I found Grief trying to unlock the front door.
As I led her to the couch and pushed Anger aside to make roomGrief asked me to let her go
"I've been here too long already, I must be moving on"
I told her not to worry, I had plenty of room, she should stay, there's no where else to go.
I heard a commotion in the kitchen and tripped over Anger laying on the living room floor to find Pride crawling out the kitchen window
I grabbed him by his feet and hauled him back inside
"But I've burned dinner because you didn't get all the ingredients I asked for! I must go!"
"Nonsense" I replied "you always make due, we'll eat it burnt and bland, it's fine"
I walked back to the living room and saw Rage kicking the prone body of Anger, trying to get a rise out of him. I lunged but before I could grab his tiny body he fled and hid behind the curtains. Crisis averted, Rage could bring the roof down on our heads if he wakes Anger and they both start growing.
At that moment I heard splashing in the bathroom and found Sorrow and and Self Pity crying in the overflowing bathtub, a river of tears pouring out into the hall and headed for the bedroom. "We always ruin everything, you're going to make us leave aren't you?"
I grabbed the towels and realized they weren't going to be enough, so I dumped the dirty clothes basket out in the hallway to stem the tide.
"You guys are fine, it's okay to cry, there's really nothing wrong, you haven't ruined anything" I tried to reassure them. But they wailed in unison, and I shut the door quickly.
The bedroom was dark but the door was cracked open and as my eyes adjusted to the light I saw Hatred and Disgust coupling on the bed, completely silent in a deadlocked stare. Lust was fumbling with the latch of the window muttering "my work is done, I must be gone"
I couldn't decide what to do because Hatred and Disgust's relations were so mechanical and devoid of passion it was unnerving and I didn't want to get any closer but Lust had almost gotten the latch undone so I shouted
"Everyone stop what you're doing!"
They all turned to look at me, not a glimmer of light in any of their eyes, the two on the bed continued their rhythm without missing a beat.
"Lust, give these guys some privacy, come out to the living room"
As they slowly turned and walked toward me I saw Shame and Guilt under lust's cloak.
"You guys can't go, it's getting cold, you might get lost in the snow."
In the living room Anger was still asleep but Rage had snuck into the kitchen and was poking Pride from under the table. I ushered Lust and Shame and Guilt to the couch next to Grief who was asleep.
I saw lights outside and reasoned they couldn't be coming here, all my closest companions were accounted for, no one else should be coming.
A gentle knocking at the door caused Fear and Anxiety to come rushing from the closet where they'd been gossiping about Hate and Disgust.
"Who's here? Why are they here, what do they want?" Asked Anxiety.
"Well they can't come in! There's no room, Don't even open the door, they're going to rob you!" Proclaimed Fear.
"The house is a disaster!" Shouted Shame from the kitchen.
I opened the door and was shocked to see Joy, Love, Grace, Hope, Peace and Serenity all standing in the snow.
"What on earth are you guys doing here?! It's freezing out!"
"I was wondering the same thing" piped in Confusion who had been smoking on the porch.
"We got your invitation, but this blizzard slowed us down. Anyway we're here now, and we've no where else to stay" replied Joy
"Well I've got quite the full house at the moment, honestly, no room at all and I really wasn't expecting more guests. Perhaps you could come back tomorrow afternoon, I can tidy up and be more prepared to receive you?"
"Certainly not. We have an invite and it was quite urgent. We can wait outside while you get sorted." Love was adamant.
"We could even help tidy, I'd like to meet your guests, I love making new friends" added Grace.
"Oh, I'm sure you do, but they're not exactly in a friendly sort of making-new-friends state"
The whole time this exchange was taking place, a cacophony was coming out of the kitchen. I half expected Anger or Pride to knock me over and terrorize these new arrivals, but I locked eyes with Serenity and realized she knew exactly how to handle those boys. I turned around just in time to see Pride pushing Grief aside as the whole gang fled out the back door. Grief wailed and flung herself on the back porch sobbing.
I turned back around just as Love gently took my hand, and I saw Confusion slinking into the bushes. The whole crew gathered around and lifted me up and carried me inside into the bedroom. There on the bed was a small thing, no bigger than a kitten, growling like a badger and hissing like a snake.
"What the fuck is that?" I asked
"That is Contempt. The unfortunate offspring of Hate and Disgust. I know how to take care of it" Love replied. She bundled up the small creature into the folds of her cloak and the growling and hissing slowly grew more muffled, then silent all together and contempt was gone. My new companions laid me on the bed and sat down all around me.
The cries of Grief still echoed in the hallway and peace got up and walked to the back porch and Grief's wails slowly faded. When Peace returned she held in her hand a black stone the size of a pea.
"Here is a gift" said peace
"A gift? How is Grief's corpse a gift? That's no gift Why wouldn't she disappear like contempt?"
"Because unlike Contempt, which is a product of the union of Hate and Disgust, Grief isn't as much of a product of anything but rather the pain body of real love lost. It's what remains of that love, and IS a gift because it reminds us of the love we had and encourages us to be present and cherish those who are still with us."
Peace handed the small object to Love, and Love set it on the night stand and covered it with her hands and whispered something that sounded like raindrops and windchimes and a soft breeze all at once and suddenly it transformed into a beautiful bouquet of flowers in an obsidian vase.
"How did you do that?"
"Love has the power to transform Grief because it comes from Love, but grief never goes away, and you wouldn't want it to, because then you'd forget the love you shared with those you've lost, greif reminds that the love was real" replied hope.
I couldn't decide what to do because Hatred and Disgust's relations were so mechanical and devoid of passion it was unnerving and I didn't want to get any closer but Lust had almost gotten the latch undone so I shouted
"Everyone stop what you're doing!"
They all turned to look at me, not a glimmer of light in any of their eyes, the two on the bed continued their rhythm without missing a beat.
"Lust, give these guys some privacy, come out to the living room"
As they slowly turned and walked toward me I saw Shame and Guilt under lust's cloak.
"You guys can't go, it's getting cold, you might get lost in the snow."
In the living room Anger was still asleep but Rage had snuck into the kitchen and was poking Pride from under the table. I ushered Lust and Shame and Guilt to the couch next to Grief who was asleep.
I saw lights outside and reasoned they couldn't be coming here, all my closest companions were accounted for, no one else should be coming.
A gentle knocking at the door caused Fear and Anxiety to come rushing from the closet where they'd been gossiping about Hate and Disgust.
"Who's here? Why are they here, what do they want?" Asked Anxiety.
"Well they can't come in! There's no room, Don't even open the door, they're going to rob you!" Proclaimed Fear.
"The house is a disaster!" Shouted Shame from the kitchen.
I opened the door and was shocked to see Joy, Love, Grace, Hope, Peace and Serenity all standing in the snow.
"What on earth are you guys doing here?! It's freezing out!"
"I was wondering the same thing" piped in Confusion who had been smoking on the porch.
"We got your invitation, but this blizzard slowed us down. Anyway we're here now, and we've no where else to stay" replied Joy
"Well I've got quite the full house at the moment, honestly, no room at all and I really wasn't expecting more guests. Perhaps you could come back tomorrow afternoon, I can tidy up and be more prepared to receive you?"
"Certainly not. We have an invite and it was quite urgent. We can wait outside while you get sorted." Love was adamant.
"We could even help tidy, I'd like to meet your guests, I love making new friends" added Grace.
"Oh, I'm sure you do, but they're not exactly in a friendly sort of making-new-friends state"
The whole time this exchange was taking place, a cacophony was coming out of the kitchen. I half expected Anger or Pride to knock me over and terrorize these new arrivals, but I locked eyes with Serenity and realized she knew exactly how to handle those boys. I turned around just in time to see Pride pushing Grief aside as the whole gang fled out the back door. Grief wailed and flung herself on the back porch sobbing.
I turned back around just as Love gently took my hand, and I saw Confusion slinking into the bushes. The whole crew gathered around and lifted me up and carried me inside into the bedroom. There on the bed was a small thing, no bigger than a kitten, growling like a badger and hissing like a snake.
"What the fuck is that?" I asked
"That is Contempt. The unfortunate offspring of Hate and Disgust. I know how to take care of it" Love replied. She bundled up the small creature into the folds of her cloak and the growling and hissing slowly grew more muffled, then silent all together and contempt was gone. My new companions laid me on the bed and sat down all around me.
The cries of Grief still echoed in the hallway and peace got up and walked to the back porch and Grief's wails slowly faded. When Peace returned she held in her hand a black stone the size of a pea.
"Here is a gift" said peace
"A gift? How is Grief's corpse a gift? That's no gift Why wouldn't she disappear like contempt?"
"Because unlike Contempt, which is a product of the union of Hate and Disgust, Grief isn't as much of a product of anything but rather the pain body of real love lost. It's what remains of that love, and IS a gift because it reminds us of the love we had and encourages us to be present and cherish those who are still with us."
Peace handed the small object to Love, and Love set it on the night stand and covered it with her hands and whispered something that sounded like raindrops and windchimes and a soft breeze all at once and suddenly it transformed into a beautiful bouquet of flowers in an obsidian vase.
"How did you do that?"
"Love has the power to transform Grief because it comes from Love, but grief never goes away, and you wouldn't want it to, because then you'd forget the love you shared with those you've lost, greif reminds that the love was real" replied hope.
