifelong partner, her Specialist, her beloved man whom she cherishes so much, whose slow and appalling agony she witnessed helplessly.
Now all that is behind them, they can finally live. A knowing and radiant smile drawn on her face, the flame of life burning in her hazel pupils, she brushes her fingertips over his pectorals and lasciviously shushes in his ear:
"You, me, heaven...forever..."
Fulfilled at the prospect of eternity with his fairy, his great love, he brings his face close to hers until their noses touch and, with that same fiery smile, that same ardour, he repeats that last word, sealing their union.
"Always, angel."
As the couple moan in unison, eye to eye, the yellow leaves of the walnut tree fall elegantly over their embracing bodies and the dry grass to make way for a cloud of green leaves, which quickly colonise the bare branches.
Just as summer forgets autumn to let spring come, the night that was supposed to follow twilight becomes dawn, and a new day rises in the lost heaven.
***
Far from the happiness of the two deceased, Sky is sobbing in his room, collapsed in the arms of Ben, who returned to Alfea as soon as he learned of his best friend's suicide. Now the young Specialist has no family, no Bloom. He has only his eyes to cry and his voice to scream his anger.
"I can't believe he abandoned me," the teenager mumbles tearfully, destroyed and inconsolable. "Why did he do this?"
The botany teacher softly caresses his hair, disarmed by his distress. He wishes he could help him more.
"I guess he couldn't live without her...Saul told me about his feelings for Farah, but they were both too shy," he explains, his throat tight with grief. "He had been very much in love with her for over twenty years, and what he must have felt on hearing of her death is terrible, and I can understand him because I experienced the same with Rose. But instead of talking to me, he preferred to keep it all to himself."
The young man sighs and does not reply. No words can ease his pain.
"Whatever happens, you can count on me if you need anything, I think of you as my son," adds Sam and Terra's dad with a compassionate smile.
Sky nods, touched by his words, his kindness and his generosity.
"Thank you."
The two men remain silent for a moment. They know that the next few days will be the hardest to overcome. Alfea is in mourning, the whole school is in shock, and in a few days the Specialist's body will be buried after an emotional tribute ceremony.
THE END