Dark Lanterns Lane

Epilogue

Luke Campbell had not attended school for a long time - it took time for everything to settle. He emerged from the fire with a few serious burns that marked his body like painful signatures of the ordeal. The flames had left their searing touch, and the doctors, somber-faced, advised him to stay home for a prolonged period to facilitate a full recovery. The prescribed rest, medications, and meticulous care were essential components in this journey back to health. During those months spent in his room, Luke finished reading the entire home library, started learning a few more programming languages, played three computer games, and watched several hundred episodes of anime.

With the beginning of the new academic semester, he would go to a new school - his family was moving to Chicago. His parents decided that there would be more opportunities for further development in the big city. All the old problems would stay behind in the old school.

The main tormentors of the boy tragically perished in that unfortunate fire - karma caught up with them. Now their names and photographs adorned the monuments on their graves.

Over time, Luke could go outside again, and one day he managed to walk far enough to reach the place where Dark Lanterns Lane used to be - now there was nothing left but ruins.

Aliya never appeared again. Luke searched for her everywhere, calling out with all his might, but the result was literally zero - it seemed like the girl had simply vanished into thin air. Her disappearance was no less strange than her appearance.

For a moment, the boy thought that Aliya was nothing more than a hallucination. Perhaps his brain decided to fill this oppressive emptiness with her presence. But this theory immediately fell apart - how then to explain that Luke was indeed saved?

It was undoubtedly her. Aliya appeared amidst the fire, and it didn't injure her delicate frame, leaving no burns. The girl reached out to him, pulled him out of the burning building right onto the street. She carried him through the window, just like that - this tender little girl. But where did she find such strength and courage?

The local police dismissed the fire as an unfortunate accident - in fact, everyone had to believe it. Investigators reported that they found no suspicious fingerprints or other evidence. And only Luke Campbell knew who really set the house on fire.

She did it in one swift motion, leaving no traces behind, as if the girl were a ghost... However, ghosts do not interact with the physical world and do not have a body. On the contrary, Aliya was a completely alive person. And, as it turned out, very just.

Luke paused for a moment, lost in his thoughts. Why was there so much evil, so much darkness in the world? We often get what we don't deserve. Aliya had died for nothing, being completely innocent. And those kids who had made Luke's life a living hell were living happily, without a single day of suffering. Until the day their boomerang came back to them...

Aliya had wanted to protect him. For his sake, she had burned her house to the ground, a place that was over a hundred years old. Now, only ruins and piles of ashes remained. Perhaps, in her world, The Mercado Estate remained intact, just as it had been all those years ago. But for the town, the estate had died along with the terrible history it held – the story of a family that had concealed a horrific crime for a lifetime, carrying the heavy burden of unforgiven guilt.

Because even in the darkest of darkness, one can sometimes find a glimmer of light. But the thing is, it doesn't shine for everyone, so not everyone can see it. Yet, when you do find it, you cherish it and fear losing that most precious thing that brings comfort in the utter blackness.

Maybe Aliya was the embodiment of justice he had been searching for so eagerly? They were both people with whom fate had played an unfair game. Two disillusioned souls united by the same tragedy – the indifference and cruelty of society. Nothing destroys humanity as mercilessly as humanity destroys itself. An offended mind usually seeks solace in restoring justice, even if it sometimes leads to sacrifices.

There were still a few weeks left before the move to Chicago, and in the meantime, Luke would visit the place that was once called Dark Lanterns Lane. With great hope that Aliya will show up again after all.