Sarge couldn't help but shy into the darkness of the stage. He could hear many murmors from the audience, waiting in what he could only assume was nervous excitement. He looked at his watch and saw that he had two minutes until start time... but he couldn't get himself to move.

"Why... why am I so scared... now? I've done this hundreds of times already!" Sarge snarled, trying to stamp a foot on the ground, but it was frozen in place.

"Tough spot, eh?" A familiar voice asked Sarge.

Sarge looked up, snapping out of his trance of fear. It was Creature, again, but his visage was more translucent than it had been months ago.

"C-creature! What... what are you doing here?" Sarge put a hand to his chest. "You almost scared me!"

"Almost? You imagined me doing this." Creature teased, gently poking Sarge's belly.

"But I haven't imagined you talking to me for... months now. I thought I was getting better." Sarge gritted his teeth. "I... I said goodbye to you!"

"You did, I know." Creature nodded. "But it looks like your nerves are getting the better of you today." Creature walked by Sarge and stared at the rope that pulled open the curtains. "Perhaps another step of realizing that I'm gone?" Creature spun on his heels and stared Sarge in the eyes.

"Well... I realized it a while ago, but..." Sarge clutched his shirt and felt his eyes begin to water. "Can I help it if my stupid heart misses you? I- I can't do this without you!"

"You've done it this far, Sarge." Creature walked over to Sarge and placed a hand on his chest. "And no, your heart isn't stupid. You already know that, though. You have a genuine love for those you call your friends."

Sarge stifled a sob. He looked at his watch. He had thirty seconds before he had to start. "But it won't stop. You and I had a show, and now it's just me. I had to change so much of it to fit a single person... do you know how hard it is?"

"Very," Creature nodded to the curtain. "But out there tonight, there are hundreds of people here to see you. They're not doing it out of sympathy, you know. They truly care for your work."

"But I-"

Creature pressed both his hands down hard on Sarge's shoulders. "Sarge! you don't have time." Creature pointed at the rope for the curtain. "You have an audience out there waiting for you and I KNOW you can do it." Creature pointed at Sarge's heart. "And by transitive property of my being your imagination of me, that means you know you can do it."

Sarge felt a sad smile creep on his face. "Do I... have to say goodbye to you this time? It hurt last time."

"Nah," Creature smiled and backed up. He took a few steps to the curtain then sidestepped behind it. "I'll watch you from right here and cheer you on."

Sarge stared at the visage for a moment longer before wiping the tears from his eyes and forcing himself to smile wide. Dropping a hand to his pants, he turned on his lavalier mic and blurted out. "Well, well, well, it seems we've got QUITE an audience tonight, don't we?!"

A roar of applause came from the other side of the curtain. Sarge rushed to the rope and, with a fluid motion, drew back the curtains and slid himself out on stage. "HELLO EVERYONE, AND WELCOME TO THE SHOW!"

The uproar increased as people began to cheer and whistle.

the visage smiled from behind the curtain. "I'm proud of you," it said before fading away.

~~~~~

This is a drawing I made for my friend,  CreatureUnknown for his birthday today. He passed away earlier this year and I will miss him, but I'll always imagine he's rooting for me on the sidelines.

Rest in peace, my friend. I love you.

~~~~~

Creature ©  creatureunknown

Artwork/Sarge ©  pikminpedia Me