Forever and Always

The birds sang with almighty declaration, igniting a smile on Lola's face. They held the smile firm across their puffy, red cheeks, harrowing below the chill that the lonely autumnal air carried with it. They walked slowly to the closed curtain, hesitating to pull that revealing cord. The curtains were sealed from the outside world. The songs and chatters outside were beautiful... until they finally did pull at it... wiping the smirk from their face quicker than an eraser to a pencil's smudge. Lola's eyes quickly washed over with cloudy bleakness and their hands shook with relentless angst. If the birds still sang, then their rhythm met only empty ears. Lola's focus remained transfixed on the squalor outside, the scolding vehicles that had been intruded with nature's frenzied re-growth. Nobody to protect suburbia these days, and a sky as dank and hopeless as an unwarranted eclipse. Lola had seen a couple of eclipses in her life, this was not that. They wondered away from the quiet and chaotic view, stepping into the spare room where three figures slept below heavy rugs and a fire that had ran out of fight hours ago.

'Morning', said Lola, 'believe it or not', they mumbled.

The three figures slowly notched open their eyes. They were snuggled together in a triple spoon - a guardian, latching onto two infants that opened their eyes far slower.

'There was a message via The Network in the nighttime', said Lola, remolding their smile broader than when the birds sang.

'Fantastic', whispered the guardian, looking at Lola, but embracing the infants with a comforting reach.

The guardian slowly stood upward, throwing and tucking the covers over the shivering infants. Their shivering's lasted for mere seconds, as the guardian arched their arm around Lola's shoulder.

The guardian and Lola sat in the makeshift kitchen, warming their hands over the fire that was quickly reignited by Lola this morning. They clutched onto two similar bowls that threw steam upwards and helped to furnace the morning stiffness.

'The message', said the guardian.

'Right', said Lola, mid sip.

They shivered and pressed their lips together.

'The last of the pods are leaving today. This is our last chance to see them... if there is any them left', said Lola.

'Right. Right, I understand', said the guardian.

'So you're going', pressed Lola.

The guardian paused below a hollow stare. They took a fresh sip of soup, then shook their head.

'OK', said Lola. 'I just... I just can't. I'm sorry, but those two in there need me... and I don't want them to die alone and scared', said the guardian.

'They could live, though. If we all arrive together, we can go... they'll find space for us', pleaded Lola.

'They made their minds up long ago', replied the guardian, 'I know you have somebody out there, but we don't get to leave this planet... not now... it's too late'.

'I can't leave her. Even if there is a one percent chance of her being alive. Even if she's going to be onboard and I get to see her through the fucking window... I need to try', said Lola.

'And quite right, too', said the guardian, as they held their hand out to Lola.

'Thank you, Lola... and good luck... we'll be thinking of you', said the guardian.

Lola smiled, they said everything they needed to say with that cheesy grin.

'Lola', said the guardian.

They swiveled their head back in the prior direction.

'Lola', repeated the guardian, 'there's no coming back, you do know that, right?'

Lola rested against the door and dropped their go-bag where they stood.

'You, know', they said, 'all my life I've been told my love for her is unnatural, nonsensical, wrong... but right now, with everything that's happened, all the chaos and corruption that has led us here, my love for her is the only thing that makes any sort of sense. I love somebody who, with all likelihood is dead in a ditch somewhere, and I'm running out there after her. But... it just... it makes sense more than anything I have experienced in my entire life. People have told me what is right and was is wrong. No more - I'm in charge of my destiny now'.

The guardian stared at Lola with a smile that kept widening by the second.

'Good luck', they said, keeping that smile intact well after they had left.

Lola flipped open the metal fencing that surrounded their residence and tucked it back to its former protective stance. They walked keenly, armed with a sharpened slice of wood that acted secondly as a handy walking stick. The walk was slow through the impending shriveled bushels that grew upward, until the Earth's hatred drove them grey and pained. The ground spiked and cracked beneath them, before Lola made fierce eye contact with a wild animal that emerged gingerly from another fortress of shrubbery. The wild wolf was grey and skinny, poisoned by the Earth's corrupted air. It growled and hissed in Lola's direction, then marched slowly at her; all the while keeping unyielding stares directly into Lola's view. Lola dropped the wooden pole, then fell to their knees. They sat down in front of the wolf. It carried its disheveled self directly before their eye-line, sniffing and purring like a lost soul. Lola reached into their bag. They sat a bag of open biscuits in front of the wolf. The wolf sniffed Lola's body once more, howling with all its energy. The biscuits remained untouched, until the wolf hurried towards it and gobbled them down in one swift serving. Lola and the wolf continued their journey's, in completely different directions.

A humongous grumble whirred in the distance. Just over the hill, separated by a contaminated pond, the pods were primed and ready. They were filled to the brim, apart from one empty space, just big enough for a person Lola's size. Lola stood completely still, fixated to the ground, watching the pods float swiftly upwards, and gazing across the river at its murky solitude.

The pods vanished all too abruptly, but Lola's love was nowhere to be seen. The hungry wolf returned, sniffing Lola's boot, then snuggling their pointy nose into Lola's knee. They both stared upward, as a figure emerged from the water. The water ran away from their back... and the wolf trotted gently to its keeper... Lola's love.

Lola and their love stared at each other in disbelief.

'There's still room for one more! You can make it if you hurry!' said Lola in a hurried spree.

'I know', said their love, 'who do you think it was for'.

'You got off?' said Lola, surprised, and a little bit disappointing.

Lola's love stared at them, 'rather 12 hours with you, then an eternity without you'.

'The world ends tomorrow', said Lola, 'it evaporates and falls into nothing'.

'Let it try and tear us apart. I love you, Lola. Forever and always'.

'I love you', said Lola, 'forever and always'.