The Persona of Myriad 2

Chapter 10: Epilogue

It was May and Myriad was officially eighteen years old. She found herself in a train station. People were walking around behind her and in front of her. She had her earphones in, but the music was low enough so she could hear the speakers of the station.
    "All aboard the one-thirty train to Washington D.C." That was her ride, so she stood up, grabbed her backpack, and got on. No one was waiting for her or waving goodbye. Nobody was coming with her. She was all alone even though there were people all around her. She looked back and saw blank faces of random people, and then she calmly made her way to her seat. Nobody was sitting beside her, so she set her bags down.
    "Please keep your belongings off the seat next to you so others may sit down. Now departing Grand Metropolis Central Station" was the last thing she heard before falling asleep in her seat. The train moved as she fell asleep, even though the ride was less than an hour. She marked an alarm for when she was supposed to get off.
    Forty-five minutes later and the train came to a stop. The slowing of the train woke Myriad from her sleep and she heard people talking and moving. She grabbed her backpack, turned off her alarm, and stepped off the train. She looked left, right, and straight. She recognized she was in Union Station and she knew exactly where to go. She walked out and immediately recognized where she was. She immediately began walking. She walked for about an hour before she finally reached a cemetary. There were two people around the front of the cemetery, one was a security guard and the other had a checklist. The one with the checklist spoke to her.
    "Welcome to Arlington National Cemetery. Who is it you would like to see?"
    "Lyra Augusta Silver."
    The two of them went into shock. The person with the checklist talked to her again. "You wouldn't happen to be--"
    "Myriad Ava Silver. Yes, that's me." She looked at them somewhat sheepishly.
    "Where have you been?"
    "Grand Metropolis."
    "And you told no one?"
    "I have my reasons. Why?"
    "There has been an active amber alert for you in this area for over a year."
    "Well...you found me. I'm here to see my mother."
    "I'm afraid you can't. She isn't...well, she doesn't..."
    "Trust me, I can."
    There was a pause and the lady holding the checklist looked at Myriad and then shook her thoughts away. "Of course. You are permitted to enter."
    "Thank you." Myriad walked in and started scanning the names on the tombstones. She walked for a while until she eventually found herself standing in front of both of the graves. She took off her backpack and reached in. A few seconds later, she pulled out a piece of paper. On one side of the paper was a beautifully drawn picture of her mother and on the back was a picture of her father based on the vague memories of his figure. She folded the paper up and stashed it inside an envelope she brought with her. She placed the sealed envelope in between the tombstones. She also placed a flower in front of either tombstone. Like magic, the roots dug into the ground and wrapped around the envelope from either side, as if protecting and holding it. Myriad smiled and knelt down between the graves and looked at either one of the headstones, almost as if she was looking at faces and they were looking back at her. From the grave, she saw Lyra, her Persona, rise from the ground. She looked over to the tombstone of her father. Nothing came to her vision, but she heard a familiar voice that she backlogged in her memory. It hadn't seemed to have aged since she last heard her father's voice. She was about five or six when she last interacted with him. Nonetheless, once the voice came to her, she knew exactly who it was.
    "Above all else, know I miss you more than anything. From the grave, I watch you. You make me proud."
    Myriad stood up and turned around. Her smile faded to an idle face and she began walking. She didn't see it, but Lyra returned to her body as she was leaving the cemetery. The people she saw at the entrance noticed her but didn't say anything else. Myriad turned her head both to the left and to the right. Once she gathered her bearings, she began walking. She said aloud to herself "Home is this way," and turned in a familiar direction.