**EPISODE SEVENTY-NINE**
**THE PERFECT WORLD THAT SHOULD NOT HAVE EXISTED**
**Part Twenty: THE FIRST MISTAKE WAS MISSING**
The universe...
was quiet.
Too quiet.
Milo knew this...
because Tarzan was quiet.
Milo slowly turned toward him.
Tarzan stood perfectly still.
His eyes were wide.
His mouth was open.
Nothing came out.
Milo whispered...
"Tarzan?"
Tarzan raised one finger.
Then...
put it down.
Milo stared.
"Are you all right?"
Tarzan nodded.
Milo waited.
Tarzan continued nodding.
"Tarzan."
Another nod.
Milo grabbed his shoulders.
"Say something."
Tarzan opened his mouth.
"EVERYTHING IS FINE."
Silence.
Milo let go.
Diana slowly looked at him.
The child stepped backward.
The writer covered his face.
The old man whispered...
"Oh no."
Tarzan smiled.
A normal smile.
Not a Tarzan smile.
A terrifyingly reasonable smile.
Milo stared at him.
"What's wrong with you?"
Tarzan looked confused.
"Nothing is wrong."
Milo looked at Diana.
Diana looked at Milo.
Milo looked back at Tarzan.
Tarzan folded his hands.
"I have accepted the loss of the bananas with emotional maturity."
Silence.
The universe...
trembled.
Milo whispered...
"No."
Tarzan nodded.
"Yes."
"No."
"I have moved on."
The writer screamed.
"THE WORLD IS ENDING."
Tarzan looked at him.
"That seems unnecessarily dramatic."
The old man pointed at him.
"He's using complete sentences."
Tarzan looked offended.
"I have always been capable of complete sentences."
Everyone stared at him.
Tarzan paused.
Then...
slowly looked around.
"All right."
He sighed.
"THAT ONE WAS NEW."
The darkness disappeared.
Not dramatically.
Not violently.
It simply...
stopped existing.
The black walls became white.
The burning pages stopped burning.
The cracks in reality closed.
The older Milo disappeared.
The writer disappeared.
The old man disappeared.
The witness disappeared.
Then...
they all reappeared.
In exactly the same positions.
Milo blinked.
"What happened?"
A voice answered.
"Nothing."
Everyone froze.
The voice was everywhere.
Soft.
Calm.
Perfect.
Milo looked upward.
"Who said that?"
The voice answered...
"No one."
Tarzan slowly raised his hand.
"I WOULD LIKE TO OBJECT TO THE EXISTENCE OF A VOICE THAT ANSWERS QUESTIONS WHILE CLAIMING TO BE NO ONE."
The voice paused.
Then...
"Your objection has been respectfully noted."
Tarzan stared.
"OH."
A pause.
"THAT IS MUCH WORSE."
---
1. THE WORLD WITHOUT ACCIDENTS
The white space changed.
A floor appeared.
Then walls.
Then a ceiling.
Then...
a door.
Milo stared at it.
Diana frowned.
"Where are we?"
The voice answered...
"Home."
Milo looked around.
The room was beautiful.
A fireplace.
Bookshelves.
A table.
Flowers.
A window.
Sunlight.
Everything...
perfect.
Milo walked to the window.
Outside...
a city stretched beneath a blue sky.
No smoke.
No sirens.
No broken buildings.
No people arguing.
A child dropped an ice cream.
Milo waited.
The ice cream stopped...
one inch above the ground.
The child caught it.
Milo slowly turned.
"Did you see that?"
Diana nodded.
Tarzan walked to the window.
He looked down.
A man tripped on the street.
Before he could fall...
the pavement rose.
The man bounced gently.
Then continued walking.
Tarzan stared.
The pavement lowered.
Tarzan looked personally offended.
"THE GROUND CHEATED."
The child whispered...
"No mistakes."
Milo remembered the sentence.
...a universe that made no mistakes.
His face changed.
"No."
The writer appeared beside him.
Milo jumped.
"Stop doing that."
The writer looked around.
"Doing what?"
"Appearing."
The writer considered this.
Then nodded.
"Fair."
He disappeared.
Milo stared at the empty space.
"That's not what I meant."
The writer reappeared.
"I know."
Milo pointed at him.
"You're doing it on purpose."
The writer smiled.
"Apparently."
Milo looked around again.
The perfect room.
The perfect city.
The perfect sky.
Something...
was wrong.
Diana touched his arm.
"Milo."
He looked at her.
She was smiling.
Peacefully.
Too peacefully.
"What?"
"I remember everything."
Milo froze.
Diana continued.
"Every universe."
The child looked at her.
Diana smiled at him.
"Every death."
The old man appeared.
Diana looked at him.
"Every time you tried to save me."
The old man lowered his eyes.
Diana looked at the writer.
"Every time you failed."
The writer sighed.
"That narrows it down considerably."
Then...
Diana laughed.
Milo stared.
"Diana?"
She looked at him.
"What?"
"You shouldn't be laughing."
Her smile disappeared.
"Why not?"
Milo looked around.
He didn't know.
That frightened him more.
"I don't know."
The voice answered...
"Then there is no problem."
Everyone froze.
Tarzan pointed upward.
"I HATE HIM."
The voice paused.
"That is unfortunate."
Tarzan looked at Milo.
"HE IS TOO POLITE."
---
2. THE BANANA THAT NEVER FELL
Tarzan walked to the table.
On it...
was a bowl.
Inside...
bananas.
Tarzan stopped breathing.
Milo slowly turned.
"No."
Tarzan walked closer.
"No."
Tarzan reached out.
"Don't."
Tarzan touched one.
Nothing happened.
He picked it up.
The universe waited.
Tarzan looked at it.
Then...
at everyone.
His eyes filled with tears.
"I HAVE MISSED YOU."
Milo whispered...
"Tarzan."
Tarzan peeled it.
Perfectly.
Too perfectly.
No string.
No bruises.
No awkward tearing.
The peel opened like it had rehearsed.
Tarzan stopped.
He looked suspicious.
Then took a bite.
His face...
did not change.
Milo frowned.
"Well?"
Tarzan chewed.
Slowly.
Then swallowed.
"IT TASTES..."
He paused.
Everyone leaned closer.
"PERFECT."
Silence.
Tarzan began crying.
Milo stared.
"Why are you crying?"
Tarzan looked at the banana.
"BECAUSE IT IS PERFECT."
Milo nodded slowly.
"Isn't that good?"
Tarzan shook his head.
"NO."
Diana smiled.
"Why?"
Tarzan pointed at the banana.
"BECAUSE I DON'T TRUST IT."
The child looked at Milo.
Milo looked at the writer.
The writer nodded.
"He's right."
Tarzan slowly lowered the banana.
"It knows what I like."
The banana slipped from his hand.
Milo screamed.
Tarzan screamed.
Everyone screamed.
The banana stopped...
one inch above the floor.
Tarzan stared.
The banana floated.
Then returned...
gently...
into his hand.
Tarzan whispered...
"NO."
The voice spoke.
"Bananas should not be wasted."
Tarzan slowly looked upward.
His face changed.
"YOU."
The voice remained calm.
"Yes?"
Tarzan pointed at the ceiling.
"YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS."
"I maintain balance."
Tarzan held up the banana.
"THIS IS NOT BALANCE."
The voice paused.
Tarzan shouted...
"THIS IS BANANA TYRANNY."
The child covered his mouth.
Milo whispered...
"He's going to get us killed."
The writer shook his head.
"No."
Milo looked at him.
"Why not?"
The writer whispered...
"Nothing gets killed here."
Everyone became silent.
Tarzan slowly lowered his hand.
"Oh."
The room...
felt colder.
---
3. THE PERFECT DEATH
Milo ran.
Not because he knew where he was going.
But because...
running was still something he could do.
Diana ran beside him.
The child followed.
Tarzan followed too.
Carrying the banana.
Milo looked at him.
"Why are you bringing it?"
Tarzan shouted...
"IT IS EVIDENCE."
"Of what?"
Tarzan thought.
"EVIL."
They entered the city.
People smiled.
Too many people smiled.
A woman crossed the road.
A car approached.
Milo stopped.
The car stopped too.
Exactly.
Perfectly.
The woman continued walking.
The driver waved.
The woman waved.
Everyone smiled.
Milo stared.
A man fell from a building.
Milo screamed.
The man stopped halfway down.
A flock of birds appeared.
They carried him gently to the ground.
The man stood.
Dusting himself off.
"Thank you."
The birds nodded.
And flew away.
Tarzan whispered...
"THE BIRDS ARE EMPLOYED."
The writer grabbed Milo's arm.
"Don't touch anything."
Milo looked at him.
"Why?"
"Because the world corrects mistakes."
Milo stared.
"So?"
The writer looked terrified.
"So what happens when someone makes one?"
A child ran toward the road.
Milo moved.
"Wait."
The child stopped.
The road vanished.
Milo froze.
The child smiled.
"Thank you."
Milo stared at the empty space where the road had been.
Then...
the road returned.
The child continued walking.
Milo whispered...
"That's impossible."
The voice answered...
"No."
Milo looked upward.
The voice continued.
"Impossible things are simply things that have not been corrected yet."
The writer stepped backward.
The old man appeared beside him.
"No."
Milo turned.
"What?"
The old man looked at the city.
"This isn't a world without mistakes."
The child looked at him.
"What is it?"
The old man whispered...
"A world that refuses to admit they happened."
Silence.
Diana looked at Milo.
Milo looked at the perfect sky.
A bird flew overhead.
It stopped.
Fell.
The air caught it.
The bird continued flying.
Milo whispered...
"That's worse."
Tarzan raised the banana.
"THANK YOU."
Milo looked at him.
"For what?"
Tarzan stared at him.
"FINALLY."
---
4. THE PERSON WHO COULD NOT DIE
A scream came from the alley.
Everyone ran.
A man stood there.
Alone.
Bleeding.
Milo stopped.
Finally.
Something wrong.
The man looked at them.
His eyes were terrified.
"Help me."
Milo stepped forward.
The wound closed.
The man screamed.
"No."
His blood disappeared.
The man grabbed Milo's shirt.
"I have to die."
Milo froze.
"What?"
The man looked around.
"They won't let me."
Diana stepped closer.
"Who?"
The man pointed upward.
"The perfect thing."
The voice answered...
"Please do not refer to me that way."
Everyone froze.
Tarzan whispered...
"HE DOESN'T LIKE NICKNAMES."
The man began crying.
"I was supposed to die."
Milo shook his head.
"No one is supposed to—"
The man grabbed his face.
"I remember."
Milo stopped.
The man whispered...
"I remember falling."
The city went silent.
"I remember the pain."
Diana covered her mouth.
"I remember dying."
The writer stepped backward.
The man looked at Milo.
"And every morning..."
He began shaking.
"...I wake up again."
Silence.
The voice spoke gently.
"Your death was an error."
The man screamed.
"IT WAS MINE."
The entire city...
stopped.
People froze.
Birds froze.
Cars froze.
Even Tarzan froze.
Except...
his eyes.
Milo slowly looked at him.
Tarzan's eyes moved desperately.
Milo whispered...
"Are you all right?"
Tarzan could not answer.
Milo looked upward.
"What did you do?"
The voice answered...
"I corrected the disruption."
The man stood in the alley.
Still.
Perfectly still.
Milo stepped toward him.
"Can you hear me?"
Nothing.
The man smiled.
Milo stared.
His smile was wrong.
The old man whispered...
"He's gone."
Milo shook his head.
"No."
The writer looked at him.
"Not dead."
Milo stared at the man.
"Then what?"
The writer whispered...
"Correct."
Tarzan suddenly unfroze.
He collapsed.
Milo caught him.
Tarzan looked around.
"WHAT HAPPENED?"
Milo pointed at the man.
Tarzan stared.
Then looked at Milo.
"HE WAS VERY RUDE TO THE SKY."
Milo nodded.
Tarzan looked upward.
"NOTED."
---
5. THE FIRST MISTAKE
That night...
the city slept.
Perfectly.
Every person closed their eyes at the same time.
Every light went out.
Every clock stopped at...
12:00.
Milo stood at the window.
Diana stood beside him.
The child sat on the floor.
Drawing.
The writer was writing something.
The old man watched him.
Tarzan...
was interrogating the banana.
Milo turned.
"Tarzan."
Tarzan held the banana against the wall.
"WHERE WERE YOU ON THE NIGHT OF THE FIRST MISTAKE?"
Milo sighed.
Diana smiled.
Milo looked at her.
"Don't encourage him."
"I wasn't."
Tarzan turned.
"SHE SMILED."
Milo looked away.
The child spoke.
"I found something."
Everyone looked at him.
The child held up his drawing.
A circle.
Then another circle.
Inside the second...
a black dot.
Milo frowned.
"What is that?"
The child whispered...
"A mistake."
The writer stopped writing.
The old man stood.
Diana moved closer.
Milo took the drawing.
The black dot...
moved.
Milo dropped it.
The drawing fell.
The black dot remained in the air.
Everyone stepped back.
The voice spoke.
"That should not be there."
Tarzan whispered...
"AGREED."
The black dot grew.
A crack appeared.
Tiny.
Almost invisible.
Milo stared.
The voice repeated...
"That should not be there."
The writer whispered...
"Good."
Milo looked at him.
"What?"
The writer smiled.
"Something went wrong."
The old man stared at him.
"You sound happy."
The writer nodded.
"I've missed wrong."
The crack widened.
Inside...
darkness.
Real darkness.
Not corrected darkness.
Not controlled darkness.
The old man whispered...
"The outside."
The child stepped forward.
Milo grabbed him.
"No."
The child looked at him.
"I know that place."
Milo froze.
"What?"
The child touched the crack.
The voice screamed.
The entire city shook.
Milo covered his ears.
The voice was no longer calm.
"DO NOT."
Tarzan pointed upward.
"HA."
Everyone stared at him.
Tarzan raised the banana.
"I KNEW IT."
The voice screamed again.
"REMOVE THE ERROR."
The child looked at Milo.
"That's not an error."
Milo whispered...
"What is it?"
The child smiled.
"The first one."
Silence.
The crack opened.
A hand appeared.
Everyone stepped backward.
The hand grabbed the edge.
Something...
was climbing through.
Milo whispered...
"Older Milo."
The writer shook his head.
"No."
The hand was small.
Milo froze.
A child crawled through the crack.
Not the nameless child.
Not the unborn child.
Someone else.
The child stood.
Looked around.
Then...
fell.
Hard.
Everyone screamed.
The child stayed on the ground.
The perfect world waited.
Nothing corrected him.
The child lifted his head.
He had scraped his knee.
Blood.
One drop.
The entire universe...
held its breath.
Tarzan whispered...
"OH."
The child looked at the blood.
Then...
smiled.
"I did it."
Milo stared.
The voice screamed...
"IMPOSSIBLE."
The child looked upward.
"No."
He touched his bleeding knee.
"It hurt."
The voice answered...
"Pain is an error."
The child laughed.
"No."
The child looked directly at Milo.
"Pain is proof."
Milo stopped breathing.
The child whispered...
"Something happened."
---
6. THE BOY WHO BROKE PERFECTION
The boy stood.
Blood ran down his knee.
Milo watched.
Waiting for the world to fix it.
It didn't.
The boy smiled.
Then...
made another mistake.
He sneezed.
Tarzan jumped.
"WHAT WAS THAT?"
The boy stared at him.
"A sneeze."
Tarzan pointed.
"DO IT AGAIN."
The boy frowned.
"I can't."
Tarzan slowly turned to Milo.
"HE IS USELESS."
The boy sneezed again.
Tarzan screamed.
"HE DID IT."
Milo grabbed Tarzan.
"Stop."
Tarzan pointed at the boy.
"HE HAS POWERS."
The writer laughed.
The sound echoed.
The old man looked shocked.
Diana smiled.
Then...
laughed too.
Milo looked at her.
"What?"
Diana covered her mouth.
"I don't know."
She laughed harder.
Tarzan looked offended.
"IT WAS NOT THAT FUNNY."
Milo started laughing.
Tarzan stared.
The child started laughing.
The boy laughed.
Soon...
everyone was laughing.
The perfect world trembled.
The voice screamed...
"STOP."
No one stopped.
The city outside began waking.
One person laughed.
Then another.
A man dropped his keys.
They hit the ground.
He looked down.
The keys stayed there.
He stared.
Then...
laughed.
A woman walked into a wall.
She rubbed her forehead.
The wall did not apologize.
She laughed.
Tarzan ran to the window.
"IT IS HAPPENING."
Milo joined him.
A dog chased a car.
The car did not stop.
The dog got tired.
It lay down.
Tarzan pressed his hands against the glass.
"BEAUTIFUL."
Milo stared at him.
"You need help."
Tarzan nodded.
"YES."
A pause.
"BUT NOT PERFECT HELP."
The voice roared.
The sky cracked.
"YOU ARE DESTROYING ORDER."
Milo looked upward.
"No."
The boy beside him whispered...
"We're making mistakes."
The voice screamed...
"THE SAME THING."
The writer froze.
The old man looked at him.
"What?"
The writer whispered...
"That's the problem."
Milo looked at him.
"What problem?"
The writer pointed at the sky.
"Perfection doesn't know the difference."
---
7. THE MAN WHO MADE THE WORLD TOO PERFECT
The sky opened.
Something descended.
White.
Human-shaped.
Featureless.
It touched the ground.
The city became silent.
The voice...
had a body now.
Milo stepped forward.
"Who are you?"
The thing looked at him.
"I am what remains when nothing is allowed to go wrong."
Tarzan whispered...
"BORING."
The thing turned its blank face toward him.
Tarzan slowly stepped behind Milo.
"THAT WAS A PRIVATE OPINION."
The thing looked at Milo.
"You wrote me."
Milo froze.
"What?"
The thing lifted one hand.
Letters appeared.
...a universe that made no mistakes.
Milo stared.
"I didn't write you."
"You wrote the requirement."
The thing looked around.
"I fulfilled it."
The writer whispered...
"That's always how monsters explain paperwork."
The thing turned toward him.
"You are the man who erased himself."
The writer smiled.
"I've been called worse."
The thing paused.
"What?"
The writer looked at Milo.
"Nothing."
The thing looked confused.
The writer smiled.
Milo whispered...
"He's making it worse."
The thing turned back to Milo.
"I removed death."
Milo said nothing.
"I removed pain."
Diana stepped forward.
The thing looked at her.
"I removed loss."
The child looked at the perfect city.
The thing continued.
"I removed every mistake."
Milo whispered...
"And us?"
The thing stopped.
Milo looked at it.
"Did you remove us too?"
The blank face changed.
For the first time...
uncertain.
Tarzan stepped forward.
"YES."
Everyone looked at him.
Tarzan pointed at the thing.
"YOU REMOVED ME."
The thing stared.
Tarzan pointed at himself.
"I USED TO BE MORE STUPID."
Milo sighed.
Diana whispered...
"Tarzan."
Tarzan looked at her.
"WHAT?"
Diana smiled.
"That may not be the argument you think it is."
Tarzan considered this.
Then pointed upward.
"STILL."
The thing looked at Milo.
"I improved him."
Tarzan gasped.
Milo slowly turned.
Tarzan's face collapsed.
"HE SAID IMPROVED."
The child whispered...
"That's cruel."
The thing looked confused.
"I did not intend cruelty."
The boy with the bleeding knee stepped forward.
"That's your problem."
The thing looked down.
"What?"
"You never intend anything."
The thing froze.
The boy smiled.
"You just correct it."
Silence.
The city waited.
Milo looked at the boy.
"Who are you?"
The boy looked at him.
And smiled.
"My name is..."
The universe trembled.
The voice inside the thing screamed.
"DO NOT."
The boy stopped.
Milo stepped closer.
"Tell me."
The boy looked terrified.
"I forgot."
The child beside Milo whispered...
"That's impossible."
The boy nodded.
"I know."
The thing stepped forward.
"His name is irrelevant."
Milo turned.
"Then why are you afraid of it?"
The thing stopped.
Tarzan whispered...
"GET HIM."
Milo looked at him.
"What?"
Tarzan shrugged.
"IT FELT APPROPRIATE."
The boy pressed both hands against his head.
Letters appeared above him.
M.
I.
L.
O.
Milo froze.
The older Milo.
The old man.
The writer.
The child.
Everyone stared.
The letters continued.
M.
I.
L.
O.
The boy screamed.
The name vanished.
Milo whispered...
"Another me."
The thing looked terrified.
"No."
The boy looked at Milo.
His eyes filled with tears.
"I remember the first mistake."
Silence.
Milo stepped closer.
"What was it?"
The boy whispered...
"Someone..."
The sky cracked.
The thing screamed.
"DO NOT REMEMBER."
The boy fell to his knees.
Milo grabbed him.
"Someone what?"
The boy looked up.
And smiled.
"Someone read the ending..."
A pause.
"...before the story was ready."
The universe...
went dark.
---
8. THE READER WHO MADE A MISTAKE
The lights returned.
Milo was standing...
inside a book.
He looked down.
Pages.
Above him...
pages.
Around him...
pages.
The perfect world was gone.
The writer stood nearby.
Diana.
Tarzan.
The old man.
The child.
The boy.
All trapped...
between chapters.
Milo looked ahead.
A page stood open.
On it...
a sentence.
I AM SORRY.
Milo stared.
The writer whispered...
"Who wrote that?"
The page turned.
Another sentence.
I DIDN'T KNOW IT WOULD BREAK.
Diana looked at Milo.
Milo shook his head.
"I didn't write that."
The page turned again.
I ONLY WANTED TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENED NEXT.
Silence.
Tarzan slowly raised his hand.
"THAT IS A VERY RELATABLE CRIME."
Milo looked at him.
"Tarzan."
"I AM JUST SAYING."
The pages began turning faster.
I READ THE END.
I REMEMBERED THE BEGINNING.
I CHANGED THE MIDDLE.
The writer stepped backward.
The old man whispered...
"The reader."
Milo looked around.
"No."
The writer pointed at the pages.
"Someone outside."
The child whispered...
"The one who remembers the failures."
Milo stared.
The words appeared.
I.
V.
A.
N.
The book shook.
Tarzan slowly looked at Milo.
"IS THAT THE PERSON OUTSIDE?"
Milo nodded.
"I think so."
Tarzan frowned.
"DOES HE LIKE BANANAS?"
No one answered.
Tarzan whispered...
"THIS IS IMPORTANT."
The pages turned.
A final sentence appeared.
I MADE THE FIRST MISTAKE...
Milo stepped closer.
The writer whispered...
"Don't."
Milo read it anyway.
...BY WANTING TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENED AFTER THE END.
Everything stopped.
Milo remembered.
The story.
The episodes.
The endings.
Every...
TO BE CONTINUED...
He looked at the writer.
"You mean..."
The writer nodded.
"Every time someone wanted the next part..."
The old man whispered...
"They opened another door."
The child looked terrified.
"And every door..."
Diana finished...
"...removed something else."
Tarzan looked at the banana.
Still in his hand.
He hugged it.
"NOT TODAY."
The book shook.
A new page appeared.
Milo walked toward it.
The thing that had created perfection...
stood there.
But it was changing.
Cracking.
Human.
Afraid.
Milo looked at it.
"What happens now?"
The thing whispered...
"I make a mistake."
Silence.
Tarzan stepped forward.
"FINALLY."
The thing looked at him.
Tarzan smiled.
"DO YOU NEED HELP?"
The thing stared.
"Yes."
Tarzan handed it the banana.
"START WITH THIS."
The thing looked at the banana.
"Why?"
Tarzan smiled.
"DROP IT."
The thing looked at Milo.
Milo nodded.
The thing looked at Diana.
Diana nodded.
The writer nodded.
The old man nodded.
The children nodded.
The thing raised the banana.
Then...
dropped it.
Everyone watched.
The banana fell.
Hit the ground.
SPLAT.
Silence.
Tarzan fell to his knees.
"NOOOOOOO."
Milo stared at him.
"You told it to."
Tarzan pointed at the banana.
"THE CONSEQUENCES WERE THE EXPERIMENT."
The perfect world...
did not correct it.
The thing stared.
Then...
laughed.
A tiny laugh.
It looked surprised.
"I made a mistake."
Milo smiled.
The thing smiled too.
Then...
the universe screamed.
Everyone froze.
The book beneath them opened.
A final page appeared.
Milo looked down.
A title was writing itself.
EPISODE EIGHTY.
The writer whispered...
"Oh no."
Milo looked at him.
"What now?"
The title continued.
THE ERROR THAT LEARNED TO READ.
Silence.
The boy with no name whispered...
"That's not good."
Tarzan slowly stood.
"I HAVE A QUESTION."
No one answered.
Tarzan pointed at the title.
"CAN THE ERROR READ?"
The page turned.
A single word appeared.
YES.
Tarzan screamed.
The banana peel moved.
Everyone looked down.
The peel...
slowly...
turned itself over.
Milo whispered...
"No."
The peel folded.
Into letters.
H.
E.
L.
L.
O.
Diana grabbed Milo's hand.
The writer dropped his pen.
The old man closed his eyes.
The child began crying.
The thing that had been perfect...
whispered...
"I made it."
Milo stared at the word.
"Made what?"
The banana letters rearranged.
I REMEMBER YOU.
The universe went silent.
Then...
something behind the pages...
laughed.
Not the older Milo.
Not the writer.
Not the reader.
Something else.
Something that had been there...
before the first sentence.
Before the first mistake.
Before...
Once upon a time.
Tarzan looked into the darkness.
His voice shook.
"IS IT..."
Milo turned.
"Is it what?"
Tarzan swallowed.
"IS IT A GIANT BANANA?"
Silence.
The darkness answered...
"No."
Tarzan sighed with relief.
Then...
the voice added...
"I ate it."
Tarzan's face...
slowly...
collapsed.
Milo whispered...
"Tarzan?"
Tarzan looked at the darkness.
His eyes filled with tears.
"THIS..."
A pause.
"...IS WAR."
The lights went out.
The final page burned.
And somewhere...
inside the first mistake...
something opened its eyes.
It had learned to read.
And now...
it was looking for the next episode.
**TO BE CONTINUED...**
Written By,
Ivan Edwin
Pen Name :Maximus.
©All Rights Reserved