To Die For (Levi x OC)

Epilogue: The Ending Levi Deserved

Seven Years After the Rumbling

The sky reflected colors of orange and gold as the sun set over the distant land beyond the meadow. The dusk air was pink as the last sun rays peaked out through the tall grass and flowers. I relaxed into the grass, smiling in content as I studied the clouds where the sky met the earth.

I found this place by the patio, shaded perfectly by the willow tree, was the best place on my property to admire the world. I had watched a few years go by, experienced many seasons, and was always surprised by the new creatures and plants I would find as time went on. I had never seen the bugs I was witnessing now. At first, I thought they were falling debris on fire. But as I realized they moved with life and not coincidence, I realized they were bugs that somehow emitted light. They bounced around above the flowers, dozens of them, making me wonder if I was dreaming. Then, I remembered a mention of them in a book I had once read. Fire flies. They were real. How peculiar, these little magical animals, radiating light into the night as if to say "I'm here! Come and get me!"

A child's laugh pulled my attention away from the bugs, making me turn to see Levi and our son, Erwin, by the stables.

Erwin seemed to be playing some six year old's version of tag, in which the child was actually playing keep-away with his dad's tool. I recognized it as one of the tools he used to clean the horse's hooves. Levi chased after him, all the while the child giggling. It didn't take him long to catch the kid, grabbing the tool from his hands and discarding it.

"You little brat." Levi laughed, tickling our son's ribs, which was his weakest tickle spot.

Erwin roared in laughter and squirmed in Levi's arms. "Dad!! Let go!! Stop!!"

The display left a smile on my face. As my two boys goofed off only feet away, I returned my gaze to the horizon. Birds returned to their nests as the sun faded away. A breeze rustled the grass. The tickling on my arm barely surprised me, and yielded a moth that had landed on my elbow. Its white wings fluttered against my skin though the moth didn't fly away.

Reaching my index finger out, the moth crawled onto my hand and allowed me to admire it.

This little life Levi and I had created for ourselves was peaceful. We grew our own food and sustained ourselves off of whatever our property could produce for us. We had conceived our first born son not long after the Rumbling. While pregnant, and later with our infant son, we moved around Marley, providing aid and support to any communities we encountered. After helping to rebuild throughout whatever parts of the world we could travel to, we eventually looked for a property of our own.

By the time our son was a year old, we had found the perfect property far away from Paradis and Marley. It lay in the flatlands between the hillsides, blanketed by a meadow of spring and summer flowers. In the autumn, the willow tree would shed its leaves and the earth would be painted with freckles of orange and yellow. By winter, the viney branches that reached for the icy ground would give the property a haunting feeling. In all its phases, I loved my home. Levi seemed happy here as well.

My son ran past me in a fit of laughter, using the trunk of the willow tree to shield himself from Levi. A fleeting moment of familiarity settled into my chest as I watched my son. Being that both Levi and I had colorless eyes and dark hair, these were the features he had inherited. However, at some angles, my son looked strikingly similar to my brother, Daniel. Especially now as Erwin neared the age of seven. Daniel had passed away at that age.  Soon, I'd get to see what Daniel might have looked like if he had been given the opportunity to survive. It was comforting to know that his face wasn't gone from my memory like I thought it had been.