Purple Roses

Chapter 36 - James

People always ask me what it was like to be the King's son, Luca's brother. Even 10 years after. I'm 20. You'd think it all would have blown over by now.

People still don't know what happened to the King, they never found a body, but I assume the fire dealt with that.

Mabel and Mum are doing fine, I can tell they still both blame themselves for what happened, but I don't, they helped as much as they can. They certainly helped me, for sure. I was a bit of a troubled kid, but they helped me through, and I guess I did too.

I kept working with Mabel on engineering, got good grades, and now I work at a Train Vehicle Maintenance Facility now, you can tell I took the best of Mabel and Oscar there. It pays well, hours are a bit long, but I enjoy what I do. I work on the same tilting trains we took to get those old crystals. I still wear the necklace too, even if it is just an old rock.

They actually named one of the trains after Oscar and Luca, it was super nice! The trains are old now and don't have too much time left, but I'm aiming to try and get that one preserved. For both rail history and the history of the shadownite and Sunsiders. It's a lot of money, but I'm positive people will support it.

I still miss all of them, and even though I'm older it doesn't get any less upsetting, but I'm dealing with it, I try to focus on the good things we did, they did.

I've taken up walking a lot more, allowing me to have some air. The walks in the woods are much more enjoyable now that the walls are gone.

Oh, speaking of that, I actually came across something fascinating recently.

I was taking a stroll when I saw an old, overgrown path. I decided to walk up it and I came across an old, wise, oak tree with a little tire hanging from a rope, old and weathered but still looking strong.

I also spot two large rocks next to the tree, slowly being nested and nurtured by moss and grass. They almost look like tombstones. Not to mention the loose purple roses on top, it's as if somebody has been here recently.

I wonder who these are for. It goes to show the care people go to for others. Even all these years on. I hope, whoever they are, they're at peace.

I unleash my inner child and sit upon the tire swing and gently rock from left to right. The gentle breeze making the wise leaves slowly wave. The wall is gone, I can see the small tiny lights of the shadow side, but now, there are no restrictions, some people opted to stay, some people moved here. Even some Sunsiders moved there.

Yes, there is still discrimination, but it is nowhere near how it used to be, almost everyone is nice, and the schools teach how we are one and the same. There will always be people who "like the old ways", but as a whole, the progression is absolutely incredible.

Luca and I used to envision a world of which there is peace, a world of which we are able to work together and be kind, a world of which we don't have to leave in fear of our lives being stripped away in an instant by a power so influential that nobody dares to challenge it, and you know what?

I think we finally got there.