Mary, After The Main Ending

chapter 6-A different path and a mysterious road

When you think everything has become quiet, and your imagination turns into a warm light surrounding your body, wrapping it like a newborn baby, the storm approaches. Here, you lose your identity. Here, you forget if it’s reality or fantasy.

"You don’t need to worry about that. Today is your birthday, cough cough, we should celebrate."

"But... I don’t want to. I just want to see my mom healthy again. You’re not well. You’ve lost so much weight that your face has disappeared. I’m scared, sob sob, I don’t want to be alone again. Please don’t leave me."

"Mary, my daughter, listen cough cough... you won’t be alone. I’ll always protect you, okay?"

"I don’t want to hear that. I want to see you standing on your feet again, and for us to walk in the garden like we always did, eating apples at night... sob sob... Please don’t go. I don’t want to live in this world if you’re not in it."

"No, Mary, you must live and stay strong. I won’t leave you, I promise. I’m just going to a different place, but I will keep protecting you, even from afar. I’ll always protect you."

"I don’t want protection. I want my mom. I don’t want to be an orphan again. I hate this, I hate being alone. Why do you have to take away the happiness I found after so much suffering? I just want to stay with my mom, can’t I even have that?"

Mary collapsed near her mother’s bed, watching as she took her last breaths.

"Mary... oh, my daughter, I’m sorry for ruining your tenth birthday. You’ve grown up now, so I’m not worried. I can go peacefully. I tried to hold on for so long, but this is all I can do now. Don’t be afraid, and eat well. Be brave, my dear, and don’t give up. When you need me the most, I will come to you like a butterfly after a harsh winter or the sunrise after a long night."

"Mom... no, please. I haven’t grown up enough. I still need you. I want to grow up with you, tell you my silly daily stories, and lean on your warm shoulder every night. Oh, how I dreamed of those moments. Who said I can take care of myself? I can’t. I still need you. I’m still a little girl, Mom, please. I still need your warmth to hug me and protect me. Who will you leave me to? Who will I live this life with, the life where I finally got to say the word 'Mom' and feel its meaning, and now I must lose it again? Why do you want to hurt me twice? If you’re going to take this happiness from me, why did you give it to me in the first place? I’m so tired... is this what you wanted? I can’t keep going in this cycle of suffering anymore."

Elizabeth took her last breath while still remembering her daughter.

"I love you, my daughter, and I’m grateful for the moments we had together. Goodbye, Mary."

"No, no, no, Mom, I love you so much. Please don’t go, stay with me. Come back, come back, come back. Don’t leave, don’t leave."

Mary held her mother’s hand until she passed away.

"Is this the end, then? Will I go back to my world? Then let me go, too. Why should I stay here? My mission is complete."

She walked back and forth in the house, screaming from the depths of her heart until the neighbors gathered around. There was an old lady who had always looked after Elizabeth and Mary, and she rushed over to see what was happening.

"Mary, Elizabeth, what is that noise? Open the door. Mary, are you okay, my child?"

Mary opened the door, and the old woman was shocked at her appearance. She looked like a cold corpse, with no blood running through her.

"Mary, my child, what’s going on? Why do you look like this?"

Agatha Blender, or the kind woman, had a name that perfectly matched her personality—kind in name and nature.

"Grandma Agatha, my mother has left."

"Where did she go? Let me come inside first. Haaah!"

The grandmother screamed in horror and quickly rushed to hug Mary, who was sobbing uncontrollably.

"It’s okay, my dear. Your mother was a kind and gentle woman. I’m sure she’s gone to a very beautiful place. Don’t worry, alright?"

Sob sob "She promised me she wouldn’t leave me. Now who will I live for? My entire family is gone. Who will be my family?"

"It’s you, Mary. You are the family you must hold on to. Your beautiful soul—you must protect and care for it. That’s your family from now on, okay?"

Sob sob "Okay..."

"Good girl. Cry as much as you need to. I’m with you now."

My mother’s funeral was silent. Her body was returned to my grandmother’s family and buried next to her. That was my grandmother’s wish, so no one could oppose it. Most of them thought I would want to join one of them, but I refused, saying, "Don’t worry, I’m not here to claim my rights or demand to be adopted. Don’t worry about me, just live your lives."

I rushed out, leaving behind all of Mary’s memories because now, I would live according to my own will. It may seem like a foolish act, but it was my decision, and I will bear it.

As I wandered the streets, I saw an old woman lying on the ground, struggling to get up, and I helped her.