Played like a Guitar

Epilogue

"In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on." - Robert Frost

Chapter painting: Cliffs of Moher by Sheila Carey

***

The future didn't seem too dim back then, considering the storm that preceded it. At least not on top of the incredible cliffs of Moher, where we decided to have a quiet afternoon picnic to take our minds off the stressful and bizarre week. The wind was strong enough to cool us from the warm summer air in the location where there was no shade to hide in without blowing away our sun hats and the paper napkins we used to wrap the mini-sandwiches and tart cakes in. There was a long silence between us, but not an unwelcome one filled with tension and awkwardness, but rather the kind where all members seemed to be at peace, enjoying the natural sounds of the world and simply existing in the present moment. Sitting on top of the geological wonders that have been forming for the past hundreds of millions of years, located over far above the treacherous depths of the Atlantic Ocean, the cliffs offered its visitors a different perspective of the world. Although I've been used to this peculiar feeling ever since I met him, I couldn't help but feel so minuscule and obsolete. If these rocks had eyes, they would've probably witnessed a hundred thousand human life worth's of events, and here I was only experiencing a negligible fraction of it. Still, I somehow ended up changing the whole world for the two individuals sitting next to me. Was it a change for the better, or worse? I still wonder to this date, and it is unlikely that I will ever find out the answer. In that moment, however, it didn't matter. The present was good; therefore it was a good choice.

After the wedding fiasco, the O'Dea family was left puzzled and ill at ease, as none of the numerous and justified questions they had in mind were answered. Valentina Delgado was last spotted leaving Ireland hours after the incident, but her whereabouts and destination remained unknown. She might be dead, for all we know, but since she chose not to play her part in the secret contract her father created without her knowledge, her well-being, current endeavors (if any) and plans for the future were no longer our concern. Imagining her despair and misfortune always felt so sweet in my head, but knowing the extent to which things escalated, it was just...bittersweet.

I decided to extend my stay in Galway, so I said goodbye to my friends and stayed by myself in a small, rented studio in the center. The O'Dea's were kind enough to invite me to stay in their family house, but it didn't seem appropriate considering the circumstances. Leaving him in this dispiriting state felt morally wrong too, especially when I was partially - if not fully - responsible for it.

In that state of blissful ignorance, I was unaware of the tragic series of events that would unfold logically after the failed marriage ceremony had occurred. I was oblivious to the pain and suffering I would cause to this undeserving family. Never did it cross my mind that the moment Malory entered Benjamin's car that balmy afternoon, would be the last time anyone would ever see her - the day Malory O'Dea disappeared without a trace from the face of the Earth. "They probably went on a trip together." – Jamie tried convincing his worried mother after dark, but I could see the trepidation in his eyes.

The atmosphere in the O'Dea family house had already been depressing after the wedding, but now that the two members were absent for a while and could not be reached, it became unsettling. Mrs. O'Dea would trudge around the house all day, unable to stay put in one place from the progressively worse stress, going up and down the stairs, calling some close family friends to see if they knew anything while on the constant verge of crying. As one would expect, Mr. O'Dea "took some days off from work" following the heated arguments with Mr. Delgado, rocking in his squeaky chair with a firm grip on its wooden arms, staring blankly at the TV news reports. The light sweat dripping from his forehead and clenched jaw revealed that he too found this sudden disappearance different from the others. The timing of it, to be precise.