do-over

xxxi ; do-over: "epilogue"

It wasn't Achlys. It was the man from the elevator. And we were standing in some weird but absolutely fairytale garden.

"I called you here for one reason only. Achlys lost. She gave you a chance to live again because of me, I wanted you to be challenged and find something new. I knew you two were destined but it was completely up to you two whether or not it worked out. And clearly it did. Achlys will not be meeting with or bothering either of your ever again. You both have succeeded in whatever challenge this was and have got yourselves a nice life." The man was standing beside some throne. "It's true Gods like to mess with humans. It's true Achlys wanted you to fail because she wanted your souls."

"May I ask what the challenge was? I'm still confused about the whole thing," I spoke up but my voice still sounded soft. "What was the goal?"

"What do you think it was?" His bright grey eyes seemed to bore into me. "Did you not gain anything from this experience?"

I had gained a lot. More than enough.

I gained a life. A soulmate. A house and happiness.

"That's what I thought. I hope you take this gift of a do-over and cherish it well." The garden was twinkling and there was a hazy glow. Lazy butterflies flapped and lounged on the flowers and the bushes. A marble mermaid was the centerpiece of a fountain. But it seemed as if I couldn't really focus on or really look at anything. It was hazy and magical but nothing seemed to really register. "Since you have come this far and made the most of the do-over.. none of the Gods will bother you any more."

"So.. what now? It's all over..?" I looked up at Adrian, but he just reached to hold my hand. The God was gone.

"Now we just live our lives together.. like we have been, right?" Suddenly we were back in the living room, cuddled up together on the couch with the credits to our movie running. "And hope that everything goes well.."

"I'm glad... for everything that's happened. For the do-over. For meeting you. It's weird, everything that happened. It'll be nice to just live normally and not be bothered by Gods. But I'm glad they gave me the opportunity," I pushed myself closer to him. "And I love you."

Adrian gave me a sweet smile. "I love you more. And I'm glad too. I'm grateful for the changes and everything that we've been through even if it wasn't the best of situations. I got to meet you and that's all that matters."