Epilogue

And so this novella closes the same way it began.

Epilogue

“Since that day,” Gerya continued, coming to the conclusion of her long speech, “My grandmother and grandfather worked tirelessly to bring the world knowledge of everything my namesake worked to accomplish. These were hard times, yes, as ridicule from the Governing Board and the Elders of the Faith worked as hard as they could to discredit them. But the Creator touched the hearts of the people who were needed to hear my grandparents’ message, and here we have the result.” She gestured to the vast building of the Basilica University behind her. “Here is only the first building of an enormous campus we have planned to be built, to bring together anyone who wishes to learn of the Creator or the laws he created. In my humble opinion, it’s sixty years late in the making. I fervently wish my grandmother Nira could have lived to see this day, but alas, the Creator took her home just two years ago.” The crowd nodded at this statement; the entire world had mourned the death of Nira the Uniter, and through the Creator’s own plan, her death had fallen on the exact same day as the death of her mentor, Gerya the Outcast. They knew it was only fitting for Nira to honor her mentor, even with her death. Nira herself had said many a time that she would have been nothing without Gerya’s direction and teachings. Her memorial to the Outcast was taken care of by her family, and all had visited it at some point in their lives to receive enlightenment and to feel closer to the Creator. The words on the plaque had been memorized by everyone, as was only right to honor the woman they described.

“Come, friends,” Gerya said, “Let us break for lunch; the dedication and opening of this university will come after.” She stepped down from the stage. Her mother, Liran, greeted her at the foot of the stairs.

“Well, mother?” Gerya asked, “What did you think? Did I do Grandmother Nira justice?”

“You were wonderful, Gerya,” Liran said, hugging her, “I just know that Nira and the Creator themselves are blessing this ceremony.”

“You flatter me, mom,” Gerya said, blushing, “It wasn’t that good. I stuttered through the entire thing.”

“On the contrary,” a voice said, “It was perfect.” Both women turned to see Grandfather Jarin approaching, his wheelchair being pushed by a nurse. “Nira would have been proud of you, Gerya. You’re living up to your namesake quite nicely, I might add.”

Gerya hugged her grandfather gently and said, “Thank you. I’m so sad that she couldn’t have been here with you to see this.”

“So am I,” Jarin said, “But the Creator has assured me that I will see her again. Now come, let’s eat before these young’uns take all the food!”

Gerya laughed, taking the wheelchair from the nurse. “I’ll push him myself,” she said, smiling.

“Not too fast now,” Jarin warned, “I’m not as young as I used to be.”

“Oh please, I’ve seen how fast you go when you let Kunar push you around. You’re a regular speed demon at heart.”

Jarin laughed. “Come on, you little whippersnapper, let’s eat.”

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After time had been given for the crowd to digest, everyone began the hike up to the peak of the Mount. A more direct path had been made a few years back, so the trip only took a few hours. There were plenty of rest stations and water fountains as well, so they were only slightly exhausted when they reached the top. Gerya and her family knelt at the edge of the white rose garden each of them had helped cultivate when they turned thirteen. The plaque Nira had made decades ago was still there, smooth and seamless as the day it had come into existence. Focusing, Gerya saw the law of air pressure that was making the wind blow hard all around them, and with her will, stopped it, so that nothing would buffet the gentle flowers as they grew.

“Good work, Gerya,” Jarin said, his wheelchair moving by itself closer to her. He’d probably changed the law of gravity so it pulled his chair up the path instead of down it.

They turned to face the crowd of individuals who had gathered to see the memorial. Each of them in turn approached the plaque and took a single petal from a white rose. Only a few days before she died, Nira had come up here and changed the law of decay, so that any petal picked from these flowers would not only grow back swiftly, but would never decay or shrivel. It would be as waxy and beautiful as ever. It would be a keepsake for each person fortunate enough to participate in this joyous event.

When every person clutched a petal delicately in their hands, never wanting to drop it, Jarin stood up from out of his wheelchair. The doctors had told him that he couldn’t stand very often, but he had been saving his strength for this very occasion. He cleared his throat and said to the hushed crowd, “My wife worked so hard for this day, and not a day goes by that I don’t miss her. But let it be known that she knew this day would come, and even if she wasn’t there to see it, bless her stubbornness, she wouldn’t let anything keep her from speaking at this ceremony. So, on the day she died, she called me in and had me write down a speech she dictated, so that everyone can remember her words. It’s not long, but I would like to read it to you now.” He pulled out a piece of paper from his suit coat pocket, and read,

“My dear friends, family, and followers, I am so glad that you are hearing my words today. This university will be a beacon of hope for all of the former factions, a place where they can learn of the struggles Kholib has gone through, as well as the beliefs of both sides. The Creator himself tells me that this is the goal I was meant to achieve, the beginning of an unprecedented era of happiness and peace.

I have asked my granddaughter to tell the story of how I was put on this path, and I trust that she has told it all, the ugly and the good. I am not proud of some of the things I did, and those will haunt me to the grave. But only to the grave, because with the help of my God and Creator, I have repented of all the wrongs I have done, and have come to a knowledge of the truth of both factions, Science and Faith, and the good they can do when working together. Be happy, be loving, be good to one another. And always, remember those who came before you. Gerya was my mentor, but who was yours? Who in your life has guided you, taught you, made you the person you are today? I leave you with a challenge to find someone like that, someone who has made you have faith in the Creator or faith in the laws he created. That is my last request.”

Jarin looked up at the awed audience before him, tears on his cheeks as he read his dear wife’s words. “Nira’s wisdom shines even from death,” he choked out, crying openly, “And her words are true; faith, love, kindness. And most of all, a belief that no divide is forever, no conflict cannot be rectified through the Creator. She, a woman who did not believe in the God who guided her, has come to know these things, and her only wish was to share them with you. She learned of her Creator, and that knowledge brought only love and perseverance. That, dear friends, as we finish our world’s healing process with the dedication of this University to the Creator, is the essence of Nira’s conversion.”

The End