The sun sets slowly on the horizon. Pink, wispy clouds sprawl overhead and seem to reach out and touch the Anah backyard.
Darius rolls out a couple of sleeping bags onto the ground and arranges them side by side. He flicks off rogue blades of fake grass from them.
Mahlah watches her brother set up camp and beams.
“It’s a rare treat, having you to myself all day like this,” she says as she smiles at her big brother. “And we’ve spent so much time together this past while.”
Darius would smile back, but he can’t. Every second of this day, he’s been consumed, awaiting the very moment a Natural Death will strike his sister. He refuses to leave Mahlah’s side, knowing that Zalmon said that today is the day she’ll die. His relentless conscience knocks him silly on the inside, knowing she could have averted this with a Welcome Release at Quiet End.
Darius feels bad enough that he selfishly surrendered to having his sister endure a Natural Death; there’s absolutely no way he’d let her experience it alone.
“It’s nothing,” Darius replies. “I just thought it would be fun to camp out here all night. Like old times.”
The sun has long set. The stars twinkle. Mahlah yawns.
“It’s hard for me to stay up late these days,” she says.
Darius doesn’t want to talk about it. He has noticed his sister has been much more tired. Weak. Pale. This must be how it is when one’s end looms. He’s always noticed, expected, and been at ease with such conclusions for old people, but his Mahlah? The voices in his head curse the leaders of Zalmon.
“Remember how against tents Dad was?” Mahlah laughs. “‘Tents, shments,’ he’d say. I may have been little, but for some reason, I’ll never forget that.” She giggles and is compelled to double-tap Darius’s arm.
He turns his head away so she doesn’t see his eyes water. “I’m sorry, Mahlah.”
“Sorry for what?”
So many things, he thinks, but he goes with this one: “I think he Left because of me.” Darius has never admitted that out loud to anyone before. “For some reason, I can’t help how I am. Who I am.” Darius shakes his head.
“Whoa, heavy!” Mahlah laughs. “What’s with you?”
Darius stammers, “It’s just … I’m just —”
“The Book says we never know what makes people Leave.” Mahlah throws him a rope, of course. “But I think we should forgive so we can move on in Zalmon’s comfort.”
The last thing in the world that Darius wants to talk to her about right now is the Book.
“This has been the best day ever.” Mahlah sighs.
Darius gulps. “No sweat.” He checks his watch. It’s nearly eleven — the final hour on the day of his sweet sister’s demise.
Mahlah lies down and pulls her sleeping bag tight to her chin. Her eyelids are unbelievably heavy, but she’s pushing hard to stay up late with her big brother. She looks up at the stars.
“Ever wonder what it’s like out there?” she asks.
Rather than look up, Darius looks to his right and focuses on Zalmon’s border in the distance. “Always,” he admits.
Mahlah drifts off.
Once in a deep slumber and oblivious to the rules, she snuggles right up against Darius and half-smiles in her sleep.
Darius double-taps her gently on the back. Then he throws caution to the wind and hugs her tight. “Goodbye, sweet girl,” he whispers. “I’m so sorry for this coming pain I’ve caused you.” He succumbs to a waterfall of tears.
Darius rubs Mahlah’s back in full, loving circles, despite being forbidden to do so. He watches Mahlah’s chest rise and fall with every single breath.
He wonders which will be her last.
The trilling sound of a bird nudges Darius awake. Before he can place what the sound is, the thing takes flight and disappears.
Darius squints as sunbeams pierce his formerly shaded eyes. For one blissful moment, he forgets where he is and why he’s there.
He lifts his head from his … pillow?
Which is, in fact, Mahlah’s back.
Darius’s stomach turns. How could he fall asleep on her in her most dire time of need? As if he wasn’t awful enough already!
Darius turns his head slowly to face his sister’s closed eyes, blank expression, and motionless body. He rips away from her, runs fifteen feet away, thrusts himself into the bushes, and throws up.
“Mom!” Darius hollers between heaves.
There’s no response from within the house.
Darius gurgles another gut-wrenching cry for his mother. “Mom!”
“What’s wrong?”
Darius whips around.
Mahlah stands in front of him, perfectly alive.
Darius hyperventilates. He spins back around to throw up some more.
“Are you okay, Darius?” Mahlah asks.
“Are … are … are you okay, Mahlah?” Darius reaches for her cheek to feel if she’s real. The touch surprises Mahlah. She gently pulls his hand down and looks around to make sure no one is watching. She shrugs. “I’m a bit hungry.”
Darius steps backward. He stumbles on some twigs and falls.
“Darius?” Mahlah giggles.
Darius holds up a finger to silence Mahlah before he runs full-speed into the house.