Ghost of the Abyss

Epilogue

 "Eve, don't jump off of there! Use the stairs!"

Honestly, that daughter of mine made me want to pull my hair out sometimes, but I loved her more than anything. Someone came out of our backdoor as I watched my three kids playing on our playset in our open backyard—we had five acres in Northern California. I wanted a lot of space for a large family. We had yet to get a couple of dogs. The kids wanted retrievers.

"Everything okay?" asked my husband.

"Yeah. Will you please go tend to your daughter?"

He smiled handsomely. "Sure thing, babe."

He put his arm around my shoulders, kissed me on my cheek, then left to go to Eve, who was only five, and was laughing gleefully as she rolled around on the grass after she fell. She noticed her dad, and she caught his legs, and he bent down and pulled her up in his arms and started spinning around. Her happy squeals filled the warm spring air. Eve's older brother and sister joined them, with all of them wanting a turn spinning with their dad.

He was such a great father. We were planning on having another child pretty soon. Hopefully this one would be blonde—we were a family of brunettes.

I smiled as I watched my family play around the playset. I let out a content sigh as I watched. Something caught my eye as my family played. I blinked several times, wondering if I was seeing that something correctly. My heart started pounding when I recognized him, and tears stung my eyes.

"Is it really...?" I muttered and started walking in the direction of the maple near a pond on our property, where he was standing. My family didn't even notice me walk over and pass them since they were so absorbed with their playing. I stopped at the pond's edge, near some cattail. I looked over at the man dressed head-to-toe in white, aside from his bare feet. His blonde hair and flawless skin illuminated, even under the shade of the tree. He looked over and I saw those familiar and beautiful blue eyes.

"Hello, Cass. Long time no see."

I sniffed as emotion caught my throat. "Sandy."

"Indeed."

"You... you're stunning."

"As are you." He looked back at my family, then at me. "Your family is absolutely beautiful."

That familiar British accent was a heart-warming and nostalgic song in my ears, and in a voice that I had only heard in my dreams since I last saw him. "Thank you. You kept your word—when I become a wife and mother."

"I did. I told you I would come back, and after a while. A lot has happened over these ten years."

"A lot has. You know that they looked at that camera and found pictures of snow, the mountain, and George Mallory, just as you said. No summit picture."

"I have heard, yes. It was quite the disappointment to everyone."

"Yes, it was, but people learned to move on and accept that you guys didn't reach the summit. Life goes on."

"Indeed, it does, especially for you." He looked back at my family again and turned to face them. I turned to face them as well. Sandy smiled. "Adam seems to be an incredible father."

"He is. He really is. After Everest, we spent a lot of time together. As much as Adam didn't want to burden me with his presence, he accepted my invitations to go to dinner. The rest is history. Now we have three beautiful children, and one on the way."

Sandy looked over at me, a smirk playing on his lips. "Congratulations, Cass. That is absolutely wonderful."

"Thanks. We just found out. We have yet to tell the others."

"They will be over the moon."

"They will. Eve especially will be thrilled to be an older sister."

"Eve?"

I met his gaze, curiosity in it. I had to explain. "Yes, we named her after Evalyn your sister. Then there's Lillian, who's older than her by a year, and then there's Hugh, who is two years older than Lillian. If we have another boy, we want to name him Kenneth, or Ken for short. If it's a girl... we're still trying to figure that out. Maybe Sandie, with an 'ie' on the end."

Sandy brightened the day with another smile. "I am so touched and flattered, that you used my family members' names, as well as wanting to use my own."

"It was the least we could do. You brought Adam and I together. If it wasn't for what happened on Everest, we may never have gotten married. Well, maybe, but how we got there would've been completely different."

He nodded. "I am so pleased that I was able to have a hand in creating such happiness for you."

I continued watching my family having a great time and Adam chasing them all around the playset and they all were squealing happily. "I am happy. Really, really happy. And if you keep showing up, I will be happier."

"Once in a while, I plan to come around again. Maybe when your Hugh reaches adulthood."

"Why then?"

He shrugged a shoulder. "It is another ten years from now."

"So, every ten years?"

"Why not? You have your life to live. I should not interrupt it often." Eve screamed happily as she flung herself down the slide and Adam caught her at the bottom. "Go, spend time with your family. I promise, you will see me again."

I looked at him and met his gaze. The wind caught my long brown hair, but his blonde hair stayed in place, just like on Everest. Tears stung my eyes. "I'll miss you."

"I will miss you as well, no doubt. You are a dear friend."

I nodded.

"Go on," he urged. "I hear your Lillian calling for you."

"Okay. Goodbye, Sandy. Thank you for saying hello."

"It will not be the last."

"Mommy!"

I laughed. "Okay, well, I should go then."

"Indeed. I will see you in ten years."

"See you in ten years."

I ran over to my family, and Lillian ran into my arms. I looked back at Sandy. He simply smiled and vanished from my sight.

~ ~ ~

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