so long and goodnight

Vervain

even the darkest night
will end

"I was hoping you would say that," Vai whispers, drawing him with her and giving his hand a warm squeeze as they move to sit together at the base of the tree. Shifting to slip her arm around the Lullaby, she kisses his curls and inhales a long, deep breath, letting it out again on a sigh that she wishes would steady her voice more than it does.

Still, when she speaks it's with the butter-soft quality of a fairytale, Vai weaving together one last adventure for the son she'd swept beneath her wing like a baby bird. And whilst it's grand and filled with fantasy and fable, this, make no doubt, is the story of Remi. A young man of humble origin overcoming the impossible to defend the people he cared for, with a voice like music and the ability to soar through the sky on pale feathers.

And while there's no happily ever after - the story fades on a sunset at a cliff's edge - it undoubtedly speaks of the end of a chapter, and the beginning of something bright and clean and new.

and the sun
will rise