And now, things are brought to a close. Thank you for reading. I'm grateful for the time you took out of your day to read over my work. It's very much appreciated.
Wanda, thank you for sticking with this story all the way through when I know you'd rather be reading more about BJ and Lydia. I really do appreciate your time and attention and reviews. They always make me feel good, and so do you. Love ya, sissy.
Maya Beebop, thank you for your reviews. You vanished somewhere along the way, but I'm glad that what you read, you liked. You're an awesome person, and maybe sometime we can collaborate on something. I think it would be fun.
Kelly, I'm thankful you took interest in this story, and I was always happy to see a review from you. If I ever post another story, I hope you're there.
SpicyHollyElf, thank you for your reviews as well. They meant a lot. I hope you come back for any other BJ story I might happen to post.
Everyone, take care, thank you for all your time and reviews, and I look forward to next time.
Spencers13 – March 2003–March 2004
R – Drama – Angst
Chapter Seventeen – The Final Farewell
Time passed once more, as it always seemed to do. Near the outer edge of the Neitherworld, Beetlejuice and his family and friends did their best to help raise Endri back to adulthood. He grew and matured all over again with the love of his father and friends to nurture him the way he was meant to be from the very beginning. They did all they could to teach him everything he used to know and to make sure he turned out relatively the same. They taught him all of the languages he used to know, all the martial arts and fighting styles he used to do, and everything else they could think of.
Of course, there were some noticeable differences in Endri's personality, but that was to be expected. He was a very happy person, always open and always friendly. Everyone he met turned out to like him almost instantly, and he soon became very popular among crowds and had many friends. And even though his father was the unscrupulous Beetlejuice, Endri still held firm to his innocence. It seemed nothing could season him or roughen his edges. He was always bright and full of youth and curiousness, even as he aged and became more mature.
But during all that time, Kyle remained in the Real World, oblivious as to how his best friend was and what he and everyone else was doing. The years passed him by much slower than they did for his friends in another world, and every holiday left him realizing just how alone he was.
He stayed off to himself much of the time, living in his large, two-story, estate-like home in Montana and passing the time by gardening around his house, taking long walks in the woods, and watching television.
To keep afloat, he wrote a few blockbuster computer programs and software that skyrocketed his funds into the millions. But the wealth and little bit of fame that came with it couldn't buy him happiness. He had left that behind years ago. Instead, he used it to pay the bills and keep his home up and running.
After a few years, Kyle bought a dog to keep himself company. It lifted his spirits somewhat, but it just wasn't the same as interaction with another person. He named the Husky "Smoke" and treated it better than he would have a child. He played with it in the summer, running around in the back yard and throwing sticks and bones for it to fetch and return. In the winter, he would dress warmly and bound through the snow with his beloved pet, jumping and laughing, exercising the dog as well as himself.
One cold winter, however, Kyle went out into the back yard to play once more, but found Smoke lying outside his dog house frozen stiff. He wept over the animal, his tears freezing to his cheeks in the bitter weather. That evening, he overexerted himself trying to dig a grave for his beautiful dog and collapsed to the ground, chest heaving and pain filling his body. He almost allowed himself to lie out there next to the animal and freeze to death along with it, but remembered that someday, Endri was going to come back for his necklace and memories. So he dragged himself to his feet, finished digging the grave, then buried Smoke for his permanent rest. He never owned another pet after that.
Often, the human would go into his bedroom and close and lock the door. He would draw the blinds on all the windows and lock himself out of his adjoining bathroom. Then he would sit on the bed and close his eyes, letting his mind drift over the memories Endri had given him. It was like he was there in the ghost's place, the events happening to him personally, and too many of them wound up with Kyle screaming out of his mind for some reason or the other. He could almost feel the pain inflicted to the ghost's body on his own. He could feel the heartache, the sorrow, and loss just as if it was his own. But no matter how terrible the memories were or how awful they made him feel, he would always go back for more, needing to know and understand who Endri was and what made him the ghost he had known and cared for.
It went on that way for years upon years, until finally, one night, Kyle found himself on the couch again, staring into the burning fireplace. A framed picture sat on the coffee table right in his line of sight—a picture of himself and Endri. Kyle was leaning across his best friend's shoulders, grinning and giving the victory sign to the camera, and Endri just stood there with his arms crossed, but a smirk was on his lips, betraying happiness. The photo was taken just after they found their fifth Wormgate Key in Asia. But even though the picture and fire beyond it were warm, they offered no comfort to Kyle's loneliness.
I came back to this place, fixed it up, got a job, paid my bills, and lived pretty decently for the last twenty yearsbut it doesn't feel like home anymore. This is my home. My great grandfather built it and it's been passed clear down to me. I've lived here for so long, but it doesn't feel like home. What is it missing? What am I missing? He stared at the picture again, letting his mind drift to its subjects.
I wonder what they're all up to right now. Do they even remember me anymore?Sighing, Kyle leaned his head back against the couch. An old, aching hand lifted before his drooping eyes, flexing stiffly. It's possible I'll see them all againsoon. My body is less than slowly falling apart. Dammit, this isn't how I wanted to go! He grunted and lowered his hand. I have so little left to look forward to in my life. Sometimes I wish I could just die, and it would all be over.
Kyle shivered as he stared into the fire, wrapping sweatshirt-clad arms around his frail self to help keep the heat in. Slowly, absently, his old, wrinkled hand fingered the silver pendant around his neck. Drowsiness began to set in, and he closed his eyes, willing to partake in another nap—the third for that day.
A while passed, and the human drifted in and out of sleep, not acknowledging the passage of time. His eyes snapped open, sensing another presence in the room. His heart picked up when he recognized the feeling from the presence, even after so long, and smelled something so familiar. The scent of vanilla and sugar warmed over a fire filled his nose, a smell he had always recognized on Endri. It couldn't be! But Kyle didn't turn to look. His old mind could have been playing ticks on him.
Soft footfalls on the plush carpeting sounded behind him, and a voice just as soft followed.
"Pardon my intrusion"
Kyle almost felt like jumping up and dancing. It was Endri's voice. Even after so long, he remembered what his best friend sounded like, and it was like a breath of fresh air.
"I had a feeling you wouldn't be frightened by my sudden appearance."
Not knowing what else to do, Kyle nodded slowly. He stared into the picture of himself and his friend again, imagining that same person standing behind him. An audible sigh of relief reached his ears.
"You probably want to know who I am and why I'm invading your homebut I have another feeling you already know those answers as well."
The human nodded absently again as his eyes began to swim, blurring the picture he stared at. Behind him, Endri swallowed with nervousness.
"I-I would feel better if I justified myself, though. I have to make sure."
Kyle nodded again.
Endri took a breath. "I am a ghost, sir," he started off, almost proudly. "And my father told me that most Humans are afraid of creatures like me, and that I should generally stay away from them. But he kept telling me about some Humans that were different. Especially a human with white hair and blue eyes who was the most devoted friend anyone could ask for. My father also gave me the human's name and told me where he lived. But he said to not see this human until the right time, and that I'll know when that time was." He took a breath to steel his nerves. "I am here, in Brown Hill, Montana, seeking Mr. Kyle Gavan Bennington. Tell meare you he?"
Kyle closed his eyes and just allowed the tears to fall. He opened his mouth, but his voice had long since dried up and evaporated into dust.
"Sir?"
Reaching up, he wiped a wrinkled, trembling hand over his eyes. He sat forward, still yet to turn and acknowledge his guest, and picked the picture up from the coffee table. Leaning back into the couch again, he looked at the old photograph then held it face down to his chest, letting more tears come. He just couldn't help feeling devastated that Endri didn't remember him, even though he knew he wouldn't. It was so hard to realize.
"Sir, please. Are you Kyle? I must know," the ghost urged from behind.
Kyle opened his lips again, and a scratchy, old voice escaped. "I am he." He heard Endri's breath hitch and more advancing steps.
Coming up behind the couch at the corner, the ghost tried to look around at Kyle's face, but the human turned his head to the side. "Do you know who I am?" his excited voice asked.
Kyle swallowed with difficulty. "Endrithi." The name was spoken softly, the "r" rolled and the "th" spoken with precision.
Endri's eyes widened. "You are him! I knew it! I was thrown a little by your hair; it isn't completely white. But somehow, I just knew it was you!"
Kyle just sat there, facing away. His hair wasn't pure white anymore, just like the ghost had noticed. Time and old age had yellowed it to an almost light blonde.
Standing at the arm of the couch in a strong, confident stance, Endri spoke with conviction. "I've come to you, Kyle, for I felt that now was the right time to do so. Today was my twentieth anniversary from the day I changed, and all day I could think of nothing but finally meeting the noble human my father told me so many stories about."
The way he spoke, it was very obvious that Endri looked up to Kyle quite a bit.
Swallowing and not looking, Kyle rasped, "What all did Beetlejuice tell you?"
The ghost grinned. That was definitely the right person! "He told me many storiesall of which I'm positive are true, now that I see you in person."
"Like what?"
"Wellhe said you and I were the best of friends, and that one time," he chuckled, "we dressed up like FBI agents and searched through Miss Lydia's house. He said her eccentric mother grabbed you up and forced you to look at her horrible artwork." He chuckled again. "That one is my favorite."
The aged human couldn't help but smile a little. He remembered those events as wellfrom two different perspectives now. "Sohe told you everything?"
A downcast look crossed Endri's features. "Y-Yes, he did. Apparently, I went through an entire other existence before the one I'm in now. He left out a lot of details because he probably didn't know them, but he did tell me II wasn't a verystable person."
Kyle remained silent.
Timidly, the ghost took one step forward. "Do you know about me? About how I was?"
"I know everything about you, Endri," the human confirmed, smirking to himself.
Endri tilted his head to the side as if it could help him see better. "Why won't you face me?"
Kyle's shoulders sagged, and he fell silent again for a moment. "II'm too old for you now, Endri. I never wanted you to see me likethis." His voice cracked on the word.
Shocked, the ghost held a hand against the top corner of the couch and leaned forward a little. "Butdon't tell me I came at the wrong time. Does that mean you don't want to see me?" Hurt pinched at his gut, and he was on the razor's edge of being devastated that his would-be hero possibly wanted nothing to do with him.
Kyle wiped his eyes again. They just wouldn't stay dry. "No, no, Endri. That's not what I mean. I just never wanted you to lay your eyes on me as abroken old man. You make it seem like I'm really important. I don't want to disappoint you."
Endri shortened the distance between them with another step. "May I sit, please?"
Nodding, the human inhaled a breath to calm the fluttering in his stomach.
The ghost sat next to him, gently laying a hand to his shoulder and marveling at the warmth he felt. For him, to touch a human other than to give Lydia a hug when she came over was a rare and precious thing. "How you look now won't affect what I think about you." He paused a second, then added, "I thought you knew me."
That struck Kyle right where it stung the most, and he fought to keep the building tears in.
"Face me, please. You don't know how long I've been waiting to see you."
Swallowing, the human rotated his head very slowly to face Endri. Blue eyes widened when he finally took in his best friend after twenty long years. The memory and pictures of him did him no justice for he was so different. But at the same time, he was exactly the same. Endri himself was and had always been a contradiction of terms.
The ghost's body was much thinner than before, but tightly ripped muscles still decorated every inch of his frame. His pale-blonde hair fell to just below his shoulders, but his bangs were still the same, falling down to his lips and framing his face. A small lock of the blonde hair was braided along the left side, tucked behind a pointed ear pierced with a small silver loop through the lobe. He wore a brown, no-sleeved, short jacket with a tight white tank top beneath, exposing his pale upper chest and all of his arms from the shoulder down. A regular pair of blue jeans clung to his legs, and clunky brown boots with lots of excess leather cuffs covered his feet. Actually, Endri looked a lot like a modern Viking might have. But even how old he looked was different. He seemed more like a teen than a twenty-five year old, which was the point at which most ghosts ceased to age physically.
Kyle swallowed, looking his old friend up and down, his breath shallow and mouth open.
Endri took the human in as well, staring into his face that did look old, but not that it mattered. He was simply in awe that he was finally looking into the face of the person he was raised to think was the most wonderful person to ever exist.
A sudden, soft gasp left him, and he recoiled a fraction at the sight of a tear dripping down Kyle's cheek. That wasn't right, was it? How could such an incredible person cry? Endri didn't think it was possible. He had always thought the human was an exception, that he was above everything, and that none of the unpleasant emotions that the ghost experienced could ever affect him. But even though he was shocked that Kyle could cry, he was intensely curious. He had never been close to a human except for Lydia, at least during his second chance at an afterlife anyway. It had always been like going to a toy store and being told he could look but not touch. Wellno one was telling him to keep his hands off this time.
Hesitantly, Endri leaned forward, lifting a hand. Very softly, he ran a fingertip along the wet trail the tear had left behind on Kyle's wrinkled cheek, gathering the moisture. He brought it to his line of sight and looked at it curiously, rubbing the wetness around his fingertips to learn the feel of it. Training his eyes back to the human, he slowly put the fingertip into his mouth and sucked it off.
Kyle watched, frozen, his eyes glistening with more of those tears. The whole thing reminded him of when Endri had wiped his tears and licked them away before when they were sitting at a pond of saline water surrounded by willows at sunset.
Endri slowly pulled his finger from his mouth, tilting his head a little to the side. "Isis this what Human sadness tastes like?" he wondered with all the curiousness of a little boy.
Smirking lightly, Kyle closed his eyes and relaxed back just a little. "If you think so."
"Why are you sad?"
"I'm not," he said, opening his eyes again. "I'm veryvery happy. It's good to see you again, Endri. Real good."
The ghost smiled brightly. The gesture looked so new to Kyle, but it looked like it belonged on Endri's face now. If he were to scowl, it just wouldn't look right on him anymore.
The human took notice to his friend's hands twitching just a little.
"I-I have waited so longbeen told so much about you. I feel like I know you, yet we've never metbut we have. It's so strange." White teeth softly bit a full bottom lip. "Ig-guess I'm a little excited. Forgive me if I seem a little" He bit his lip again, looking like it was taking a huge effort to sit still. Blonde hair flew out as Endri fell forward, wrapping his arms around Kyle and hugging tightly, putting his head to the man's chest, his pierced left ear over his thudding heart. "Watakushi o sonkei suruKyle-sama!" he cried.
The human sat in shocked silence, but it was the action, not the ecstatic words, that surprised him so. He had always been used to Endri speaking in Japanese around and to him, so, after a while, he didn't need a translation anymore. He would just listen to the voice inflexion to realize how important what the ghost was saying was to him. And after that moment of letting everything sink in, Kyle reached up to gently touch Endri's hair. "" He threw his arms around him as best he could and hugged right back, burying his face in blonde masses. "I missed you. I missed you." he whimpered.
Grinning against soft sweatshirt, Endri held tight to his friend, but felt something hard against his chest. He reluctantly pulled away and picked up the picture frame that Kyle was holding and had gotten pinned between them. Slowly, he turned the frame to reveal the picture to himself. Sparkling green eyes widened and pale lips parted a bit. Lightly shaking fingertips traced over the glass where his image was standing next to a much younger-looking Kyle. "Isthis me?"
Kyle sniffed and nodded. "Yeah."
The ghost stared. "II looked so old."
Frowning, the human leaned around to look. "You didn't look old. You always looked so young."
Endri shook his head. "No. I see the hardships this person faced. I see the toll they all took on him. This was an old, bitter man."
Kyle took the picture from his friend's fingers and stared fondly into it for a moment. "This was my best friend." The words he spoke himself somehow reminded him, and he laid the frame to his lap to free his hands so he could reach up to his neck and fumble with the clasp of the old necklace. "Oh! I almost forgot. I'm supposed to give this back to you. It's yours from a long time ago. You gave it to me to keep until you came back." His old fingers bungled and refused to work properly, and the necklace remained clasped, much to his frustration.
Smiling softly, Endri leaned over, gently taking the man's wrists in his hands and pulling them away. "It's okay; I'll get it." He reached around, and with a quick twist of his fingers, unhooked the clasp and pulled the chain away from Kyle's neck.
The human sagged a little, disappointed he couldn't complete his appointed mission due to old age but refused to give up. He took the chain from his longtime partner and lifted it around his neck. "This is my job, though," he said determinedly, pushing thick blonde hair out of the way. He had less trouble getting it latched than unlatched, and when the necklace was dangling elegantly around the ghost's neck, he finally felt as if some part of him was complete—that after all of the long years of waiting, his mission was at last over.
Endri sighed and closed his eyes, also feeling some sort of completion. Absently, he reached up to cup the pendant against his still heart—the silver was still warm—feeling Kyle's hands gripping his shoulders. In the back of his mind, he hoped the warm touch would never vanish, that he could always be so close to the wonderful human he simply knew as Kyle. His eyes drifted open to take in his friend and smiled broadly before looking down to behold the picture still in the man's lap. There was something else that was bothering him now. The unspoken goal to have his necklace returned now complete, something else needed to be taken care of. But what was it? He stared at the picture, letting his mind wander.
"You knew about himabout me," he said bemusedly, eyes not really focused on the picture anymore, but still staring. "What can you tell me? What was I like? What did I do?"
Slowly sitting forward, the human put the picture back to the table then stared into the fire, elbows to his knees. "Are you sure you wanna know?"
Blinking his daze away, Endri sat up straight, confident. "Yes, I am."
Kyle lifted a withered hand and pointed to his temple, tapping the digit lightly. "In hereare all the memories of your existence from before you changed and grew up again. You gave 'em to me to keep for you until you came backjust like the necklace."
The ghost sat, silent.
"Butthey're prettyharsh. Are you sure you wanna remember something as terrible as that? Are you sure you can handle it? 'Cause they nearly killed me when you shoved 'em in my head."
Endri leaned forward almost shocked. "I did that to you! I hurt you like that!"
Kyle just waved him off tiredly. "It's all right. It was necessary. I eventually came to terms and sorted it all out." He allowed an empty chuckle to escape his throat. "All the shit you've been through, Endri. I'd have been surprised if you hadn't gone insane." He paused a moment to listen to the fire snap. "Every once in a while, I think back over some of your experiencesthe shit you facedin a way, it was like it was me instead. It still makes me bawl like a baby, and that ain't the easiest thing for a guy to admit."
The ghost swallowed.
"Do you think you can handle your own past, Endri?" he asked, not averting his eyes from the fire.
Mouth setting determinedly, Endri said, "From what I know, I had no one before my family in the Neitherworld besides you. And I don't think I was strong enough to deal with what happened to me in my past. But I've grown up for the last twenty years with a family who loves me—friends who love me. I think I have enough of that love and stability under my belt to deal with the things of my past and not be overwhelmed." He put a hand to Kyle's shoulder, and the man turned his head to face him. "I'm ready."
Kyle swallowed even though he nodded. Hundreds of "what if's" ran through his head the moment his friend voiced his readiness. What if Endri couldn't handle it? What if he developed the Mania again? What if he went completely mad and tried to wipe himself out again? And, worst of all, what if he succeeded? And yetit was what his friend wanted. And Kyle would never say no to his best friend. Besidesit was meant to be that way. He was only holding those memories for his friend until he came back to get themand now he was back. Kyle's mission was near completedat long last.
"Thengo ahead. Take 'em back."
With a swallow, Endri licked his lips. His hands slowly reached up, cupping Kyle's head, thumbs at his temples, though why he positioned them there, he wasn't sure. Nervousness spread over his being as well as sweat beginning to emerge from exposed flesh.
The human laid one withered hand to one tight-skinned forearm. "Are you sure?"
A moment of hesitation slipped by, but soon, the young-looking ghost's features relaxed into confidence. He nodded just once, staring resolutely into Kyle's eyes, firmly holding his head, but with a level of gentleness as well. The human's eyesthey seemed sodeep—like the deep blue of the highest point of a summer sky. They could even be considered lovelybeautiful. Something that still looked bright and clear, even though Kyle himself was old, paling, and withered. But as he stared into those clear, blue skies, they slowly clouded over, swirled with darkness, even flashed with tiny sparks of lighting. They pulled him in, and he couldn't help but fall.
Blackness. It surrounded him on all sides, rushed past his body, even tore though his being, stripping him naked and tossing his hair about his head like whipping tendrils. But that didn't last long for just as quickly as the emptiness swallowed him, flashes of light blinded him, popping in front, to the sides, and behind him, illuminating the darkness to show him things ofit was horrible! He couldn't bear to see! But his eyes seemed riveted open, being forced to watch, to listen, to feel.
Faces blurred past him, hundreds of them, thousands, all with names attached. Events unfolded, some in the blink of an eye, some very slowly, seeming to take years. Emotions overpowered him. They bombarded him from all sides, beating into him, diving into his skin like creatures of darkness and burrowing inside. Once in there, they multiplied. It felt like his skin was boiling—like he was being torn apart from the inside out. Voices screamed and hurt his ears, some intelligible, some not.
"Murderer"
"Help me! Agkk!"
"Go back where you belong!"
"A ghost! Get away from me!"
"it's him! It's The Viking!"
Another voice, that one very familiar, rang out after the others died away, leaving him broken and hardly responsive anymore. But the new voice was soft, gentle, and so wonderfully comforting, it made all the pain and torment and horror drift away like a bad dream.
"You always seem to make me forget all the bad shit that ever happened to me. I don't know what I'd do without you, Endri."
Blackness.
"EndriEndri, wake up! Please don't tell me this all backfired. Wake up!"
Endri blinked his eyes open, seeing nothing but blank white. At first, he felt nothing. He thought he was floating in a vast ocean of emptiness, but slowly, his senses returned, as if waking from a deep sleep to a bright new day. Kyle's old face suddenly loomed into his view, staring down with worry. It was only then that the ghost realized he was lying on the floor of the human's home, staring up at the white plaster ceiling.
"'Dri? You okay? Can you sit up?"
Endri did so, but slowly, caught in a daze. Lithe fingers reached up to wipe the sweat from his face, only then realizing that it wasn't sweat at all, but tears. He had been crying.
"Kylewhat happened?"
"You went into some kinda shock and passed out. I tried to stop you from falling, but" he flexed sore, throbbing hands, "my strength ain't what it used to be."
The ghost smiled up at him, feeling better and better as the moments progressed. "It's okay." He looked around the room, trying to find a clock. "How long was I out?"
Kyle shook his head. "About a minutemaybe two." His blue eyes took his friend in from top to bottom, almost as if trying to see if he had changed in those two minutes. "So?"
Endri smirked. "So what?"
"Do you remember?"
"Remember what?"
Surprise pulled the human's yellowed brows up. "Aw man! It didn't work? I-I thought—" A light-hearted laugh cut him off.
"I'm just kidding. I rememberPartner."
Kyle couldn't hold back the grin. "Yeah? Everything? Really?"
Endri chuckled again, tilting his head to the side a little in that way of his. "Yeah. Everything. Really."
"And you'reokay?" The human leaned forward, squinting and trying to see if the red rings had resurfaced in his friend's eyes. To that day, he still remembered and feared that sight.
But the blonde just nodded, his eyes the same as always. "I feel better than ever."
Standing, he reached down to help Kyle up, gripping his almost frail hand and pulling to get him to stand. As the man stood shakily, he grunted in pain and pulled the hand to himself when he was standing fully.
"Kylewhy aren't you taking medication for your arthritis?"
The human sent him a sideways glance. "How'd you know I wasn't?"
Endri cast his eyes away, somehow unable to look at his friend as he admitted, "I-uhseem to have not only my memories, butyours as well. They must have transferred by accident. I know everything you knew up until this point."
Kyle pointed a shaking finger at him. "Don't be diggin' in personal shit, dammit."
"Even if I did, you know I'd never squeal," his friend said with a cocky smirk. A strange look was leveled on him, and he frowned at the source. "What?"
The human looked away. "You're just sodifferent now, 'Dri. You're younger. You talk different."
Endri stepped up to him, cupping his shoulders in each hand with reassurance. "But I'm the same person outside and in, now. Ihad hoped that none of this would come between us."
Kyle shook his head. "Oh, no! No, no, I won't let it. Dammit, 'Dri, it's just so good to see you and have you all back together!" He quirked a brow again. "Though you do look like a punk."
Sparkling green eyes widened in surprise followed by a moment of absolute stillness. Bright, mirthful laughter spilled forth from pale lips as Endri closed his eyes and tilted his head back a little. Leave it to Kyle to break a difficult moment in favor of some humor. And the human also laughed, joining his friend in a good-natured chuckle for the fist time in literally decades. As soon as the laughter died down to light chuckles and snickers, both suddenly quieted and threw themselves into a fierce embrace.
"I missed you, you fuckin' son of a bitch," Kyle mumbled into Endri's shoulder, his eyes hidden against it. "Why does everything have to be so complicated with you?"
Endri smirked, holding his friend tightly. "Not anymore, Kyle. Everything's over. Thishere and nowis the end. Now there's nothing to stand in your, my, or my family's way that would hinder our happiness. As they say in the storybooksthis is where the 'happily ever after' comes in."
After hearing that, the human squeezed his eyes tight, and gripped his fingers into the soft leather of his friend's jacket in back. He pulled away soon after, sadness shining in his eyes. "You're wrong."
"Uh?"
"There is something standing in our way that's hindering happiness."
Concerned, Endri asked, "What?"
Kyle dropped his eyes, unable to look at his friend as he uttered quietly, "Me."
"You? But how?" the ghost asked, surprised.
"Look at me, Endri. There's no way I can enjoy any life I could have with you and everyone else. I'm too old."
Endri huffed. "Don't be ridiculous."
"I'm being honest!"
Swallowing, he watched Kyle as the man sighed and sat back to the couch, rubbing a hand over his forehead. As he sat as well, his friend lifted his weary gaze to him.
"Look at me, 'Dri. I look like an eighty-year-old manbut I'm only sixty-six! Why?"
Endri licked his lips and looked away almost shamefully.
"Was it your traumatic memories that aged me so quick?"
Blonde hair flailed out as the ghost's head twisted back to look quickly. "No! It wasn't my memories. If I knew they would have aged you quickly, I never would have given them to you in the first place."
"Then why? Do you know?"
Endri looked away again. "II suppose it was a little my fault. But really, it couldn't have been helped, even if I wanted to."
Kyle only frowned.
With a sigh, his friend continued. "While you lived with me and Papa, you were obviously near at least one of us constantly. Even before that when you and I were partners here for ten years, you were always around me. You know Papa and I are powerful. That power resides in ourselves, but it also is given off our bodies and hovers around us like an aura. When you came near one of us, you stepped through that energy and it flowed through you, inside and out. Apparently, it affected you by regenerating your cells and kept you youthful-looking and healthy. I'm assuming that without us being near you, your cells haven't been regenerating and have actually started deteriorating faster without the support your body's had for so many years."
For a while, Kyle just sat and contemplated that explanation. Could that really have been it? Could that really have been why he was always so young for the longest time, then suddenly aged beyond reason after he left his friends and the Neitherworld?
It was always so strange, that while he was living in the Neitherworld with Beetlejuice, Endri, and everyone else, his aging process seemed to have slowed to almost nothing. When he left that plane at forty–four, he still looked only in his twenties or early thirties. But now that he was away from the Neitherworld, away from his friends, his body seemed to have caught up with his age with a vengeance. At only sixty–six, he really felt and looked like eighty.
"HnI thought you had something to do with it." The man smirked and looked at Endri. "So if I live with you guys againI'll become younger?"
Sadness drifted into Endri's eyes just before he averted them. "No. You wouldjust remain the way you are now."
Kyle grunted and crossed his arms, staring into the fire now. He chose not to speak for a long time, letting silence change the mood from apprehension to downright sadness. "I" He stopped and went silent again, thinking and considering. His best friend just swallowed and waited for his old lips to part and tell him something that was hopefully worth hearing. "I'm sorry, 'Dri, butI don't want anyone to see me like this. And I sure as hell know I don't wanna live like this for longer than need be. Justtell everyone I said 'hi'," he said flippantly.
Endri's quiet voice met his ears. "They were all looking forward to seeing you. They thought I'd be bringing you back with me."
"I'd like to go backbut not like this."
The ghost smiled then. "Then I'll stay here."
Kyle looked over in surprise. "What? No, no, I can't ask you to—"
Endri just waved for him to quiet. "No arguments, Kyle. You've been alone far too long now. I won't allow that anymore."
But Kyle shook his head. "You don't understand. I'm—too—old," he grunted, saying each word separately to get the meaning across. "At the rate things are goin', I'll be dead in about five to ten more years. But with you around, I'll stop aging again and stay this way much longer. I couldn't stand that. Please, 'Drihave mercy on an old man."
"But" Endri huffed, feeling helpless and almost desperate, "I've waited so longand now I must wait even longer?" He looked away, gritting his teeth. "I've missed you so much." Green eyes returned to blue ones, that feeling of desperation visible in their depths. "Now that I finally come to see you, you send me away!"
"Come-on, Endri, you know it's not like that!"
"Well, that's what it feels like!"
Huffing, Kyle sat back against the couch, glaring angrily into the fire and muttering, "If I could just keel over right now, things would be so much simpler."
Endri snorted and crossed his arms, also staring into the fire with hurt, angry eyes.
With a sudden realization, the human smiled lightly, sighing and leaning back to look off at nothing distantly. "'Dri?" he asked, soft and quiet. The tone made his friend soften immediately.
"Yeah, Kyle?"
"While you were growin' up againdid you ever watch the sun set?"
Endri smiled almost dreamily. "I watched them a lot. But I always feltlike something was missinglike I was alone." He looked over. "I think I know why now."
Kyle smiled as well. "Me too." After a little while of silence save for the crackling of the fireplace, that wistful smile faded. "I'm tired of watching sunsets alone, Endri."
"Me too."
The human looked over to his friend, a soft smile on his old face. "'Dri? Could you grant an old man a favor?"
Endri frowned. "Stop talking about yourself like that."
"Please, 'Dri?"
He sighed with a smile, then nodded. "Sure, Kyle. Anything."
Kyle smiled as well. "Kill me?"
Endri almost fell over in shock. He stared in disbelief at his best friend for a second, unable to comprehend why he would ask such a ridiculous thing! "What! I can't believe—!"
The human waved for silence. "Hear me out."
His friend continued to stare at him incredulously.
"I'm miserable. I'm tired. I hurt all the time. I'm lonely. I want to be with you and my friends again. I don't want them to see a shriveled old man. I want them to see a bright, youthful man, bursting with energy." He sighed in frustration. "I wanna be happy, Endri. And I know you can do that for me."
Endri looked almost desperate again, but felt he was fighting a losing battleone he realized was probably over before it began. "Butbut I like you better alive. Please, don't ask this of me, Kyle. I'd never be able to live with myself."
Kyle flexed his sore hands while giving his best friend a pleading look. "Please. It's my request, 'Dri. You don't have to worry about me blaming you. I want you to."
With a grunt and a push, Endri stood and began pacing before the fire, arms crossed and not looking very happy. "After all the times I saved your life, now you want me to kill you! That is absurd! No! I won't kill you just because you think you want to die! If you really want to die so badly, kill yourself!"
Kyle stood abruptly. "I already tried!"
Whirling, the ghost stared at him in shock.
"I tried but was stopped both times. The second time was because of you that I was saved. And you made me promise I would never do it again. So I've kept my promise, Endri, and I will continue to keep it. Therefore, I can't kill myself now. Which is why I ask youI beg you! Please." His blue, summer sky eyes swam as if tears would soon rain down. "Help me die."
Swallowing, Endri looked away, a frown on his fair brow.
"You know my thoughts now, right? You have all my memories too? Then look through them and feel what I've been feeling these last twenty years. Hear my thoughts on how I did and didn't wanna die. Please. Don't stand there and deny me happiness."
That snapped him out of it. Memories of his own words drifted to the forefront of his mind, words spoken so long ago. "Happiness has alwaysalways been denied me."
I can't do the same to Kyle! I can't let him feel the way I have for so long. Butcan I also do what he's asking? Kill my best friend! He forced his thoughts to quiet and began sifting though Kyle's memories, securely tucked away at the back of his mind. Loneliness, emptiness, and hollow suffering were his reward. He discovered it had always been Kyle's desire for him to die somehow by Endri's hands rather than old age or accident. He wanted to die peacefully and painlessly and knew his best friend could do that for him. The ghost also discovered that Kyle had been ready to die for some time, but he was waiting for Endri to return.
He relived pieces of the human's past; saw him leaving after Endri had been changed back into a child; and saw him become a lonely recluse, only leaving his home when absolutely necessary. He went through all of Kyle's experiences from him becoming successful in his work to getting his dog Smoke. The sadness from when the animal died cut through Endri's heart and almost broke it. The tears stung his eyes but he continued on, searching through his friend's past and thoughts.
He dug back further, much further than just the twenty years they had been apart. He went back to that time only three years after they met and poured through Kyle's feelings at that one pivotal moment in their friendship.
They had gone to Canada in search of key number three and were wandering about the vastly forested region, camping here and there and carrying their supplies by four-wheeler from place to place. Endri had always been stoic with a hard attitude since Kyle had first met him, but at that point in their partnership, the human just couldn't take it anymore. When Kyle needed a friend, someone he could go to that would listen to his problems and help him, or someone to put their arm over his shoulders and tell him everything would be all rightEndri was never there. His uncaring, hard attitude had set Kyle off and the fight of the century broke forth. No fists were swung; no physical damage was given or received, but the words flung that day cut so much deeper than any weapon could.
In his anger and hurt, Kyle renounced his partnership with Endri and left the scene at a dead run. But he never watched where he was going and impaled himself upon an old, dead tree branch through his left shoulder. After that, Endri had found him and taken care of him regardless of threats shouted or curses flung in his direction.
Long days passed for them and Kyle received brief glimpses into the blonde's building insanity, but did not know it was to be Endri's downfall. And during that time, the ghost revealed things to Kyle that made the man's knees knock and heart flutter with fear. Endri had been a murdererhe had killed many, many people in his past, and that was when Kyle knew. He knew that someday, somehow, his partner would take his life, if not in homicide then by permission. One way or the other, Endri was going to kill Kyle.
The ghost blinked his eyes open, the twinkling orbs swimming. "K"
The man in question stepped up to him and wiped the corner of one eye with his thumb.
"I" Endri's strong body shook as he fell into a hug, letting Kyle's arms come up to wrap around him. He tried to calm his breathing to speak, but it was rather difficult. "I understand, Kyle. Butit's sodifficult." He swallowed heavily, trying to keep the tears in, though he was actually known to cry when so emotionally disturbed—as would anyone.
Kyle hugged tightly. "It's okay, 'Dri. I know it's a tall order, but please don't tell me no." He felt like he was trying to comfort a son and not his friend and hated it so much, he could taste itand it was bitter and biting.
Sniffing, the ghost looked up into his friend's eyes. "You know I would never deny you anything."
With a sigh of relief, the human smiled. "Thank you."
Both clutched each other into a hug for a while, letting their closeness bring about calmness. Endri drank in the warmth flowing from his friend's body, a warmth he hadn't felt for twenty years, a warmth he hadn't realized he was missing until now. The subtle beating of the man's heart thudded against his chest, making it almost feel like the ghost's own heart was beatingand it was a wonderful, solid feeling—a feeling he wished would never vanish. But knew it wasn't to be.
Kyle pulled away and smiled warmly, almost as warm as the heat from his body. "You okay?"
Endri nodded, wiping his nose. "YeahI-I'm okay."
A sudden, almost nervous look drifted over the human's features as he swallowed. "Thencould you do it? Now?"
Surprised, the ghost uttered, "N—! Bu—!" He grunted and slumped, feeling defeated. With an almost depressed sigh, he said, "All right. If you really want me to."
"Please," Kyle replied with a smile.
Endri gazed into his best friend's cerulean eyes again, forcing his nerves to steel. "Come here." He lead the man over to the couch again. "Sit down."
Kyle sat as told, then looked back up to his old partner for more instruction.
"Lay backrelax," the ghost coaxed, pressing gently on his old friend's shoulder.
Kyle did as told again, laying down fully on the couch, but a swallow of nerves couldn't help slipping past his defenses. Even though he wanted it to happen, was eager for it even, he still couldn't help feeling a little scared.
Endri noticed his friend's distress and eased down to his knees on the floor beside him. He ran a gentle hand over his friend's yellowed hair and smiled down at him, giving a little reassurance, even though he himself didn't feel reassured.
"Don't worry," he spoke softly, "you won't feel a thing." He stopped at that and voiced a question he needed answered just to be absolutely certain he wasn't about to do something he would regret. "Are you absolutely sure about this?"
Kyle swallowed, staring up at his ever–youthful friend. He barely remembered a time when he was just as youthful, just as energetic. And he wanted to continue being with his best friend and blood brother for much longer than the short visit he was being paid right then. He wanted to be with all of his friends and really enjoy every moment of it, not having to worry about his old age creeping up on him. But then, his old age had already crept up on him. Arthritis crippled his ability to do the things he so loved, like writing his computer programs or tinkering with his inventions.
No. He had absolutely no desire to live that way any longer.
"I'm sure."
Endri nodded with just a slight tilt of his head and drew his hand back over his old friend's hair. "Relax now. Everything will be all right."
Swallowing one last time, Kyle smiled up at his best friend, feeling his resolution strengthen with his comforting presence. "I know."
The ghost smiled down at him again, proud of how strong he had become over the years. He hadn't known that man for twenty years, had hardly any memory of him save stories told by his father, but now with his memory returned to him, he remembered all of the help, care, love, and friendship he had received from Kyle. With his memory reborn, Endri was stunned at how he had gotten along for twenty years without him. Well, no more.
He leaned over his best friend and drew his frail body into his arms in another tight embrace, savoring for the last time the comforting heat that always accompanied the act. He would miss the warmth of every hug and the throb from every heartbeat that always made him feel so alive.
"I'll miss you this way," he voiced his feelings quietly into his friend's ear.
Kyle sniffed in response and clung a little tighter, trying to ignore the droning ache in his hands that held his friend. He would miss a few things himself, but it was all bound to come to an end someday, one way or the other. He was just so happy he wouldn't die alone. He was so happy his dreaded old age wouldn't kill him slowly and painfully. He was thrilled that his wishes to die by his best friend's hands would soon be fulfilled.
"I always knew you'd kill me someday," he joked quietly, trying to lighten the somber mood that hung thickly in the air.
Endri chuckled at that. "You mean you've always wanted me to kill you. Remember that accident with the tree all those years ago? You kept thinking I'd kill you then too."
A light laugh rose in Kyle's throat as well. "Yeah. But it was then that I knewI knew someday, somehow, you would be the one. I couldn't see it any other way, and I still can't."
"You are an odd one, Kyle Gavan Bennington."
"You love me."
The ghost smirked. "I suppose I do."
They continued the long embrace for a little while longer, neither quite wanting to let go or the moment to end. But at last, Endri laid his friend back to the cushions and smoothed a hand over his hair. There was really no need to prolong things much longer. Kyle would soon be in the Neitherworld, existing there permanently, ever youthful, ever energetic, ever happy.
"Are you ready?"
The human swallowed his emotions and gave one slight nod.
"Then close your eyes. Relax." He watched his friend obey his soft orders, the blue eyes Endri always saw filled with such light and life drifting shut, and his body releasing its tension. "Breathe slowly and deeply. Listen to only my voice, feel only my hands," his gentle voice commanded.
Kyle's once nervous breath evened out, and he listened to Endri's words intently, letting his relaxed senses pick up the feeling of the ghost's hands in his yellowed hair and on his chest.
"Farewell from this world," Endri began quietly, lifting one hand from the human's hair and bringing it to swipe softly over his closed eyelids. "My dear friend" he whispered lastly, a lump in his throat and eyes glossing over. "Sleep," he ordered.
There were no flashy lights, no amazing special effects, no dramatic scenes.
A smile on his lipshis head drifting slowly to the sideand a single tear traversing his pale, wrinkled cheek, Kyle simply fell to sleep, never meant to wake again. But before his senses dulled to nothing, the warm touch of lips met his forehead and a gentle voice reached his being, echoing softly.
"See you in the Neitherworld."
Japanese / pronunciation / English Translation:
Watakushi o sonkei suruKyle-sama/ wahta-kooshi oh sun-kay sooroo / I look up to you…Mr. Kyle! great respect Endri highly respects Kyle and thinks him to be superior to him at that point.
This is the first time that I've ever made myself cry with my own words and descriptions. I hope I've also been able to evoke those feelings in others. It's the goal of any writer, I would believe.
Thank you for reading. Take care.