Split Sides

Acknowledgements

This is a postscript from those old chapters regarding Lux. Today is 24 March. 7 years to the day we first met. This is not for them; enough words have been said over them and that matter. No, this is for all the people who made #zayley happen. This is for all the friends, acquaintances, and strangers who helped get this off the ground and kept it going throughout the life of this small virtual relationship once upon a time.

First up, I apologize for being tardy with this. I don't know what happened and doing this escaped me last year. Still, better late than never. So I'm doing this now.

To everyone, I just want to say, from the bottom of my heart, thank you. Thank you all for making this happen, for giving this little relationship or project or whatever you wanna call it a chance and a life of its own. #zayley wouldn't have happened without you all. So thank you.

To our former best friend Herm and their sister Arielle, thank you for believing in us, for making jokes about us, for pushing this along, for being there when we needed you, and simply for being your good, honest, caring selves.

Herm, I want to mention you especially. You were the glue that held #zayley together, and most of all you were the one who convinced me to have a go at writing short stories (or one-shots, as we used to call them). If it wasn't for you I wouldn't have known or believed I had a knack for doing this, so thank you tremendously.

Arielle, I once disliked you for sharing my birth date, so I apologize. I was selfish and mean back then, I admit. Now that I'm older I've had a broader perspective on people, and I should've been more accepting of you. Ever since I've learnt of an F1 driver who shares my birth date I've realized it's not so bad. So I'm sorry for that. I should've been more mature, and I should've known better.

To Roan, Raven, Grace, and all our old Wattpad friends, thank you all for supporting this. To be honest, I wasn't comfortable with #zayley at first, but eventually it grew on me. Thank you to the three of you for being the pillars of this incredible (and incredibly crazy) endeavor.

And finally, to all the friends and acquaintances whose names I've regrettably forgotten, thank you all for doing this. It heartens me to think you'd spare a few minutes of your time within your busy lives to bring #zayley to life and join in on all the fun and action it entailed. Thank you for all the hard work and dedication and for believing in this, in us, down to the end. When this first started I had just turned 20, and I was scared and gloomy and unsure of myself and my goals and dreams in life. Now, 7 years later, I'm still scared and gloomy, but now I have a better idea of who I am and what I want to do and be. I couldn't have asked for a better circle of online friends to grow and learn and transition to maturity and adulthood with. So thank you all.

And if I hurt you, or said mean things about you, or offended you in some way, or failed to meet your expectations, I'm sorry for all that. I'm insane and clumsy and impulsive. Generally, I'm not a good person, but I like to think I'm not all bad. And I'm sorry that #zayley is over now. I miss it, I miss them, and I miss all the memories of the time we spent together, but all great things must come to an end sometime, and this is it. This little sailing boat we all built was beautiful, but it's now a wreck in the bottom of the sea of change. The best we can do now is to enjoy those great memories of how once upon a time, we made it. It happened, and it worked. Worked like a charm, and worked for a time. God, what a time to be alive and in love.

Did I make mistakes? Yeah. Could I have done things better? Of course, I would. But after all that, and looking at our time together in its totality, I'd say I gave it as good as I got. Now, it's a piece of history. Heartwarming and momentous history, but history nonetheless.

Again, to all of you, thank you so much for the time we spent, and for shipping us. This is Zack, and #zayley is now signing off.