Paradise Falls

by Jim Spencer

  She used the remaining of the matches that she had and went outside. Adding some oil on top of the weapon, she lit a match and watched it burn in the open air. It was better this way she reasoned with herself. Greed would eventually get the better of people. And this way, the new world as had been created could be made more peaceful. She had gotten rid of the bad blood, she had to keep it that way now.

  She made her way back into the trailer and drove back home the final hundred miles with nothing but the sound of wheels to keep her company.

  Epilogue

  It was nine months later. After many entanglements and disagreements, the people of tribe and civil had come together to create a new region, Liberty Country. All were united under the single banner of freedom, justice and equality. Tali was chosen to be the leader of the country upon unanimous vote and Ruto accepted defeat, although deep down he had never wanted to be a leader anymore. He had done enough for a lifetime.

  Their resources had been put together and machinery was used to build a small civilisation, with houses and tents all in one place. People could choose which one they preferred when they were old enough. The young and the old put their differences aside for a change as they slowly realised over the months that they needed one another to survive.

  Bonds had finally created amongst one another and a fragile alliance was now in place. Sana sat in her chambers with her two babies, a son and a daughter. Her labour was a lot harder than she had ever imagined. She felt the greatest amount of pain but the greatest feeling of jubilation once she saw the two. Her nurses left once she was all cleaned up and Ruto and Tali came in to visit her.

  ‘How is everyone?’ Tali asked, clearly elated to see the children.

  ‘Everyone is fine,’ Sana smiled back at him. He truly was a kind natured man. Still somewhat of a rarity amongst the people of, what was now, liberty country. The children were much better though, so Sana had hope that they would come around eventually.

  ‘What are you going to name them?’ Ruto asked.

  ‘The boy is Arion after his father. And the girl is Ayat. I’ve always liked that name.’

  ‘It’s a beautiful name,’ Ruto said, as he read a blessing upon the children.

  ‘A and A,’ Tali joked, ‘Sorry, couldn’t help it. But hey, we have to laugh or we’d cry all the time.’

  ‘I suppose so,’ Sana smiled uncertainly.

  ‘How are the plants coming along?’ Ruto asked.

  ‘They’re doing well. Still alive,’ she pointed to plants that had been given to her by her father a few months back.

  ‘It’s unusual that they’re still alive,’ Tali commented.

  ‘Maybe something changed in the air when Arion did what he did.’ Sana reasoned.

  ‘Maybe,’ Ruto commented doubtfully. He didn’t question any further and Sana was glad he didn’t look any further either.

  ‘Well, we’ll leave you to it then,’ Ruto told her as he and Tali left. She could hear Tali complaining that he hadn’t had a chance to hold the children. But that didn’t matter, he would have enough time later.

  She carefully placed her two children in the cradles that were made for them and went to observe the plants. As she lifted the covers, the secret to her everlasting plants was in front of her. She had fashioned her own version of the god particle within the water pond. The liquid was no longer liquid anymore, but some kind of light-like substance, embedded with a small amount of sulphur. Amazingly the sulphur was the missing part, it allowed her to control how much and how far she wanted it to go.

  She remembered how after the court case in neutral country, Arion had taken her over to the side and explained to her what the god particle was and wrote down, just in case he died, the formula he had used to figure it out. He then gave her the piece of paper and told her to memorise it. Once she had, he destroyed the parchment and said,

  ‘Now you know what it means to be a creator.’

  She had utilised those ingredients a few months after he had died and was surprised to find that it worked. She almost killed herself until the particle hit the fire and stopped for a second. She then used the sulphur gas within it to push it back. Luckily, she was outdoors that night, otherwise that would have been fatal. After that it was time to implement that elsewhere.

  She used the combination of sulphur to help re-ignite the ground, flourishing life into lifeless trees and hedges. Of course, she told everyone that she found a lost garden. People were so hungry by that point that they believed what she said. She decided not to tell anyone of the formula, not even her children.

  No one would know and the knowledge would die with her. That was the best way to stop the flow of greed in the world. She was going to use the formula to help people as it was supposed to be used in the beginning. She was going to do what no man was able to do due to their lack of compassion. She was going to be the saviour of mankind. And no one would even know it. It was better that way.