A Jar Full Of Memories

"A Jar Full Of Memories" is a mini-story that is part of the EMPATH: The Luckiest Smurf story series.

The Story
It is sometime in the future, when Empath was 606 years old and his wife Smurfette had passed away. Tapper, who had gone by the name of Pastor Nevin, noticed that Empath was sitting by himself outside the tavern that he used to run in his early years, smoking a smurfnip-blend cigarette and looking at a jar of blue clay that he was holding.

"Great Smurfiny Crickets, my fellow Empath, I wouldn't expect you to be smurfing up the habit of smoking, much less smoking an herb that isn't smurfy for you," Tapper said.

Empath turned and noticed who it was that was speaking to him. "Oh, forgive me, Pastor Nevin, I was just smurfing here by myself because I couldn't smoke in the tavern...you know, because it's not allowed and all."

"Please, Empath, call me Tapper if you must," Tapper said as he sat down beside his friend. "We go back a long way, and I still pray for your salvation day and night."

Empath crushed out the cigarette and threw it away. "If you must know, this blue clay is all that I have left of Smurfette, now that she's gone from this world."

"I feel great sorrow for you, Empath," Tapper said. "I know how much she means the world to you and that you have loved very much. All her friends in the village also miss her presence as well."

"Yet I'm afraid to completely let her go, Tapper," Empath said. "I feel that as long as I have a portion of her with me in this jar, she will always be with me physically, even if I can't hear anything that she has to say."

"I don't pretend to completely understand what that mindlink between her and you is like, my fellow Empath, but to find that the other voice in your head is gone must feel like a part of you is gone as well," Tapper said.

"Smurfette never liked having to share her mind with mine at first, but over time we got used to it, and sometimes that's the only way we would communicate with each other, like Polaris and I used to," Empath said. "I know everything about Smurfette so intimately that I feel like I could recreate her just to make me feel smurfy again, knowing that she will always be with me even after I pass on from this world."

"But part of you doesn't want to dishonor Smurfette by simply making a copy of her from your memories, knowing that it will never really be Smurfette who lives again, but only your memories of her," Tapper said.

Empath nodded. "She's smurfed me the best years of her life, Tapper, and I want to make sure that she gets the rest that she deserves for all the years that she's been devoted to me. But I can't handle the fact that I will never be able to touch her like I could when she was still living."

"Aye, it's a great evil in this world and a sad truth that all things in it must perish, Empath," Tapper said. "Maybe the presence of the Almighty in your life will help ease the burden of loneliness that you now must carry."

"You really think that this Almighty can satisfy every desire that I have need to be fulfilled?" Empath said.

"He can't fulfill the desire for physical intimacy, if that's what you're asking, my friend," Tapper said. "But He can fulfill the desires that all the pleasures of physical intimacy alone can never be enough to fulfill. He can bring great comfort in times when you feel like you need the presence of a spouse to love you like nobody else can."

"I would like that very much, Tapper," Empath said. "Only I don't feel like I'm ready to receive Him just yet."

"Then at least let me pray for you," Tapper offered. And when Empath offered no resistance, just simply bowed his head, Tapper proceeded. "Oh, Heavenly Father, the Maker of heaven and earth, of all that is seen and unseen, I smurf up to You my dearest friend Empath Smurf, that You will smurf him the peace that surpasses all understanding, that he will hear Your voice and know that You are there for him to smurf him things in his life that none of us are able to smurf him. May the blood of His only begotten Son cleanse his soul of every sin he has committed, that he may be pure and white in Your presence. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen."

"Amen," Empath responded after the prayer had ended.

Tapper put his arm around Empath's shoulder. "You may hold onto your jar full of memories as long as you need to, my fellow Empath. Just don't forget that the One who loves you with an everlasting love is always there and ready to receive you."

"I appreciate your counsel, Tapper," Empath said. "Perhaps I will smurf more time in your worship services so that I will find it within myself to know this Almighty as my own personal Savior."

"You are always welcome to attend, even if the only thing I have to serve you now is the refreshing taste of the Holy Spirit," Tapper said with a smile.