Those Who Spoon

Epilogue

Ebenezer stared out of the window, slowly stirring his soup. A small smile played on the corners of his lips as the sun’s light fell on his face. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the moment, something he hadn’t done in a long while.

 It didn’t matter that he was alone once again. It didn’t matter his father had gotten a heart attack shortly after the trial and was still recovering in the hospital. It didn’t matter that Dolly believed in him. It didn’t matter that he had no true friends. It didn’t matter that there wasn’t a woman who could make love to him and celebrate with him. What mattered was that he was free; free as he’d never been before. He was so, so blissfully free . . . so alive.

Ben glimpsed the beginnings of the moon in the sky. Softly, he said, ““Bright globe with light so fair; round face with craters steep. Silver place with no wisp of air, where mankind itself, took such a colossal leap . . .

“Have you forgotten my eyes, my mouth; the sweet whispers and love they exchanged? Have you no pity upon a mortal soul; tinged with bitter regret? You left a hole in the depths of my heart . . .

“Forget not the way your rays licked my skin; gently. Forget not the way you smiled; so intently. The manner in which we met was bittersweet, you and I. For when my young eyes stared upon your wise ones, we knew it was . . .

“Love.”

Ebenezer brought the S(p)oon to his mouth, unable to rip his eyes away from the baby blue sky, in which few clouds drifted today. “Life,” he murmured, “is so much more beautiful than I took it to be.”

More swiftly than he had intended it to, the S(p)oon crashed into his mouth. It design was so naturally slender and thin that, unlike with a normal spoon, its small, round head was able to penetrate far. It made its way so to his throat, and Ebenezer’s gag reflexes kicked in. He began to cough and splutter, trying to draw in breath, only to find that he couldn’t. He tried to scream for Maria’s help – only to find that his own invention prevented him from doing so. His arms flailed wildly, trying to thump his own back. They swept his bowl off of the table and it crashed to the floor loudly, shattering into a thousand porcelain pieces.

Panic overwhelmed Ebenezer. He gripped his throat and felt his eyes bulge as his supply of air grew shorter and shorter. The end was approaching – oh, his head felt so, so light, so very empty. He could not think, could not feel anything but that stifling panic when darkness closed in. The last thing Ebenezer Soon was aware of was his soul wedging itself loose from his chest, reaching for Death’s welcoming embrace.