The last chapter. Enjoy.


With Chapter Twenty-Five, It's Over

CHAPTER FOUR

Life soon began to blossom into a beautiful faerie again as time passed. The elephant's Heart Garden grew more than it ever had and he felt happy and free. He had never felt such love before and he truly believed that everything was perfect. There were times he would spend with the otter, sharing calming words and heartfelt laughter. There were other times he would spend with the peacock, basking in the glow of the bird's brilliant colors and fawning over its grace.

However, there was one damper on this splendid time. His name was Cheat and he was a secret. Nobody in the kingdom liked secrets. They were a race of tricky, sneaky beings that popped up at the most unexpected time. Usually, if a secret was following you, somebody else would spot it and all havoc would break loose. Around the time that the elephant had given the peacock his Word-Plants, Cheat crept out of his hole in the ground and began to stick constantly to the elephant's back. He became a leech, sucking all of the joy out of the elephant's life, turning Life back into the evil menace she had previously been.

The elephant feared that the worst was soon to happen. And it did.

It happened on a very clear, sunny day. Everyone in the kingdom was chipper and excited that it was springtime. Dark clouds loomed in the distance, but nobody paid them any mind. Everyone was focused on Love. The elephant, with his head all full of this Love, was walking blindly through the forest when he ran into the otter. Coming to his senses, he attempted to run away, to hide behind a tree so that the otter would not see Cheat.

It was no use though. The otter saw. The elephant didn't think it would be so bad at first, but then Cheat grew into his true form. He got larger and grew gigantic teeth dripping with acidic saliva. His spine cracked and poked through his greenish skin to reveal huge spikes. Muscles protruded from his arms, his nose turned up, and greasy hair sprouted from his head. He was truly ugly and the elephant was ashamed.

The otter reacted in the worst way possible: he turned around, ran to his water, and disappeared under the surface.

Distraught and afraid, the elephant ran away from Cheat and the water, running towards the peacock's usual place. When he reached the peacock, he soon wished that he hadn't, for what he saw caused Life to grow even more sour.

Hiding behind some trees, the elephant watched as the peacock revealed a zipper on his belly. Unzipping his peacock suit, he revealed himself, just as Cheat had: he was a creepy, vicious snake. The snake threw its head back and hissed out a laugh as it ripped at the pile of World-Plants in the corner. The elephant fought back tears before leaving so that he would not have to confront the snake.

Not much time passed, though it seemed like a lifetime for the elephant. He arrived at the last place that he saw his mother and, though he did not find his mother, found a shiny L-shaped piece of metal lying on the ground. It was odd to find a manmade thing in the kingdom, so the elephant curiously approached it. Once he realized what it was, the elephant picked it up with his trunk and…

He pulled the trigger.

With a great red puff of smoke, the elephant disappeared to Freedom. That was probably the happiest thing of all. He was finally in a place where everything would be alright… A place were somebody…
might finally...
care about...
me.


Don't hate me forever. This is how it had to end. I've had this from the very beginning. It's the entire reason I wrote this story. I'm not sure how many people will like it or be happy with it… but I'm happy with it. That's all that matters.

Oh, and don't be silly. Don't commit suicide. It's not the answer, okay? There are always people out there who are willing to talk to you (1-800-SUICIDE, 1-800-273-TALK, 1-800-799-4TTY).

There are better ways.

The end.