Just The Girl

EPILOGUE

D A H L I A

Lying here, I feel the weight of everything around me, not just on my body but in my heart. It's strange how quiet it is—how the beeping of machines fades into the background, how the voices of my loved ones blur into a distant hum.

I've spent so long feeling small, like I was just this girl moving through life unnoticed, hiding in the background, hoping no one would see me fall apart. But now, in this moment, something is different. I can feel it.

I can feel them—the people I love, the ones who've stood by me. My mother's soft hand is still wrapped around mine, her thumb gently stroking my knuckles like she's trying to comfort both of us.

I hear her whispering how proud she is, how much she loves me. My father, always so strong, is here too. I can hear him muttering quiet prayers, his voice cracking as he tries to hold himself together. He's always been the one to fix everything, but even he can't fix this.

And that's okay.

Feather, Marvin, Ilyon—they're all here. My friends, my family in their own way. I can feel their presence, even though I'm fading in and out. Feather's trying so hard not to break completely, but I know her better than that. Marvin's voice is low and shaky, and I know how much this is hurting him. Ilyon is quieter than I've ever seen him, like the weight of this moment has stolen all his words. I wish I could tell them that it's okay, that they don't need to hold onto the pain, that I feel their love even in the silence.

And then there's Ivan. He's holding my hand so tightly, like he's afraid if he lets go, I'll disappear completely. I want to tell him that I'm still here. I want to tell him that I've never felt more seen, more loved than I do right now.

For so long, I thought I was just this girl—just Dahlia. Not smart enough, not strong enough, not important enough. But now, with everyone around me, I can feel something shifting inside me.

I wasn't just this girl, this quiet figure in the background. I was more than that. I am more than that.

I realize now that I mattered. I made a difference in ways I didn't even see. I touched lives, not by being extraordinary, but by just being me.

Ivan's voice cuts through the haze, thick with tears, telling me how much he loves me, how much I meant to him. And for the first time, I believe it—not just because he's saying it, but because I can feel it, deep inside.

It's like a light has turned on, illuminating all the moments I had missed before. The laughter I shared with Feather during late-night study sessions, the way Marvin and Ilyon always shows up when I needed him, even when I didn't ask, the bond I had with my parents, stronger than I ever realized.

I was loved. I am loved.

It hits me that I was never "just" anything. I was always enough. More than enough. I had made my mark, however small it seemed to me. I had been more than just the quiet girl blending into the background, more than the one who hid her pain behind a smile. I was someone who mattered, someone who was loved fiercely, deeply.

As I take what I know might be my last few breaths, a strange sense of peace washes over me. I may be leaving this world, but I'm leaving knowing that I was seen. I was loved. And that, more than anything, is what I'm taking with me. I was more than I ever thought I could be.

I was Dahlia, and that was enough. That was more than enough.