"Times of Sorrow" by William Teo aka Eterna2

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Times of Sorrow
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Prolog - Man of Melancholy
by eterna2,1999

Despite the dim lights of the inn, the festive fervor was apparent to all. Wines flowed freely as merrymakers were determined to have the greatest hangover in their lives. Fine beautiful notes of music permeated the inn, further boosting the moods of celebrations. A joyous occasion indeed! Just then...

The ornate double doors creaked...

Bob paused, wondering who would be so late? It seems everyone was here, who might this newcomer be?

A sudden chill of indescribable melancholy seems tainted the joyous moods as a dark cloaked figure enters...

Snil moved to check his belongings, but froze suddenly ... tears flowing freely down his face... An unspeakable sadness overcame him... so keenly he felt... for it was as if all the sorrows in his short life had assailed him at this same instant...

Fearing trouble, Reav took a step towards the mysterious stranger. Just as Reav approached within a few paces of the stranger... The stranger looked up, his sorrowful eyes burning into the soul of the hardy roadie... bringing forgotten memories... bringing tears long forgotten...

"Melancholy", was the only word he offered...

But then, the joy and laughter had too ceased... Only a timeless sense of melancholy remained... Patrons of the inn paused in silence, for they too were lost in their own sorrows...

The stranger spoke again... his powerful voice piercing through their veils of sorrows...

Who knows the joys of melancholy?
The sorrows of the heart within?
Alas, the haunting tunes of melody,
Weeping for the tears that never will be...

Who knows the pains of a broken heart?
The scars of love that lingered so?
Alas, the sorrowful works of art,
Crying for his aches and soul...

Who knows the heart of a raging storm?
The peace of which he despaired for?
Alas, the ding of impending doom,
Leaving him deep in thoughts...

Who knows the thoughts of a broken man?
The dreams of a shattered soul?
Alas, with the falling of the hour's sand,
He asked, when will the sorrow ends?

As the echoes faded away, the man of melancholy departed just as unexpectedly as he came...

The moment the door closed, it was as if a spell broken... as if everyone had awaken from a dream, feeling refreshed - all their tears shed, all their aches soothed, all the past sorrows fled, leaving only sweet memories... All the burdens of sorrows riding atop the shoulder of the man of melancholy... the eternal wanderer in search of his one true love... Melancholy...

Just then, the silence was broken by a frantic pounding sound from the kitchen...

Author's Note:
Melancholy - a stranger
Bob - a bartender
Snil - a bouncer
Reav - a bouncer

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Scene 1 - Hill of Melancholy
by eterna2, 1999

Never was interested in weapons, Bob quickly grew tired of Idus's brutal wares. Scanning about for stuffs of more interest, he noticed Sindy twiddling with something...

"What's you holding there?"

Sindy paused and held an hourglass emptied of sand, before Bob.

"You mean this? Well, I found it on the counter after that sad stranger left... I guess, it belongs to him."

"Let me have a look!"

"Sure."

Sindy passed the hourglass to Bob.

"What the..."

The strange hourglass suddenly burst forth in incandescent lights, blinding both Sindy and Bob...

In their blindness, the bartenders could feel the abrupt change in their environment - they are no longer in the inn. They could hear the gentle rushing of a nearby stream. They could hear the sweet chirping of birds. So peaceful this place was that they could even feel it in their hearts.

But, something was amiss. They could feel a sense of melancholy, not just of sorrow, but of longing too...

At first it was only a pinch or so, but gradually this heart-wrenching sorrow grew to overwhelming proportion... bringing tears again to both the bartenders. They knew the man of melancholy was near...

From a distance drifted a sweet melody of a forgotten song, a song of longing and love... As the music surrounded the duo, a scene took form within their minds, their hearts...

They saw a dark figure; a man who seemed to be broken, yet strangely was not. Heavy were his steps, every action, every movement spoke of a broken man - a man burdened with too much sorrows. But his eyes... his eyes were burning with an unquenchable flame... sorrowed he may be, but broken? Never! His eyes were the eyes of an indomitable spirit. Though his body had bent beneath the weights of the sorrows he carried on his shoulders; his spirit still burns strong.

The man of melancholy was playing his silvery flute, playing the ancient melody of longing and love. While playing, slowly he made his way up a hill... but it was as if he was battling against the onrushing currents of the tides... the going was unbelievably tough, but still, the man of melancholy fought on.

When he finally reached the top of the sacred hill, Bob and Sindy gasped. A short burst of joy pierced through the blanket of melancholy that cloaked this place.

Returning to the scene within their heart, they saw the man of melancholy put away his flute and took a deep breath. Strange they thought, for the sad melody still played on...

He took another deep breath and a few more to be sure...

I am the man of melancholy!
Melancholy of the lands I bring.
In my heart of melancholy!
Sorrows were sometime so intense.
Searching for my love, Melancholy!
Unique is her - my love - I miss U!
Never before, have I felt more melancholy.
Only you my love...
Valiantly holding at bay the melancholy.
Echoing endlessly within my soul...
Last had I come for the answer since began.

"PLEASE!!!!", the man of melancholy screamed... unleashing all the sorrows within his heart, the sorrows he carried on his shoulders...

"I could take in no more...", he wept for his sorrows, for his love...

After what seemed an eternity, the man of melancholy stood once again, stronger and less burdened. Once again, the eternal wanderer set forth in search of his answer, his love, his melancholy...

~ ~ ~

"Hey! What the heck you two are staring at! C'me over here and help me out!"

The vision shattered before Rikk's voice... Blink... blink...

Sindy and Bob found themselves again at the counter.

Was it a dream or was it not?

They shook their heads and moved towards Rikk...

No one noticed the lone hourglass at the counter... Once again filled with falling sand... every grain disappearing as they fell... till the last grain had fallen, then the melody of melancholy will again play... or will it not?

The answer lies with his love, Melancholy...

Author's Note:
Melancholy - a stranger
Bob - a bartender
Sindy - a bartender
Idus - a regular, who happens to be a weapons-dealer
Rikk - the owner of the inn 

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Scene 2 - Tale of Melancholy
by eterna2, 1999

"Hey Sora! Back so early? So how's your holiday?"

"Well, as usual, nothing much to see nowadays... But I did met a very strange man."

"What's so strange about him?"

"I thought I've seen the strangest things in the world, but, man, this guy is really weird. Do you believe it? I never saw his face nor know his name for the entire encounter!"

"Sound familiar. Tell me more."

"He has this aura of sadness about him. And I can sense the melancholy in him, the longing, the sadness. His presence reminds me of my own sorrows. But strangely enough, his sadness seemed to heal, to rejuvenate me."

"Melancholy! It must be the man of melancholy! He came to the inn recently too. Pity, he left rather quickly, never got to know him."

"Really! Well, you are in luck. This strange dude left with a parting poem when I asked him why is he so melancholy."

"Recite it to me! I'm really curious!"

"Well, okay. I will give it a shot."

There was a time when I loved,
as fiery as the flames within my heart.
And there was a time when I despaired,
as terrrible as the scars that I fear to touch.

There was a time when I had to choose,
between the paths that I would tread.
And there was a time when I was lost,
within the choices by which I was rend.

There was a choice to mend and to heal,
for I'm scarred but never maimed.
And there was a choice to wither and to die,
for I can plunge and never raise.

BUT these never were my choice.

I had chosen not to mend, not to heal,
refusing the gentle hands of light.
And I had chosen not to wither, not to die,
refusing the beckoning death so light.

For I had chosen to embrace pain,
to reopen the scars of times long ago.
And I had chosen to wander and to wait,
for the the eternity of time and the age of gold.

ALAS, I wandered still, in search of Melancholy...
in search of the second dawn, of my second chance...

I will wait while I wander...
For I'm the man of melancholy...

Melancholy... melancholy...

When Sora finished the poem, faintly in the distance, he seem to hear the stranger sigh just as a melancholic tune drifted from a distant plain, from a certain wanderer with his silver flute...

Author's Note:
Melancholy - a stranger
Bob - a bartender
Sora - a travelling bard, friend of Bob 

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Scene 3 - Love of Melancholy
by eterna2, 1999

Sara tugged at the stiff arm of her sister, but the emaciated form refused to budge - she was all curled up into a ball, sobbing uncontrollably. "We're gonna die, we're all gonna freeze to death!", the girl wailed at her little sister.

"Why are you crying sis? The snow are so beautiful! I'm cold too, but I'm not crying at all! It is so beautiful down here!" The little girl in a tattered shift giggled and tumbled in the snow, oblivious to the icy death that stalked at the shadows.

The sun was setting, and the shadows drew longer with each passing seconds, with each grain of sand falling in the hourglass. Time. Time heals all and kills all. She beckons for them, two innocent lights - one full of innocent joy, another full of fear.

A sharp piercing scream cut across the tranquility of the gentle snowing field. "Why? Why does it has to be us?" The elder girl cried, tears staining her wide fearful eyes, she wept and withdrew deeper into herself, isolating herself from all. Only anguish, cold, fear... A world so unfair, so dark ...

"Why are you so unhappy, sis? Sis? Look, they are so soft and fluffy, just like Cobby!" The little girl was concerned, and skipped towards her shivering sister.

"C'mon sis! It's really fun!! Dun be such a spoilsport!", Sara tugged at her sister's sleeve and tried to show Cara the tiny snowball she had made. "Look Cobby! I made a snowrabbit!"

Instead of the usual giggles, Sara was hurted when Cara shoved her away and screamed instead, "Get this away from me! Dun you get it? We ARE GOING TO DIE!! And you are here playing...".

As if all strength had flown from her body, Cara drop like a sack onto the snow covered ground and started weeping again.

"Why is sis acting so strangely?", Sara glanced at the slender figure who had played with her all these while.

The strange man smiled, Sara knew that even though she couldn't see his face.

The sad stranger smiled again and gently lifted Sara onto his shoulder and pointed towards the setting sun and began to sing.

A night so dark when souls depart
Alone and lost, it torn my heart
I lit my torch to shine the way
But alas, they wept when they saw my face.

I led the way, and tears were shed
Their eyes upon the world they left
It pained my soul to see their tears
But still, all must follow and face their fears

Sara knows the man was very sad, she could feel the melancholy that struggled to escape from his fragile form. But he just smiled and shed a single tear. "Come"

Come ... It was just a simple word, but Sara realised the meaning of his words. A thousand questions, a hundred fears plagued Sara, but the stranger just smiled and snapped his fingers and conjured a beautiful glowing globe. Sara knew what she must do. She smiled and called towards her sister, "Sis, it is time to go. We are going to find Mom and Dad soon! C'mon, dun be such a spoilsport!"

Cara stirred and moaned.

Still beaming brightly as the dancing globe ducked about the little girl, Sara hopped from the stranger's shoulder and scampered towards her sister. And with a little girl's stubborness, Sara half-dragged her reluctant sister along as she trailed behind the stranger with a silvery flute.

Sara never looked back, as she dragged her sister along.

The stranger paused and glanced at the reluctant girl. Smiling sadly, the man took a step and hugged the fearful girl. "Come."

The trio walked into the darkness and never looked back again.

Author's Note:
Melancholy - a stranger
Cara - a teenage girl, Sara's elder sister
Sara - a little girl, Cara's younger sister
Cobby - a rabbit the girls used to own 

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Scene 4 - Memories of Melancholy
by eterna2, 2002

Grains of sands, white, gray and black... each and every grain of sand has to fall through this narrow tunnel into the unknown... some are spent, worthless, useless... some picked up themselves and glow brightly, illuminating the strange new world they found themselves in...

The hooded stranger thoughtfully stroked the shimmering hourglass he held within his slender fingers. Sandman? The man laughed lightly at the thought and rose as he walks away, fading into the horizon, towards fiery ball of fire that will soon leave the world behind. Darkness beckons ...

A gently breeze picked up and twirled around the slender stranger as he glided along the weathered ground, following the setting sun. The bright light that had brought a strange emotion that had brighten his life for several fleeting moments. Strange ... The man of melancholy chased after the sun, hoping to grasp, to hold onto the fleeing emotions.

The grains of sands continued falling ... Some glimmered and faded away, while a few blazed and thrived ... the world continued as it had done for millieniums ...

A few stray strands of pale silvery hair fluttered in the breeze as the slender stranger flew after his desires... his hope... his sorrows... he keened when finally he fell, for all energy, all hopes had fled from his mortal shell... PLEAAASSSEEE

I asked the sun to stop for me,
But alas the sun had heard me not,
I ran behind, and cried and begged,
At last, I stopped, for I needed to rest.

The sun to go, to fade, to set,
Heedless to my cries, I feel so sad.
At last the sun to go, to part,
With me, the sun to leave a cut.

I sat alone throughout the night,
No moon, nor stars, a world not bright.
But still I waited, a hope forlorn,
The Sun will rise, but our love is gone.

He stopped and dropped onto the cold hard ground, a barren place where the soil had cracked under the harsh fury of the blazing sun. It brought life, it brought death. There is no good, nor evil, it just is. Nature ...

"Where are you my moon?"

"Where are you my stars?"

The sorrow-broken man railed at the empty night sky. A night devoid of lights, devoid of love. Only despairs, only melancholy... only memories best forgotten... the man finally collapsed and wept ...

The sky is night, so gray so dark
The moon alone, with stars around.
My heart is scarred, to fall apart
dashed to bits, against the ground.
The stars around, and yet apart
The moon alone, no love is found.
So near, so far, the stars they seemed.
And still the moon alone I wept.

Then, then, a tiny form jumped onto him and gave him a hug. "Oh dun be sad! See, sis aren't crying anymore. It so beautiful down here, so quiet, so peaceful!", little Sara planted a wet kiss on Melancholy's tear-stained face.

A slender girl reached for the glowing hourglass in the stranger's hand. "Cara?", he whispered. The girl smiled, and points at the shimmering object.

The hourglass was empty.

It's time ... The man rose and walked towards the horizon ... to the sun that had set? or maybe not ... Come. Come. Come. the breeze filled the barren land with the echoes of his voice. The two girls brightened and followed behind the strange man...

They never looked back.

Author's Note:
Melancholy - a stranger
Cara - a teenage girl, Sara's elder sister
Sara - a little girl, Cara's younger sister