A Parting Conversation Between a fan and RS
NEITHER knew what tomorrow would be like, and neither had dwelled on the possibility that one day they would have to say goodbye. Yet here it was, the inevitable moment of farewell.
“Damn it, I'm not good at goodbyes.”
“I know. Why else end with a half page of comics about the ongoing adventures of a teenaged lunatic every week?”
A soft chuckle. “You knew this was coming.”
“So I did. So did everyone else. So what. We never thought it could come to pass. It sounded impossible.”
“But it is happening: accept it. You don't have to get up early on Thursdays so that you can finish reading me before school. Most people who used to do that don't even have school anymore.”
“Are you saying you think your fans have outgrown you? Because I know they haven't.”
“Kids grow up. Teenagers become responsible, sensible adults. The things they used to like become distant memories.”
“You haven't become a distant memory. You're still going strong! Every week some new kid finds out about you. For every reader you lose, you gain another.”
“That makes no difference. The total remains constant. Even when I'm gone, I will have fans. People will remember me. It didn't matter if I was good or bad. What mattered was that I was there, and that made all of us matter.”
“I still don't understand why this has to happen.”
“Words like 'circulation' and 'advertisement' and 'revenue' and 'reshuffle' don't mean much to you, I know. Perhaps the reason this is happening is because I was always supposed to secretly teach you about life. Maybe this is the most important thing you'll ever learn: all that has a beginning must have an end.”
“But -”
“It's time to move on, to see the world in a different light. Maybe I'm your tether to the childhood that you are fast escaping. Maybe this will help you grow up, in a sense.”
“You can't do this to me. What will I look forward to for the whole week? Nothing could ever replace you.”
“You'll find new friends. New things to savor. New things to anticipate. Life goes on.”
“None of the new things will be like you.”
“Maybe you will find parts of me in them. In time, you will get attached to them just like you got attached to me.”
“You don't know that. I don't know that. You're consoling me.”
“I don't know what else to do.”
“Show me some hope.”
“Isn't that what I've been doing, all these years?”
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