Sophie Fouts

10/4/15
I Drink to Thee
I collapse there on my knees. In the midst of what I know will become the last battle of
this wretched galactic war. I shudder.
The shot from the Delrigs weapon is still smoking in my chest. I look at it quizzically. I
know I should be feeling something, but oddly enough I dont. I reach up and touch the
blackened hole in my armor. My glove comes away red.
Perhaps it is shock or a blessing sent by Elyon, but I know Im dying, so I take this time
to remember.
Hell be waking up right about now. Shell be looking at the horizon of Zelfiers rising
moon. Our pearl of the dawn. The farlows will be grazing in the fields. Chuggers will be waving
his metallic arms in an effort to remove the higeons, who chose nest upon him during his nightly
shutdown.
Oh, my sweet wife. My sweet baby boy. Forgive me. I shall not be coming back to your
open, loving arms. Grieve for me, but do not linger long. You must survive me! Survive what I
am doing to you now.
Antalya, find another. I want you to. You deserve to have someone hold you when you
receive the news. Quillian, remember to ride upon Elyons arrow, for it will always fly straight.
My family. You have always held the love that is in my eyes.
Oh, Coram. Do not be distressed. The wine of our friendship will never run dry. I am still
here. Even as the world fades, I am still here. You shake me, yet I am still here. Why do you

Unpublished work 2015 Sophie D. Fouts.

shake me? Was it only yesterday you told me you were going to propose to her? I nearly choked
when you asked me to perform the rites! It seems like such a long time ago.
I look to the sky and see our ships. They soar down swiftly against bejeweled dark carpet
sky smiting our enemy like majestic everagles with brilliant blasts of hot white light. We are
pushing them back to the gates! By Elyon, we are pushing them back to the gates! I feel tears
stream down my cheeks. The tears of strife; the waters of new life. I turn to Coram.
Dont you see? I whisper to my friend. His eyes are puffy, and his face is covered in
soot and grime. Though I know why he is sad, it does not deter me from saying what I proclaim
next with much joy. We have won.
Wine comes in at the mouth and love comes in at the eye; that's all we shall know for
truth before we grow old and die.
I understand now Papa. I understand what you meant by it now.
Wine. The purification of friendships over time. What we speak to one another around
the table of life. What sorrows we spill together over our filled cups. What we celebrate with one
another as we drink into the night.
Love. What captures the windows of our souls. What we hold so dearly in our sights.
What causes us to do such foolish things, but never regret a moment of it in a later light.
We take these things, love and wine, and we revel in them while we are still here. We
never know what tomorrow will bring, so that is why we must adhere.
I feel myself slipping further and further away. I have reveled. I have enjoyed. I have not
wasted an hour of my life. I have saved my family; I have saved my friends. I have saved my
galaxy in the end.

Unpublished work 2015 Sophie D. Fouts.

Never again will they have to face this foe. I have payed the price. Be at peace my dear
soul, be at peace with what you have done. What is this pain you are experiencing now? You
have protected what you have held most dear. Enter now into Elyons embrace. Enter now and
never fear. See his star comes down for you now. Take its hand into the clear.
Fly away! Fly away, my dear soul! Leave this hollowed vessel! Join the rest of your
brethren at Elyons table where love and wine never runs dry! Greet the faces of your forefathers
who have stayed the course and fought valiantly for his name! Gaze upon their smiling faces as
you receive your crown of victory! Bow before the Lord Elyon and be merry! The darkness is
gone! You will forever reside in the Halls of Shamayim, the Palace of Light.
Be at peace my dear soul, and drink to this new life.

Unpublished work 2015 Sophie D. Fouts.