"And may the Sovereign hold him in His hands, loved forever by our Lord. May this soul remember, while his time on this Earth has been brief, he has touched uncountable people. And those who loved him will never forget him."
"That's more true than most," Kallane thought, wiping away a tear.
She still remembered the first day she'd met him, laughing in his cheesy, cheap suit. He'd gotten fired from his job as an accountant. His boss had used Matthias as a scapegoat to hide his embezzlement. Not that this saved Matthias's boss in the end. He'd gotten found out, anyway.
It'd driven the poor Matthias over the edge, driving him to try to kill himself. Only her mother's gentle words had guided him off the edge. It turned out the firing hadn't been Matthias's only problem. His life had entered a serious decline, and losing his once-prestigious job had been the final straw.
On a whim, Kallane's mother had invited him to live with them. She'd said a change of scenery might offer him a different perspective. What an understatement that'd been. Despite the solemn situation, it brought a smile. It was funny how the Sovereign worked His ways.
As the priest continued his elegy, hundreds of happy moments flashed through Kallane's head. While a place to mourn, funerals were also celebrations. A person's life offered more than just tragedy.
"Back when he started living with us, Matthias became super self-conscious living among Ottomon. So he got this cockamamie idea that he really needed to fit in. He'd gotten the brilliant idea to use a marker to give himself markings like our people. Thankfully, my Mom caught him in the act before he did anything really stupid. My Mom asked him point-blank if this was really a good idea. He admitted it wasn't."
This earned a hearty laugh from the audience. While brilliant, Matthias sometimes got really bad ideas stuck in his head. Her mother shared another amusing story about the time she'd taught him Ottomon cooking, and he accidentally put yeast into a dish that explicitly didn't have it. His ears burned for hours after the tongue-lashing she gave him.
"I vaguely remember that." It always amazed Kallene what little moments stuck in people's heads.
Brave, handsome Rocke spoke next. He looked rather dashing in his black suit, lent to him by Halkken of all people. It'd belonged to the man's father, apparently.
"Matthias saved my life. He thought I saved his, but I'm the one who really needed saving. Before he came into my life, I coasted along, driftless, just doing whatever people told me." Rocke's eyes were red from crying, his voice cracking as he spoke. His grandmother, a short, boxy woman, shot him an encouraging nod before he continued.
"But Matthias taught me differently. He showed me I could be something other than what my parents wanted. That I could forge my own path. I just wish he'd been with us longer, but I will cherish every second we spent together for the rest of my life."
When Rocke returned to the pews, Kallane grabbed his hand and squeezed it. He gave her a nod full of thanks. His grandmother just smiled, pleased with the young man Rocke had become. Their reunion had been quite the spectacle, with plenty of crying and hugs and words long denied. They'd been forced apart too long.
"Brave man, Matthias," Nitao said before sitting down again. A fitting statement from the usually stoic Konquellian.
"He was brave, Matt," a balding middle-aged man with watery eyes said. He held his bowler hat in his hands, wringing it as he spoke. "I'm ashamed to say it, but I always considered him this annoying tag-along kid. But then he ran off and did all these amazing things behind my back. I wish I could have been alongside him while he was doing them. When I see this crowd, I can see he was very loved. I wish things could have been better between us, but I'm proud to be your brother, Matt."
Her mother gave the man a pat on the hand as he sat down, and Matthias' brother, Jamie gave her a grateful nod. He placed his misshapen hat on his bald scalp and dabbed at his eyes with a handkerchief.
Much to her surprise, ex-Police Chief Halkken spoke next. Beside him stood the dutiful Shiisaa, his assistant.
"I unfortunately never got a chance to meet Matthias Daliven," Halkken said.
"Then why are you speaking?" Kallane thought, exasperated. Must that man always talk without thinking? And at a funeral?
"But I would like to offer him an apology on behalf of the Vladus Police Force. We wronged you. We pursued you instead of listening to you. And… we paid the consequences." Halkken gave a deep bow. "For that, you have my deepest apology." His assistant, Shiisaa, joined in the bow.
"Huh?" Kallane stared, surprised.
Of course, much had happened since Vladus's demise. The new acting Prime Minister, Vence, had quickly reversed many of his predecessor's policies. He completely denounced the de-citizenship of the Ottomon people, completely reinstating them. He'd also made other promises to make recompense for that treatment.
Kallane wasn't optimistic that the acting Prime Minister would fulfill those promises. The promises of any politician were basically smoke. Besides, some people weren't happy with this reversal, claiming it was empty political pandering to an irrelevant minority. She'd heard some ugly rumors about a new party called the Wolves of Freedom that embraced this Anti-Ottomon mindset to its fullest. They blamed Vladus' destruction fully on her people, as if they could summon fire or whatever. She feared it could turn ugly. Too many people were listening to them. It could literally tear this country apart.
Others weren't convinced at all that Vladus wasn't supernatural at all, claiming a previously unknown fissure caused it. While some scientists scoffed at this explanation, others had embraced it. They refused to believe Matthias' prophetic words, claiming it was only a coincidence. They'd find the scientific reasoning soon enough, they claimed. Fools, all of them. Some people refused to believe even the evidence of their own eyes.
Still, she had to give the new Prime Minister some credit. He'd at least sent work crews to Hagion to make the budding town more hospitable, despite getting some political heat for it. They'd already constructed a town hall, with elections coming soon. Kallane beamed with pride that her mother was one of the candidates for mayor. It suited her.
"Into your hands, mighty Sovereign, we commend your servant." The priest said. "Acknowledge, we humbly pray, a sheep of your own fold, a lamb of your own flock. May your justice and glory reign forever. Amen."
After the funeral ended, the mourners gathered in an outdoor plaza for cold ham sandwiches on hamburger buns, lemonade, and coffee. It was quite a gathering. Almost the entire Ottomon population had come to celebrate Matthias's life. He'd touched many.
She smiled as Rocke chatted with Jamison, another Uppie saved by Matthias's words. The other survivors of the city also hung around him. It made Kallane so proud of him. Rocke was working with some private contractors to help build proper buildings for the Ottomon people. While he hadn't graduated college, he's gained enough business know-how for the job. The inheritance from his late father didn't hurt either.
"Poor Rocke, though." How his father died was just gruesome. His ship had crashed outside Vladus in a fiery heap. When the Vanderfall forces discovered it, they found wild dogs feasting on his father's intestines. Gruesome. And poor Rocke's brother had died too in the crash, though it'd taken dental records to identify his charred body.
His family's situation was all messed up. Rocke's sister had been hospitalized after some sudden complications following a miscarriage. He and his grandmother were leaving to see her after the funeral. Rocke hadn't seen his sister in years. They deserved to grieve together.
Huh? Kallane frowned as something caught her eye.
"Is something wrong?" Rocke asked when he noticed her expression.
"It's nothing." Kallane just sighed. For whatever reason, Rocke's ex didn't want to be seen.
"Is it really so hard to stay connected to your friends, Jafia?" Kallane thought. And what ever happened to her partner? He disappeared soon after they arrived in Hagion.
Unsurprisingly, Vanderfall called off its invasion. Officially, they expressed grave solidarity with the UOP after the tragedy that claimed over 9 million lives. With the city just now cooling down, the exact death toll was still unknown. Despite their past grievances, Vanderfall offered humanitarian support. Any war seemed pointless after this tragedy. Besides, the current UOP wasn't a threat to anyone.
"What a sad existence." Kallane shook her head. Jafia appeared convinced happiness was forever lost to her. Maybe one day she'd learn differently. Kallane knew Rocke still cared about her. But for whatever reason, Jafia couldn't allow herself to do the same.
"Sorry?" Rocke asked.
"Nothing," Kallane grabbed her new boyfriend's arm. If Jafia wanted to be stupid, it was her choice. It was a sad truth, but people often trapped themselves in prisons of their own design. "Should we get going? Our flight takes off in an hour, right?"
Kallane, however, wouldn't make that mistake. While the UOP had hurt her people dearly, she refused to live in anger and hatred. Rocke proved to her that not all Uppies were empty-headed buffoons. Until she met him, she hadn't really believed the Sovereign's teachings that redemption was for all people, not just Ottomon. It was thanks to the Sovereign's love that she found true love. And that love made her free.
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Proverbs 28:13
Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy.
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And that's it. Thank you for reading Krisis and joining me on this journey as I wrote this story. This isn't the end, though. I plan to write a prequel story set in the same universe sometime soon. While Krisis was about judgment, the next one will be about revival. So stay tuned. I will start writing it pretty soon. And if you have any questions, please post them in the comment section. I will be happy to answer them.
Until next time,
Jonathanvik