Sugarcane

It's dim, but you can still make out the [[pit|the pit]] in the center of the room and the chiseled [[gouges]] in the walls. Once, this chamber held something of great power, but long ago it was emptied. \n\n//He// used to come in here with his box of seeds, spending hours and even days alone in the darkness. You never joined him.

The inner chamber is [[forbidden|rebellion]].

You chew and chew, holding back the final moment as long as you can. The seeds crack between wobbly teeth. They crack, and they break, and they dissolve on your tongue until you swallow, and suddenly there is nothing left in your mouth except the sores.\n\nYou put the little [[box|his box]] down. The sun can't see you here, but its light reaches for you down the [[stairs]]. You scoot back, toward the [[inner chamber|forbidden]].

Stale breath escapes you. The tower is nothing but stone stacked on stone; there are no treasures here. You need to [[breathe|drowning]]--

Small contraptions of sticks and rags in shallow pits, drained before the sun came up and then baked in the morning heat. You lift the cover of one, hoping, but the dish at the bottom is dry.\n\nThe [[sea's call|the shore]] grows weaker, but the [[sun's rage|enraged sun]] grows stronger.

<html><center>end</center></html>\n\n<html><center><strong>the last day</strong></center></html>\n<html><center>by j. marie</center></html>\n\n<html><center><a href="../twine/lastday.html">start over</a></center></html>

You stumble toward the shade of a ruined wall, but trip on a loose stone and fall flat on your face, breathing [[dust|dusty cough]].

What does that matter now, though? Everyone is gone, even //him.//\n\nLeaning against the wall, you limp [[inside|inner chamber]].

You cough, and struggle to get up, but your bad leg won't move. You can only [[crawl|crawling]] towards the shade.

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the last day

The sides of the pit are steep; rough, but not rough enough to climb. The darkness seems ready to reach out and seize you by the ankle. \n\nYou could just [[jump|jumping]] in, and feel your way around whatever bones lie at the bottom as the world ends. It's... tempting.\n\nOr would you rather [[die in the sun|the cave again]]?

Something hard and sharp had ripped into the walls, tearing off carvings and leaving huge wounds in the [[stone|inner chamber]]. You wonder what kind of claw could have done this.

It never belonged to you, not really. It was always //his//, his greatest treasure, the thing he loved most of all the [[treasures|the past]] you found.

and dive [[deeper...|and deeper]]

You stand on the edge for a long moment. Did //he// ever do this? You wonder what he thought, alone with his seeds and his box and the pit.\n\nThen, you step off the edge.\n\nThere //are// bones at the bottom, just as you thought. Are they...\n\n[[~*~|end]]

and even [[deeper...|no entrance]]

The sea calls to you, beyond the sun's raging gaze. If you can [[endure|stairs]] it...

Let the sun see. [[What more can it do to you?|the garden]]

--you open your mouth, and poison flows in. You are of the sea, you are one with the sea, and the sea claims you at last.\n\nDid //he// know this would happen? Is that why...\n\n[[~*~|end]]

Waves lap at the end of the path. Sparkling blue, reflected sunlight stabbing your eyes, as far as you can see, all the world you've ever known. The broken top of a stone tower breaks through the waves a short distance away. Below the surface, you know, there are more.\n\nYou slip into the water. This is [[your world|swimming]].

You used to dive into [[the sea|an idea]] and bring back treasures from its depths. That was a long time ago, though. Before the storm came. Before //he// left.

You don't make it. The angry sun sears your bare skin and leeches what little strength remains to you.\n\nYou close your eyes and think of //him//. This was his place. Maybe you're a little closer to him here...\n\n[[~*~|end]]

j. marie

You limp up the stairs, out of the cave and into what was once //his// garden. The sun beats down on you, but you find the strength to defy it, for now. Your [[dewtraps]] sit near the cave's entrance.\n\n//He// would spend hours out here, coaxing seedlings out of the dust. It was important work, work you never had the patience for. You spent your days in [[the sea|the shore]].

You pull yourself out of the inner chamber, back to the room you've slept in every night of your life. The [[box|his box]] is still here, still empty.\n\nYou [[keep moving|the garden]].

//He// never understood this. Freedom, mystery, beauty, all live here beneath the waves. Even your leg hurts a little less.\n\nYou swim to the tallest tower, the one that breaks the waves. Today, you'll find a way in. Today, you'll find your favorite treasure.\n\nYou [[dive...|dive]]