Chapter 217: Existence of Peace
"An existence of peace? And my power will give you that?"
"Indeed. I need not worry about relationships, danger, nor emotional burdens. I would be free to walk a world that would be unable to touch me in any capacity. I could go where I want, do what I want, and die peacefully."
"That sounds more like freedom than peace to me."
"What is peace if not freedom from anxiety, disturbance and violence? Freedom and peace are tied very close together, and I crave both."
"But you crave peace more?"
"Indeed. But as I just said, a true life of peace only comes from a life that is free. There is no one without the other."
Squabee struggled to understand the appeal to this lifestyle.
"What about your friends? What about wanting to have a family yourself and settling down with someone one day? Isn’t that what life is all about?"
Lee smiled brightly.
"Does life need to be as simple as that?"
Squabee choked on air. This behavior couldn’t be normal... could it?
Lee continued.
"Friends, family, relationships, I’ve never craved such bonds before. Those ties that I have even with my friends feel burdensome. Breaking them hurts, it takes a lot of effort to keep them strong and creating them is a whole other burden I need not mention."
He sighed deeply, his mood changing to one more somber than before.
"Everyone has these shackles around their necks and bodies. We’re all being chained to something, Squabee. Whether that be the human necessity to eat food or drink water, the desire to grow a family, the bonds that you create socially, the crave for power and strength, all of these things are simply chains tied to the cuff that surrounds our throats. Strangely, I am the only one who seems to see these chains. In fact, I despise it."
He looked at his hands.
"This flesh that I am confined in... is this truly where I belong? If so, why does my soul yearn for something greater? Why do I curse the human parts of me and try to escape to something unfamiliar to this world? Why do I yearn... peace?"
He looked over at Squabee with a serious expression.
"To be human is to reject peace and freedom. One must release themselves of their shackles to truly be free in this world. That is my one true desire, Squabee."
Squabee was left speechless. She didn’t know what to say. She wanted to retort every sort of thing he said, but at the same time, all of it was simply his unique perspective on things. Even if she did try to correct him, there would be no doubt his mind wouldn’t be changed.
"It just sounds so... boring. I know this world is awful sometimes, but even non-peaceful things can be fun, Lee. It feels like you’re saying anything that doesn’t revolve around peace is automatically thrown out the window. Do you truly wish for such a boring lifestyle?"
"Being content is enough for me. However, you brought up an interesting point, and I believe it is the true reason why this world will never see peace."
"What? Why can’t we?"
"It’s extremely simple. People crave excitement."
Squabee scratched her head.
"Why wouldn’t they?"
"You do not understand. Excitement includes bad things as well. Let’s take a relationship for example. Do you know why there hardly exists any relationships where neither person argues with the other?"
"Not really. That sounds ideal. How would that not work?"
"It’s because that relationship would be boring. Everyone believes they want a peaceful relationship until they actually get one. A big part of relationships has to do with passion, that spark that you feel when connecting with someone you love dearly. However, a fire cannot continue to burn without something fueling it. Another example are the people in power of kingdoms. Have you ever met a king who was satisfied with what he had? Why do you think a person who has the world at their fingertips craves something more?"
Squabee whispered her answer.
"...excitement."
Lee chuckled.
"Exactly."
Squabee pouted and crossed her arms.
"Why did you even bother talking to me then? If you truly crave this peace that you are preaching, you would have left me alone."
"Because I am still human, we all are whether we like it or not. Craving solitude does not give me the right to abandon my friends."
"So, you are giving up on your only desire in life?"
Lee laughed and stared in Squabee’s pink eyes wistfully.
"I am not giving up; I am simply accepting that it will never happen."
He put a hand on her shoulder.
"What you need most right now is to accept that this power is just another part of you, whether you want it to be or not. What is the point in worrying about something you can never change about yourself?"
Squabee’s heart fluttered with a strange sense of determination. Lee was right. She didn’t need to like her power, she could even despise it for the rest of her life, but it was a simple fact that there was no changing what position she was in right now, for better or for worse. She rubbed her eyes and stared out at the view one last time with Lee.
The streets around them became quiet as people walked back towards their homes.
"But does that mean we’ll never be as happy as we want to be for the rest of our lives? We’ll be cursed to stare at a goal that is dangling in front of us, yet neither of us can do anything to reach it?"
"And thus, the cruelty of our existence as people is emphasized further. However, it is your choice to reject it or to accept it. If you want my advice, the first step in finding happiness in such a hopeless endeavor, is accepting it for what it is."
Squabee stared down into her lap with a strange mix of emotions swirling in her soul.
"Accepting it..."
Squabee then pushed herself off the small ledge and began walking back towards the kingdom. She turned around and waved at Lee.
"Thank you for that, Lee. You should really talk more often, even if you don’t want to."
Lee smiled and waved back as Squabee trailed back towards the palace.
Suddenly, a knife pierced through Lee’s back as a hand covered his mouth to prevent him from screaming. His eyes widened feeling the cold steel rip through his heart. The knife was held in place for thirty seconds before the killer finally let go. Lee fell on the ground desperately gasping for air. He could feel the life draining from his body with every passing moment.
Even though he knew he was dying, Lee managed to do something that no dying man would ever think to do.
He smiled.
For what is death if not the only key to freeing himself from this cruel world? What is death if not an embrace of eternal peace and stillness? What is death if not the thing Lee had been waiting for his whole life?
As the sun fell in the sky, Lee stood as still as he could, feeling the happiest he had ever felt in his whole life.
His world was finally quiet.
He took his final breath and closed his eyes gently.
As Squabee was running back to the palace, many things that she discussed with Lee were still flying through her mind.
’Acceptance...’
Lidia happened to be walking down the same street as Squabee as she got closer to the palace.
"Oh, hey Squabee. Have you seen Slimo anywhere? I feel like his spar with his sister should have ended by now."
Squabee felt a little embarrassed to realize the person Avala was after was not her at all. She scratched the back of her head before she spoke.
"I haven’t seen Slimo all day. I was kind of dealing with some personal stuff. I’m sorry."
Lidia put her hands on her hips and looked around.
"It’s so strange. He normally would never hide from me like this. I’m starting to get a bit worried, truthfully."
She looked down at Squabee and smiled.
"I hope everything is okay. I’m sorry about the personal stuff you are going through. If you need anything at all, just know I’m here for you."
Squabee smiled warmly at Lidia.
"Thank you. To be honest, Lee helped me quite a bit. He’s normally so quiet but I learned a lot from him tod-"
"Wait."
Lidia held a finger against Squabee’s face. Squabee moved her fingers before speaking again.
"What is it?"
"Did you just hear something too?"
Squabee thought to herself for a moment trying to recollect if she heard anything while she was talking. In a strange way, she did remember hearing a very faint sound off in the distance. However, she had no idea where it came from.
"Yah. I think it sounded like... glass breaking?"
Suddenly, a bed fell directly on to Lidia and shattered into hundreds of shards. The person on the mattress flew off and hit pavement. The man was wrapped in all sorts of bandages and refused to move after falling from such a height.
Thanks to Lidia’s incredible strength, she was hardly affected by the bed at all. She shook off her surprise and looked up at the sky.
"What the hell?! Is it raining furniture?!"
She then saw who was laying on the ground.
"S-Slimo?!"