what happens next

The endings of books are nearly always dissatisfying. The sad fact is that as readers, we become attached to these characters that we have followed and come to care about. And then we must say goodbye to them, never knowing how their lives turn out-- what ever happens to them next. They disappear into the depths of the literary limbo where no book character is able to escape. No one ever knows what happens to them there. 

What happens next? What happens to the little boy, the beautiful being born to an ugly darkness? I'd love to think a happy story for him. He joins the family. The world miraculously returns into the lush atmosphere bursting with life. He thrives amongst a bond of love and friendship without the constant suffering and hunger. He lives a fulfilling, satisfying life, perhaps finding a wife in some beautiful maiden who sweeps into his life. He fathers delightful children who too bask in the light of happiness, love, and fulfillment. 

But that's probably not what would happen. In the best of situations, the boy joins the family who accepts him as their own. It is difficult to imagine the boy moving on from his father's death. And if he does, he is perhaps able to entrust in his new family the kind of dependence and love he once reserved only for his father. I cannot see a future for this boy that is any brighter than it was throughout the novel because the reality is plain: there is nothing in this ruined world for him. Nothing for anyone. 

But maybe that is the beauty of book endings. I can imagine anything I want. Who cares if it doesn't make sense. I can pluck that little boy from literary limbo and place him in the happiest world I can dream up. I can do it all in my head.