Every-Borderlands-Ever Imagines (REQUESTS CLOSED)

Shameless promoting of a lesser known music artist? Maybe. Hey, I'm not the only one.

First Person

I glanced over at Zane with curiosity. A bar is the last place you'd expect him, a  handsome, life-o'-the-party Irishman, to sit silently and sip on a bottle of bland beer. Lately I noticed he's been more thoughtful, cautious, and quiet. It's a bit frightening when he's silent, to be honest.

"Hey," he didn't answer.

"Zane? Zaaaaaaaaane?" I gently poked his arm, and still no answer.

I reached for the beer and he recoiled, snapping out of his thoughts.

"Finally," I paused, "How are you, Zane?"

He answered with a concise "fine" before wondering why I asked.

"Well, you've been pretty down lately, surely you've noticed. Something wrong?"

"Nah," he swat at the air, "Probably jus' burnt out, or somethin'."

I hope he doesn't think I'll believe that.

"Zane..."

"Figured," he sighed, nodding his head. "Alright, I'll tell ya. But don't laugh."

I straightened myself in my seat, facef him and remained silent, sending him a reassuring smile.

"Right, well...

"You and I have gone through it all together, haven't we? Takin' down the Calypsos, hunting giant vault creatures, gunnin' through hordes of murderous bandits. I'll bet my soul we could even slay the Devil himself!"

"When we fall down to Hell," I rose my glass, grinning.

"But when I think about it, how long do we have until that day comes? I always thought of myself dyin' young, but now I'm.... y'know, older, so I eventually decided to...

He lowered his voice to a whisper. "Cancel my New-U subscription—"

"WHAT!?

"Why?" I reached forward, placing my hand on his arm. "You've lived such an awesome life! A life many couldn't even dream of having lived! Why would you wanna risk—"

My throat swelled, making me choke on my words. "Ending it?"

"I'm sorry. It's jus' that being older means you can die naturally, an' who the hell would wanna do that!? Dying of old age is such an embarrassment for a someone who's led a life of excitement and danger like we have. It makes me feel... unimportant, y'know?"

I couldnt help but chuckle.

"I thought y'said ya wouldn't laugh!"

"No, no! It's not that," I said, scooting away a bit. "I understand what you're talking about, and I've thought about this too. When I hit the lowest of low and I realize that everything I  am, everything I've done before that moment would be for nothing when I go under, when I reel on and on and on about my legacy being buried with my soul, my life being washed away with history—"

"How long have y'been preparin' this speech?"

"Let me finish! Ahem, I think about one thing. This one thing is a thing not many understand, but when understood, it's like a warm blanket of reassurance, and I know that with a little guidance, you too can understand this thing that I speak of. This is: the most important thing in the world. Pianist?" I pointed to a larger man in the corner, sitting on a bench in front of a piano.

"What's going on-"

"One day you'll look up at the ceiling above,

If you're lucky you'll be surrounded by the ones that you love,

When the lights in your eyes fade and life flashes by,

One day your going to die."

Zane was quiet.

"One day you'll sleep, and you'll never wake again,

Heaven, Hell, Nirvana, nothing, no one knows how it ends,

Rest in peace or pieces and won't even know why,

One day your going to die.

"I don't-"

"Read your horoscopes, your palms, and tarot cards,

But either way your destination ain't very far,

You can drown, or choke, or burn, or be hit by a car,

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger,

But something will eventually.

One day you'll look back at the life that you lead,

No more future left to fear that you have, the past to regret,

But your worries will be over if you truly realize,

One day you're going to die. Take it away, dear pianist!"

People started gathering in the bar, joining in on the fun. Some guy had a clarinet (what a wierdo), and another had a saxophone (good man), and the two starting to play alongside the pianist. The only one who seemed freaked out was Zane.

"In the fabric of time, and in the vastness of space,

A billion amounts to nothing in Infinity's face,

At most a couple generations will remember the ways

In which your life never mattered so who cares if it's a waste?

Well one day you'll be not even a faint memory,

No, at most a ghost or falling leaf from your family tree,

Your legacy's not yours to see, nor is your eulogy,

And you'll never know what it all means,

But you'll be at peace before you sleep if you just keep this in mind:

That everything and everyone goes with the passage of time,

So whether it's cancer,

"Murder,

"Or suiciiiiiiiiiiiiiiide!

"Oh Lord," he sighed.

"One day you're going to die,

No need to fear cause when its here you won't be alive,

Try not to think about it,

One day you're going to die,

And there's probably nothing after!

One day you're going to die!

So if you only have one chance you ought'a try your best to live as you like,

One day your going to die!"

All those who sang and played along cheered around us. During the charade I had leapt onto the table, and when I sat back down to speak to Zane again, he was staring at his drink with a wild expression.

He looked to the bartender, to me,  and then the bottle.

"What the hell did you two put in my beer?"

Welp. This is all I could dish out. Yeah... I am super sick now (not the 'rona, I swear). I got a soar throat and everything went downhill from there.

At least it's something!

I hope you enjoyed! I had a lot of fun writing this short, even if others aren't a fan of a platonic relationship with Zane. Plus, I'm a huuuuuuuggggeeee fan of Will Wood, the artist of the song. Anyway, have a good whatever-time-frame!