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The old wooden panels creaked under the demon’s feet.
It was a sunny day - one of those days that made people smile just a little bit more than usual, feeling the soft breeze and a distant inkling of melancholy after all that have passed away unnoticed.
The same breeze felt slightly different inside of an old house in the suburbs. It was colder and more hesitant, peeking in through the flimsy curtains. They tried to cover the scratches, but it couldn’t be done completely. Too much has been done in this place and it didn’t matter how hard one wanted to hide it, it couldn’t be hidden if one wanted to take a closer look. Just one look.
But it was too much for most of men. And that’s how years passed.
The demon walked through the dusty corridors, with the serious looks of dead people moving after him from the weathered portraits. The breeze sneaked after him, looking around in silence.
They passed through many empty rooms and many abandoned belongings. No one cared for them anymore, just like no one cared for their owners.
Crowley stopped on the doorway of the last room, so small the bed was taking most of the space.
You sat there, looking at the branches moved by the breeze outside. The sun was glowing through the thousands of bright green leaves. The tree was higher than you remembered.
“Always on time, huh?” you asked with a soft smile.
“Of course. If I may ask… Why did you choose this place? I thought you hated it.”
“Ten years is a long time, Crowley. It changes many things. The people that made me hate it are long dead. It wasn’t this place’s fault. It was only used for their purposes. It’s different now.”
“It doesn’t change the memories.”
“Memories only keep us in the past and we are not destined to live in it. We live now and only now matters. To those who can live, of course.”
You were still smiling, breathing in the fresh air from the broken window.
“How can you be so calm after all of this…?”
“How can you fear what makes your life full?”
“Death does not do that…”
“It does, Crowley. It takes every piece of you that lived for all those years there and puts it all in the coffin right beside your head after you die. And it makes you watch which memories of you will be left alive in the people closest to you. It makes you watch for a very long time. So better make some good impact on your surrounding while you still can. Because you will not die as long as at least one memory of you is alive.”
“I’m a demon. I’m already dead.”
“But the choices you make still have the impact on other people’s lives. I’ve seen you with those Winchesters. You made friends.”
“You don’t seem surprised.”
“I’m not. I’ve seen how you changed in those ten years.”
“But everything has its end.”
“End doesn’t have to be a bad thing sometimes. It just means you did what had to be done.”
Crowley looked away for a brief moment.
“Have you ever… regretted your decision? You got rid of those people, but the cost…”
“Never.”
Crowley nodded.
“Shall we go, then?” he lent you an arm.
You stood up.
“Of course. I’ve waited ten years for this. I can’t be late for my own damnation.” You took it, letting Crowley lead you to the door.
“We will see where ‘decisions’ take us, darling.”
The breeze drifted beside them, playing with the dust.