The Last Page

[Verse 1] I set the key between his fingers. He turned it in the waiting frame. The glass lit up. I stepped toward it, I tried to speak; no answer came. Then the room fell far behind me, Like a dream before the dawn. For a breath, I thought I'd woken. All the weight of wings was gone. The Devil vanished in the silver. Every horn and claw withdrew. I stared down at hands of timber, Bark and needles, something new. The mirror held no man behind me. No familiar face remained. Only pine where I stood waiting For the life I'd come to claim. [Pre-Chorus] He could undo what he had made me. He could not bring my body back. I searched the silver for my old face. It only showed me what I lacked. [Chorus] Every chain returned to silence. Every story kept its name. Every soul that crossed the mirror Never crossed back quite the same. Every page can still be opened. Every ending can begin. I couldn't be the man who entered, So I'd learn what lived within. [Verse 2] I pressed my palm against the mirror. I watched the wooden fingers spread. I'd thought that I could wake up human If I did all that he said. No scream came out. No window shattered. No way to make him try again. Just a stranger in the silver With my anger in his hands. Ong stood holding what I'd brought him, Looking down where I still stood. He had nothing left to offer That could turn the bark to blood. Then that old smile found its corner. He was naming me again. Piney. I could hate the sound. It didn't change the shape I was in. [Chorus] Every chain returned to silence. Every story kept its name. Every soul that crossed the mirror Never crossed back quite the same. Every page can still be opened. Every ending can begin. I couldn't be the man who entered, So I'd learn what lived within. [Verse 3] The mirror rolled like liquid midnight. Ong stepped toward the other side. No goodbye or absolution. Just a road he'd been denied. Before the silver closed behind him, He looked back beneath his brim. I knew he'd make the same decisions If he had to choose again. Then the mirror sealed between us. I believed our story done. I stood alone beside the pages, All the years reduced to one. But the dark began to gather Into colors I had never seen. And the old man past the silver Wasn't old enough to be him. [Bridge] His back was straight. His eyes burned brighter. Time had worked another way. I couldn't know how long he'd waited In the moments I'd stayed. Then he lifted something fragile, Holding close its fading light. All the strength he'd gone to gather Couldn't keep her burning bright. Akida. I knew the name now. Saw the egg against his chest. All the fear he'd made us carry Had been leading him to this. He brought her close against the silver. I reached before I thought it through. He'd made a weapon of my mercy. Still, I knew what I would do. [Verse 4] He pushed the egg across the mirror. I took its weight with both my hands. Then his battered hat came with it, At my feet beside the frame. I looked up for some instruction, Something more than just her name. His hand lay flat against the silver. Mine could never look the same. I didn't give him my forgiveness. Didn't tell him it was right. But I drew her closer to me When I felt her failing light. He had trusted me to frighten. He had used me to retrieve. Now the one thing he held dear Was the thing he had to leave. [Final Chorus] Every chain returned to silence. Every story found its place. Every legend kept on living, But I finally had a name. Every page can still be opened. Every ending can begin. I went looking for the Jersey Devil, Found the pine beneath the skin. I couldn't save the man who entered. Couldn't change what had been done. But the last page wasn't written. Mine had only just begun. [Outro] The mirror faded into darkness. I held Akida to my chest. I picked his hat up from the floor. There was no voice to tell me what came next. A tiny crack split through the shell. I felt it move beneath my hand. The last page turned itself. And I stayed To see what came.