114 years old. One hundred and fourteen. That was, in human years, pretty amazing. But she kept forgetting---she wasn?t human, anymore.
She?d been in Denmark for about two days, but damn. She hadn?t been there in at least forty years. She?d forgotten in that span of time how disorienting her first trip back there had been. Time changes things, and so do people and progress, so by the time she?d gone back for her first visit, her old house was gone, the bitch-witch?s torched earth had been turned into an unsuccessful factory (still ruining lives, that wench), and her mother?s grave had taken her hours and hours to find as she paced back and forth between the rows of tombstones to find the crumbling piece of stone. She didn?t even bother looking for the first two, this go-around. Once she got to the cemetery, she took a picture of her mother?s grave marker, in order to have a visual aid to accompany her memory, but nothing else about that place seemed worthwhile to her past, anymore. Onwards she went.
In New York, her quest for a slice of that long-gone human life was far more fruitful. She could still find the old apartment she?d shared with her pops, though the building had been renovated beyond belief and it was now the office of some orthodontist. At least it was still standing, though, right? She also found his resting place in only a half-hour. The stone wasn?t as cracked as her mother?s had been, but it was weather-beaten. That was alright, though. She remembered this headstone far better, considering she?d picked it out. She spent three days in the area, taking photos of places that had changed, sometimes drastically, but not to the point where she couldn?t recognize them. It was like an exercise in soul-searching.
She wanted to stay longer. She wanted to go to Cali, where she?d met Tone-E. She wanted to stomp along the states, finding everyplace she?d ever found shelter. She wanted to hit up London, where she?d been into the underground. She wanted to squeeze every bit of that 114 year span into a few pictures she could keep in a super special album, but for a girl who had so much time, she knew her vacation was over. She had to go back to the place she was needed and the place that missed her, now.
On that difficult rift-hopping trip back to Rhy?din, her mental debate came full circle. She looked to the camera in her palms, and suddenly, she felt kind of silly. Would she keep missing the places she once knew? Yeah, she would. Would she keep missing the people she once had? Definitely. But time, man. She figured she had a lot more of it, and it wasn?t going to wait for her to get caught up and it sure as hell wasn?t going to let her become stagnant or go in reverse. What good was it to keep back-tracking? Even if you have eternity to do it, when you finally reach the place it all started, it?s seen so many other people and things that you?ll just come up empty-handed. It was time to stop pining for a once upon a time to rest her head on. It was time to grow up and just, well, embrace the future. And what better way to do it than by throwing her arms around her favorite peeps, enjoying them and the lifestyle she could keep with them, and simply grinning with them into the face of whatever shit-storm was heading their way?
She?d been in Denmark for about two days, but damn. She hadn?t been there in at least forty years. She?d forgotten in that span of time how disorienting her first trip back there had been. Time changes things, and so do people and progress, so by the time she?d gone back for her first visit, her old house was gone, the bitch-witch?s torched earth had been turned into an unsuccessful factory (still ruining lives, that wench), and her mother?s grave had taken her hours and hours to find as she paced back and forth between the rows of tombstones to find the crumbling piece of stone. She didn?t even bother looking for the first two, this go-around. Once she got to the cemetery, she took a picture of her mother?s grave marker, in order to have a visual aid to accompany her memory, but nothing else about that place seemed worthwhile to her past, anymore. Onwards she went.
In New York, her quest for a slice of that long-gone human life was far more fruitful. She could still find the old apartment she?d shared with her pops, though the building had been renovated beyond belief and it was now the office of some orthodontist. At least it was still standing, though, right? She also found his resting place in only a half-hour. The stone wasn?t as cracked as her mother?s had been, but it was weather-beaten. That was alright, though. She remembered this headstone far better, considering she?d picked it out. She spent three days in the area, taking photos of places that had changed, sometimes drastically, but not to the point where she couldn?t recognize them. It was like an exercise in soul-searching.
She wanted to stay longer. She wanted to go to Cali, where she?d met Tone-E. She wanted to stomp along the states, finding everyplace she?d ever found shelter. She wanted to hit up London, where she?d been into the underground. She wanted to squeeze every bit of that 114 year span into a few pictures she could keep in a super special album, but for a girl who had so much time, she knew her vacation was over. She had to go back to the place she was needed and the place that missed her, now.
On that difficult rift-hopping trip back to Rhy?din, her mental debate came full circle. She looked to the camera in her palms, and suddenly, she felt kind of silly. Would she keep missing the places she once knew? Yeah, she would. Would she keep missing the people she once had? Definitely. But time, man. She figured she had a lot more of it, and it wasn?t going to wait for her to get caught up and it sure as hell wasn?t going to let her become stagnant or go in reverse. What good was it to keep back-tracking? Even if you have eternity to do it, when you finally reach the place it all started, it?s seen so many other people and things that you?ll just come up empty-handed. It was time to stop pining for a once upon a time to rest her head on. It was time to grow up and just, well, embrace the future. And what better way to do it than by throwing her arms around her favorite peeps, enjoying them and the lifestyle she could keep with them, and simply grinning with them into the face of whatever shit-storm was heading their way?