A Prince's Love

The television stopped working this morning. Robert was more surprised that it could last this long. The electricity was still running but if things kept up like this, the building would be demolished by the end of the week. With nothing else to do, Robert grabbed a pack of cigarette and went upstair.

When he arrived to the rooftop, Ellysia was leaning againts the fence in complete silence, his wide blue eyes pointed at the sky. When they first met ten years ago years ago, he had told him that such beautiful green-stained sky shouldn’t have existed. Robert had taken it in stride back then but even now, Ellysia still looked at the sky with that same bewildered expression, as if it truly didn’t belong. It made Robert nervous. That look on his face always made him seemed so far away, out of reach.

“What are you doing?” He asked.

Ellysia startled. Ten years ago, Robert wouldn’t be able to sneak around him unnoticed.

“Oh, it’s you, Robert. You come at the perfect time,” Ellysia patted the space beside him and Robert easily complied.

“You’ve been acting strange these past few weeks.”

Ellysia smiled. “Do you remember the story I told you back when you were twelve?”

 “Which one?”

“The Runaway Prince.”

Robert shifted uneasily. He didn’t like that story. Ironically enough, he hated that damning story so much that he could remember every details of the tragic plotline. He even remembered all the names of the characters.

“What about it?” he hissed, not hiding his distate. “You’re not him, Ellysia.”

Ellysia stared at him sadly, then looked up at the sky. When he spoke next, his words sounded distant and cold. “Robert, denial is not a good look on you.”

Before Robert could respond, Ellysia stood up and smiled down at him. “What do you want for breakfast?”

That afternoon, Robert spent his time scrambling up his bedroom. If he remembered correctly, Ellysia had gifted him his personal hand-drawn storybook when he was thirteen, it must be here somewhere.

The book was found locked tight in a chest, hidden neatly between his untouched childhood toys. Robert found the key buried under his closet. He hadn’t notice until now how much he spent most of his childhood worshipping the ground Ellysia walked into. It was embrassing but Robert couldn’t blame himself. Among the adults who had walked down the dirty street and went by past him, only Ellysia who truly looked at him and picked him up.

In the first page of the book, Ellysia wrote, for my dear child, to whom I owe forgiveness.

The Runaway Prince was a story about a world in the brink of collapse. The surviving Prince, with the help of his subjects, went to the witch to ask for help.

Poor, poor, Prince Ellysianqueremiah. You survive at the cost of your people. You will live and die by outliving the people who love you.

The witch pitied him. For what a man could do alone without love?

But that was the exact problem with the Prince. He was always so loved and he loved the world in return. To such precious man, how could anyone turned their back on him? And so, the prince travelled across the shards of universe, loving people, being loved back, and ultimately, being left behind.

Robert closed the book, his chest felt tight with feelings. How indeed. It must be lonely to be the Prince. He loved with all his heart but the world always gave more than he wanted. The book stated that the Prince lived through sacrifices. If the time had come when someone stopped the sacrifices, the lost Prince would willingly perish. In Robert’s humble opinion, not even the universe would want to see that happen.

In the end, his decision didn’t matter.

The next morning, he wasn’t surprised to see Ellysia in the rooftop again. Much like the previous day, the older man was staring at the sky with wonders.

“Ellysia.”

Ellysia wasn’t startled this time. Instead he looked like he’d been waiting for forever. Now that Robert stopped looking at the world with denial, he noticed what he couldn’t see yesterday. Ellysia was desperate.

“My child,” Ellysia said. Robert flinched. Ellysia hadn’t called him that for years. “You don’t have to do this. You can end this story.”

Robert couldn’t help but smile. “I used to think that this story is depressingly tragic.”

“It is,” Ellysia choked out, bitter. “I remember every children I saved.”

“They loved you.”

“They loved me too much,” he smiled. It was a heartbreaking smile that always left Robert feeling hopeless. “You don’t get it, Robert, I only survive because of love.”

Robert took a step forward, slowly, carefully. “Ellysia, I love you.”

Ellysia sighed. “I love you too, my dear child.”

It came easily from him. Robert wondered how many times he’d said that before, in this exact manner. He wondered how many times Ellysia had seen children growing up taller than him, the world greying before his very eyes.

Distantly, he heard a bomb went off. He didn’t flinch, neither did Ellysia. The end of the world must be a boring sight for him at this point. When he was fifteen, Robert had asked Ellysia why he never grow old like normal human.

I hope you never have to find the answer, Ellysia had said.

Ellysia cradled his hands, touching him gently. “Robert, I survive because of love. You get it, do you?”

“I get it, Ellysia.”

The Prince took one look at him and sighed. “No, you don’t. You’ll leave me behind. Just like the others.”

“It’s your price.”

“I am not the one who pay it,” he grumbled, then he shook his head. “Robert, I live through sacrifices. You can stop it if you wish me to.”

Robert smiled gently. “I forgive you.”

Ellysia smiled back at him, pained and rueful. Above them, the green sky was crumbling. “Good bye, my foolish child.”

He looked like he wanted to stay. Too bad, Robert wouldn’t let him. He prayed for Ellysia to keep loving and being loved until the end of the universe.

Poor, poor Prince. He’s so loved. Even if he’s in crawling in depth of hell, drowning in cold abyss, he will always reach out to someone. And they will always pay his love tenfold.