Lines
Those you inhabit.
…Child?
It burdens me...
And I gave it to them.
Perhaps too much so.
Come. Remember who you are.
I was there, too.
Let them strengthen you.
These… mortal creatures…
And now look?
It’s my weakness, that stranded us here.
I thought I could contain it.
And you.
There was a time when my children flourished.
It’s teeming with life.
(speaking in unintelligible language)
You forget your own tongue?
I felt it writhing, throbbing deep inside.
The last of your brood.
I was there… in the roots of the oldest trees.
And unknowingly, the Passenger, too.
You are of two bloods.
You are a weapon, Child.
Mine, of course, and theirs.
Sift through their Glimpses… what they call “memories.”
…this wrongness festered in me.
The creatures you see all around.
I am not unlike you, Child.
Only I bear many lives, many minds all at once.
But you—you–can be strong, in ways that I’m not.
Good.
We weren’t meant for this world.
Each has their role to play.
And when a newborn opened its eyes.
When it perished.
They were looking for purpose.
They wormed their way inside.
There is much to do.
You’re fond of them—aren’t you?
While you were unborn...
Waiting.
Child… ( sigh)
Now there are only echoes.
I was fond of them, too.
When we arrived, this was an empty, barren rock.
This Passenger.
(unknown language trails off)
I felt them everywhere.
You’re beginning to remember.
As if called by the vileness that festered in my flesh.
They took you, unborn, and all.
You will find traces of me everywhere.
I “nurtured” it.
These mortal creatures.
What have they done to you?
At least… for a time.
Knowing this… intruder burrowed deep within my flesh, was feasting.