Endings

I often wonder,
More often as of late,
When I reach
The end
Of the story,
Turn the last page,
Fade to the end credits -
What happens next?
What is the moment like
After the final moment?

Of course,
Sometimes they answer that question
With a scene
During the end credits
Or after them
Or a sequel.
And in the cases of sequels,
I sometimes wish they would
Leave those poor characters
Alone.

But what I find myself
Wondering about
Is that moment
Just after the end of a story.
It's over.
We're done.
But what about the characters?
What do they do next?

Take a nap?
Get a snack?
Go out for dinner?
Sit and contemplate
How well everything turned out
Or ruminate on the awful fate,
The daily, tragic misery that now awaits them?

Do they go and do the dishes
To take their mind off
How awful everything turned out?
Do they have a sense
That some momentous
Sections of their lives has ended
With a resounding period
Or blackout,
With a stunning final sentence
Or an indelible image
Stretched across a screen?

Or does the final
Page or frame
Flash by
Without them noticing,
And they are off
To use the bathroom
Or mow the lawn?

More to the point,
Are there moments
In our lives
Where some momentous
Episode or epoch
Of our existence
Has ended in our lives?
Where a conflict is finally resolved
Or a theme in our life finally plays out
Or we achieve some goal
Or realize some tragic truth?
do we notice when one of our stories ends?

Or do we shrug it off and go read a book?