Sky Log #30: The Little Prince's Farewell

CAUTION: EDEN AND THE SEASON OF THE LITTLE PRINCE SPOILERS. This is a continuation of Sky Log #26: Teatime With the Little Prince.

How do you make a farewell less hurtful than it should?

How do you say goodbye to a friend when you, simply, don't want to?

I did not know what I signed up for when I first met the Little Prince. Yet, I always knew he was never meant to stay here forever in my heart.

The Little Prince may be different in appearance, but he was just like us deep within. He relished in the simple joys of our world; the creatures of our world, the flowers in our world, and the people within it. Where he laid eyes upon, he loved them. And it was hard not to love him back.

Yet, the more I spent time with him with our chance encounters, the more I felt the time of his departure growing closer.

It loomed over me when I followed him across the Starlight Desert. At that moment, I felt like if I didn't grab onto him, he might disappear. The thought itself was terrifying, so despite the harsh winds that kept pushing me away, I persistently pursued him. Until I found him at the campfire, shivering from the cold, bitter winds.

I chuckled at how, after traveling to so many worlds, the Little Prince had not known how to light up a fire. I felt that my fears were for naught for that brief moment in time. Like a passing dream.

With a silent nod of gesture, I sat down across from him, with the fire in between us. There was a brief moment of silence before he said he would give me a present. I really thought he had prepared a physical gift for me. Instead, he laughed and said his laughter was my present from him. In response, I laughed, for it was like him to think of something like that.

Then, the Little Prince claimed that he was going back tonight in a serious face.

Perhaps, the Little Prince felt my reluctance and sadness at his departure. It was hard not to after getting acquainted with him for so long. So, he gazed up at the night sky and said that he would be living on one of the stars. On one of the stars, he would be laughing. Since there is no way to tell which star he would be on, all the stars could have him living on them, laughing without caring about the world.

Unfortunately, as he said, the road to home would be difficult. It would seem like he was suffering, and he did not wish for me to see it.

"At night, you will look up at the night sky. My star will be one of the stars, for you. And so, you will love to watch all the stars in the heavens." The Little Prince looked at me, with a serene smile on his face. "They will all be your friends."

I wanted to say something. Yet, words have failed me.

That was because, at that moment, the Little Prince looked so wise and sure that I believed his words. I felt that when he left for home, all the stars in the night sky would remind me of him, his laughter, and the days we spent frolicking together. I believed that he would be on one of those stars, living with his rose and making sure the lamb would not sneak a bite at her. And I was convinced that when he looked up at the night sky, he would see me on one of the stars.

He laid down on the ground and closed his eyes without a word. And I watched over him as the fire died down to embers.

When I woke up with a start, I felt a brief moment of panic when I realized that I had given in to the sinful lures of the campfire. The Little Prince was gone. He had slipped away when I was sleeping. By the time I got to him, he had gone past the krill who was patrolling and headed straight to Eden. I could only watch him get further and further away.

His silhouette grew smaller and smaller until I could see him no more.

However, I was worried about him. Even though he did not want me to see him on his journey home, I wanted to be there for him. I didn't really like Eden for the painful pelting of rocks, the handful of krills, and the depressing atmosphere there.

But for a dear friend, I had to go. Even if it means braving all the dangers.

I was hoping that he would not have gone very far. Yet, when I crossed the Point of No Return, I have not found a single hair of him. That was when I knew that he had gone straight into the heart of Eden.

My heart sank.

Even for the most experienced of Sky kids, no one could escape death in Eden. Eden is, after all, the place where we liberate the trapped kids there. To leave Eden, you have to be reborn.

Being different from a Sky kid, can he even be reborn?

Once I entered the place, I started to save the trapped kids who had turned into statues. The more I lose my wings, the more the falling rocks stick to me. Once my wings are depleted, I would also become like those children. It didn't take me long to find the Little Prince. Just like the rest, he had turned to stone. So, I gave him a wing.

However, because I had amassed a lot of wings over the years, I had to continue on my journey and liberate more of the kids. If not, the wings would be wasted because they would be lost to the falling rocks. Hence, I could only leave the Little Prince behind. Still, it gladdens my heart that he would be kept warm with my wing with him.

The moment my last wing was given to the last kid, I closed my eyes as I felt the petrification overcome me.

I was no stranger to death.

Over the years of my journey, I have lost count of how many times I have gone through Eden, either alone or with friends. Yet, no matter how many times I have done this, it was never easy. Death was never easy, but everyone had to go through it.

It is… inevitable.

I thought of the Little Prince.

Was he not afraid at all? Of all of this? The pain? The suffering? Was this what he meant when he didn't want us to see him like this?

Nevertheless, I was on my way to Orbit. At the end of Orbit, I found him.

Waiting. For me.

This time, he didn't walk away. He didn't leave with his birds. He waited. For me. It was as if he knew that I would still follow him despite his warning. It touched me greatly, but it made me sad at the same time. For after this journey, I could not follow him anymore.

With the Little Prince's hand outstretched to me, I took it. I felt that his hand was the warmest out of all I had held, and I wanted to remember it. I remember every moment of this precious time. Even though he didn't say anything, it wasn't needed. He had said all that he wanted at the campsite.

And now, he just wanted to let me spend the last few moments with him.

So, I took him everywhere in that place while trying not to look at the rebirth door. I took him up the spiral stairs made of twinkling stars, up to the bench where we could have our fill of the stars around us. I took him to the closet where I dressed him up in my capes and accessories. I did everything that I wanted to do with him, but alas, time flies when you are having fun.

With one look from the Little Prince, I knew.

I knew it was time to go.

So, I steeled my heart and took the road to the rebirth door. Every step became a moment too fast. Even the Little Prince knew, so he matched my pace. Until the end, we did not say anything. For words of sentiment were lost, and farewells became harder to say.

Hand in hand, we walked through the door. Before the light blinded me, I could ever so remember the Little Prince's soft smile and his warm hands. The way the innocent black eyes speak of the adventures he had seen, the way his long yellow scarf fluttered behind him, the way the Little Prince had somehow found his way to occupy my heart.

When I opened my tearful eyes in the Starlight Desert, with only the warmth of the Little Prince's hand in mine, I could only recall his words and looked up in the night sky. Yet, I could not find him. So, I sat up straight, only to find that his favourite yellow scarf that had always wrapped around his neck was wrapped around mine.

In that overwhelming moment, I burst into tears. The tears that didn't appear the whole time, finally came out like water from a broken dam. I didn't care if it made me look bad or if it was out of character for me. I just couldn't stand the painful feeling of separation.

I stood up quickly and ran straight to the overturned boat where I first met him. Yet, I didn't stop there. I went straight towards the hill where he had led me up there.

And at the top, I looked up to the night sky. With tears brimming my eyes, I could finally 'see' him.

One of the stars glowed brighter than the rest, and as though the boy with the yellow scarf was right beside me again, I could faintly hear the tinkling of his joyful laughter amidst the laughter of the rest of the stars.

I did not know where the Little Prince went after he 'died'.

What I do know, with certainty in my heart, is that he would have gone back to his rose. And if I missed him, all I had to do was to look up at the night sky.

And if you hear carefully, you would listen to the soft laughter of the Little Prince.