by Grivante
Jonah held her as she wept, the light of the waning moon illuminating them, making her white hair sparkle. He turned and peered back into the garage, spying from afar the sight of the magic 8-ball sitting on the workbench. He chuckled with a small huff through his nose and JJ glanced up at him.
“What is it?”
“I think he left us something.”
Epilogue I - Dust to Dust
Three months later…
Gusts of wind buffeted against them as they walked from JJ’s Charger to the edge of the chasm known as the Grand Canyon. JJ’s white hair fluttered, smacking Jonah in the face. They held hands, fingers intertwined, her left arm rested across a slightly protruding belly. In Jonah’s other hand he carried a small metal Star Wars lunch box.
They got to the rim and sat, staring in silence at the great expanse before them and letting their legs dangle over the side. It stretched for miles and miles before them. A magnificent sight.
"He always loved it here,” Jonah said. “We didn’t travel much, but any road trip we took that came in this direction, he'd insist on stopping here for a view. He used to love to pee off the edge.” Jonah shook his head and chuckled. “I asked him once if he was trying to fill it back up and he said he would if he could. He’d be glad to know his ashes were being added to it.”
JJ smiled and shook her head, then bit her lip and choked out, “God… I miss him so much.”
Jonah let her hand go, reached over, and pulled her tight. They sat that way for a while until JJ’s tears stopped. Jonah picked up the lunch box, placed it on his lap and opened it.
Inside were four objects. A plastic Star Wars thermos, the magic 8-ball, Judas’s drivers' license, and a folded piece of paper.
Jonah took the license out first, stared at it, and then gazed at the sky. “I miss you, brother.” He handed it over to JJ, removing the 8-ball next, and with a deep breath asked, “Is he really gone?”
The 8-ball’s window displayed the message, ‘It is decidedly so.’ The same one it showed every time since he had picked it up back in the garage. No matter the question asked, no matter how hard they shook it, the same message appeared, again and again. Yet, this had become their nightly ritual, looking at Judas's smiling face and asking a question about him, only to receive the same answer. He set it in the lunchbox and removed the piece of paper, unfolding it.
Jonah and JJ,
I love you both. Thank you for choosing me to be yours! I know what lies ahead won’t be easy. Whenever we have any doubts or wonder what is right, remember, this is our path. Trust in the journey. It is decidedly so!
-Forever Judas
P.S. JJ, I’m sorry I wasn’t able to save your favorite CD. Forgive me?
Jonah shook his head again. He did that quite a bit these days, shaking his head in disbelief about the reality of their lives, about Judas being gone, about… he folded the paper, put it in the lunchbox, and reached over to place a hand on JJ’s protruding belly; and miracles that, despite everything, keep happening right before their eyes.
Finally, he pulled the thermos out and unscrewed the lid, looked inside at the powdery gray ashes, and bent to kiss JJ on the forehead.
With a heavy sigh, he held the thermos in front of him.
“In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.”
He tipped it upside down, allowing the contents to spill out.
“Farewell, Brother.”
“Farewell, Judas.”
They watched as the cloud of ash spread wide, filling the air beneath their feet. Then, a sudden shift in the wind occurred and a gust from below sent the grey haze swirling back. It hit them like a sandstorm, causing them to sputter and cover their faces as it covered them.
“Goddammit, Judas,” Jonah said, blowing ash from his lips. He turned to JJ and they broke into laughter.
Epilogue II - Resurrection
3 Years Later…
Depoe Bay, Oregon Coast
The sign out front read ‘Ugly Cupcakes’ as a truck with 'City of Depoe Bay Maintenance' on its side drove passed. A neon light above the door blinked the message, 'Sold Out! Closed for the Day!'. The truck turned down a driveway and pulled into a parking spot on the back side where the living quarters overlooked the water. Jonah parked, exited, and gazed out at the blue expanse. It amazed him every day to see so much water; growing up in Arizona, the ocean always felt impossibly majestic.
He grabbed the groceries and the newspaper with the headline, ‘Cross Enterprises Acquires Defunct Nitsau Corp. Assets’ off the seat and went inside. He set his keys in the small bowl by the entry and picked up the 8-ball which lay in it, part of his daily ritual whenever he left or came home. He’d learned long ago to only ask a positive question since it always gave the same answer. ‘It is decidedly so.’
Today he asked, “Am I the luckiest man out there?” He grinned as he shook it, but glancing around the room, something felt off. He studied the area until he noticed that the spot near the back door that opened into the terraced gardens stood bare. The place where they had sat Xanadu’s stone statue when they moved in and left there ever since. Well, JJ sometimes carried him into the backyard with her, so he figured they must be out there together.
He glanced at the 8-ball and his forehead scrunched. It read, ‘Concentrate and ask again.’ His mouth fell open, heart pounding, he rushed through their home, out the back, and into the garden. He spotted JJ in the greenhouse, spanking the bunched-up roots of a plant and singing along to her favorite song, Rick Springfield’s ‘Jessie’s Girl’. Near the door, Jefe' slept, and pecking around her feet were her two chickens, Burt and Larry, named thus, even though they were females.
She looked up at him, clicked off the music and smiled. “Hi! How was work?” Then her head tilted as she studied his expression. “What’s the matter?”
He held out the 8-ball. “It’s changed.”
“What?” She grabbed it from him and stared at it. “What did it say? What did you ask it?”
He opened his mouth to tell her, then asked instead. “Did you move Xanadu?”
“What?” She shook her head, eyebrows raising. “What’s going on?”
“He’s not there,” Jonah pointed vaguely behind him and JJ brushed passed him, handing the 8-ball back.
Jefe’ hopped up and ran after her, Jonah followed suit, catching up with them just as JJ stood staring at the empty spot by the door. Her head twisted up, and she looked at Jonah, forehead scrunched.
Then Jefe’ took off at a run down the hall, sending Pots and Pans diving for cover from the back of the couch as the little dog yapped repeatedly.
They rushed after him as his barking continued from inside the baby’s room.
They came to an abrupt halt in the doorway, JJ in front, hand on her large protruding belly, gasping. Jefe’ spun around on the floor before the crib, yapping.
In the crib, Xanadu stood propped up on his hind legs, peering out at them. Baby Judas gripped his fur, arms wrapped around the dog’s waist as if he were ready to ride him, giggling.
Jonah and JJ beamed, tears running over their smiling lips.
On the window of the magic 8-ball, a message floated to the surface. ‘The End’
Closing
“You know you’ve completed something well,
when you can sit back and wag your tail.”
-Ancient Buddhist Proverb
About the Author
Grivante, pronounced “Gri-von-tay”, enjoys writing humorous and bizarre fiction.
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