Shadows

𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞

𝐆𝐨𝐝
𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐦𝐞 𝐮𝐩.

𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐑𝐃 𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐎𝐍 𝐏𝐎𝐕
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THREE YEARS LATER

The frail girl held her dad's hand tightly as they weaved their way through the woods. "Where are we going, daddy?" The two year old said, her chubby cheeks puffing out.

"To see my special friend."

The girl gasps. "Does your friend have candy?!"

"No baby, she doesn't have candy."

"Mommy has candy. Why didn't she come?"

Stiles Stilinski stops walking and kneels down in front of his daughter. "Because mommy knows how important this is for me." He gently puts his hands on her arms. "Now, when we get to my special friend, you have to be very nice, okay? And you have to be quiet. There are other special friends around that are trying to rest."

"Are they your special friends, daddy?"

"No, only one." He whispers, and stands to continue walking. The little girl grips his hand tightly and follows. They walk through the gates, and Stiles feel a cloud roll over him. He comes every year, on this exact day. And every time he's here, the feeling of dread and guilt never goes away.

Stiles never recovered from that night. There was a big hole carved in his chest. He felt empty and lost. He never got over what happened, and he didn't know if he ever would. He kept a picture of her in his wallet to remind him what he could've had.

He missed her. God, he missed her.

The dead grass crunched under his feet. The wind was cold, so cold it made his cheeks involuntarily turn pink. "Okay, remember," He looks at his daughter "be respectful."

"Supectful." She mispronounces the word but nods, giving her dad a thumbs up. He smiles gently at her, and makes his way to the cement in front of him. He takes in a deep breath, sitting in front of the headstone. He heard his daughter sit next to him and quietly say 'criss-cross applesauce'.

In Loving Memory of:

Allison Celestine Argent

A daughter, a friend, a lover.

Heart of gold, mind of steel.

There was an old, dirty teddy bear that sat in front of her birth and death date. Stiles didn't bother to move it. "Hey, Alli." He whispered, running his fingers along the curves in the letters. "I brought a special person with me today. She'd really like to meet you." He looks over at the little girl and gestures her forward.

She scoots closer, fiddling nervously with her fingers. "Hello Daddy's special friend."

Stiles smiles. "Allison, this is my daughter."

The little girl gasps. "Daddy, we have the same name!"

"Yes you do." He nods. "Malia helped me...through the tough times. I know I never told you any of this, but I didn't feel like it was the right time. Allison, my daughter, saw your picture in my wallet. She wanted to know who you were. She wanted to meet you. So..I brought her here today." I sniff.

"Hi! Daddy talks about you a lot. He also keeps a pointy stick and says it's your--"

"An arrow, Alli. It was her arrow."

"Yeah, your arrow. Anyways, you're pretty pop-o-lar in our house. I bet if I could see you, we would be best friends!"

Stiles eyes fill with tears. "Yeah I bet you would." He turns back to the gravestone. "I miss you, Alli." He whispers, resting his head against the gravestone. "Why did you leave me?"

"Daddy, don't cry. Crying makes you have wrinkles." His daughter's chubby hands reach our and roughly wipes the tears away.

Stiles laughs. "Thank you." He lets out a shaky breath. "Until next time, my love." He kisses his hand and puts in over her name. "See you soon." He stood up, and took his daughter with him, carrying her in his arms. A beam of sunlight shone through the tree leaves, and hit Allison's gravestone. Stiles grinned. She's here. He continued to walk down the hill, his daughter waving to all of the gravestones they passed.

Three years ago when he lost Allison, he never thought he'd be the same again. He still wasn't. But now, walking away from her grave, he felt the comfort of her presence fall over him.

And the memory of their love falling straight into the Shadows.

The end.