[ WP ] An aging hero visits an old friend for the last time .

Cassius dragged his paws along the ground as he walked towards a large stone along the horizon. A mouse was n't supposed to have to face these things. A mouse should be able to retire at home and eat barrels of cheese. But Cassius was a heroic rodent; he was ageing, and he had to say goodbye. But his heart was tormented and he was not happy. 
 
 He arrived at the large stone and looked at it. He hated it. The rock rose up miles upon miles and had a breadth larger than his eyes could see. It was a large sphere, and it was down in the bowels of the earth where no one had to look at it. Cassius knew everything about the stone: he knew it was the foundation, he knew that someone had to hold it for peace, and he knew that only one person could carry the burden. Cassius looked below the rock: towards a forlorn figure carrying the weighted mass. 
 
 `` Jeremy.'' Cassius said softly. He adjusted his shoulder bag and scampered towards that forlorn figure and stopped in front of it. 
 
 `` Jeremy! It's Cassius.'' 
 
 The skinny and shaking rag of a mouse underneath the stone glanced up and coughed out a laugh. `` Thank you for coming. You did n't have to see me, you know?'' wheezed Jeremy. 
 
 Cassius stopped, unsure what to say. 
 
 `` Are you-?'' Jeremy began. 
 
 `` Stop.'' ordered Cassius, `` You've held that rock up for three decades now. You're in no shape to talk. Let me do the chatting.'' 
 
 Jeremy ignored him, `` Are you - are you - a hero now?'' he gasped out. 
 
 Cassius's eyes flickered. `` Yes,'' Cassius replied, `` the entire city was ecstatic with my return. We had a funeral for you, did you know? But everyone was too happy that all the earthquakes stopped and that all the monsters stopped appearing to care what happened to you. I think they were afraid of what you probably did.'' 
 
 Jeremy began to lift his small head. Cassius's eyes met milky white orbs ( curse that stone for taking his sight! ). But Jeremy's mouth was a large smile. `` Then you got to reach your dream.'' He said gratefully. 
 
 `` Jeremy, stop. That rock, stone - thing! It's been your burden for too long. I'm here to tell you to let go.'' 
 
 Jeremy's fur bristled. He spoke angrily, `` And have the earthquakes start again? To have dragons, harpies, and all kinds of evil monsters flood from the cracks and plague our lives again? No, never.'' 
 
 `` Then let me carry it! Go and live your life.'' 
 
 `` I would never let anyone else carry my burden.'' 
 
 Cassius shook his head at his stubborn friend. Jeremy had always been a blind fool. Cassius remembered back when they had to find the silver plate and how Jeremy was the only one to not give up. His will was too strong. He felt that his destiny was to carry those weaker than him. At the end of their journey it turned out that he could do such a thing. He volunteered at the bidding of their mentor to carry the stone for all eternity - the stone would grant him immortality. But it would take everything worth living away. It left a blind cripple in the place of a proud and strong mouse. 
 
 `` Maybe,'' Cassius began, `` maybe the stone will not roll this time?'' 
 
 Jeremy shook his head, `` It will roll, and it will rend the earth. Someone has to hold it in place.'' 
 
 `` And you will not give it up? No? Then I suppose I should leave.'' Cassius began to leave. 
 
 Cassius then turned around with a gleam in his eye, `` Or I could carve a pillar out of the sphere. The world will stand still, and no one will have to carry it.'' 
 
 Cassius heard a grunt, a grunt that he interpreted as hope. `` Then I will begin my project?'' Cassius said excitedly. 
 
 `` Good God, please do so!'' Jeremy exclaimed, `` And may you be blessed forever and ever and ever! Anything to leave this retched stone without repercussion!'' 
 
 Cassius took out a hammer and chisel from his shoulder bag. `` Then I will begin.'' 
 
 Cassius worked weeks upon weeks. He worked quickly and deftly. A simple pillar: unadorned and plain was sufficient. 
 
 When he finished chiseling, Cassius looked at his friend Jeremy and said, `` I'm done.'' 
 
 `` So quickly? My imaginings of the stone's size must have been mistaken then.'' Jeremy spoke tiredly, but there was an excited energy inflected in his voice. 
 
 `` Give me a moment. I must flatten out the bottom of the stone.'' 
 
 Jeremy heard for a few weeks more the sound of chiseling all around him, underneath the stone. Then one day Cassius said, `` Now to flatten the entire thing, I must chisel where you are standing.'' 
 
 Jeremy started, `` Is this one bump enough to warrant your work?'' 
 
 `` Yes, I've studied this rock and its properties for decades. I've learned how to free you, friend. If I do n't flatten the entire thing, it will topple and we will have failed.'' 
 
 `` Then I will move, I suppose.'' Jeremy began to shift his position. 
 
 `` You're really thick-skulled, are n't you?'' Cassius laughed, `` Just let me hold the thing with one hand. The stone is a lot lighter as a pillar. You! You should leave this retched place and finally breath the air beyond this rock.'' 
 
 At these words the decades of agony, the weeks of bridled hope, they all burst out in an overwhelming flood. Like a popped balloon, Jeremy shouted in joy. He was free! Free! His friend, his best friend, his hero! Cassius had saved him and everyone else in a brilliant and selfless deed! Jeremy threw himself out of the stone's shadow, towards the light, trusting his friend to finish a job well started. 
 
 His blind eyes could n't see, but his ears could hear. And his ears could n't hear chipping or any sort of craftsmanship. `` Cassius?'' Jeremy asked softly. 
 
 `` I'm here.'' came a grunted reply. 
 
 `` It was all a sham, was n't it?'' 
 
 `` The rock's the same, yea.'' 
 
 `` I wo n't let you do this!'' Jeremy made his way to Cassius, intending to force Cassius out of the burden, or at least carry it with him. 
 
 `` No! Stop! You ca n't force me out, you know that. And if you intend to carry it with me, remember the curse: only one can carry the burden. If a second joins then the stone will shatter, and the world will crash onto itself. 
 
 `` Then I will carve it into a pillar myself. This time though, I will actually carve it.'' said Jeremy heatedly. 
 
 `` The rock is an infinite high and an infinite wide. You ca n't touch it. It's unbreakable, unscalable, and nigh impenetrable.'' 
 
 `` Then I will stay here, with you. You will have a friend for as long as possible.'' 
 
 Cassius squeaked, `` No! Please! Let this be a gift from me to you. I lived my life to a ripe old age, I had a family and wife; they are all dead now. I lived, you have not. Go and reap the seeds of peace you have sown.'' 
 
 `` I could never be so selfish.'' said Jeremy. 
 
 `` You would be selfish staying here. My purpose is to give you a chance. Grant me this, at least. Please, go and be happy.'' Cassius was crying. 
 
 Jeremy was taken aback. He did n't know what to say. Finally though, he turned his back towards Cassius and began to make his way back towards the city of mice. But he would never forget. He would live his life to the fullest, but he would never forget his hero and his friend. Jeremy would find a way to free Cassius, and he would find a way to break that rock forever. 
 

