Chapter 7: The Quiet Goodbye
Winter had settled over the town, blanketing everything in a cold, somber stillness. Sophie had been staying with Ethan for weeks, and though her presence filled the house with a new kind of warmth, Ethan couldn’t ignore the shadows that lingered in her eyes.
She smiled more often now, even laughed sometimes, but it was fleeting—like the winter sun, barely breaking through the clouds. She had started drawing again, filling page after page of her notebook with intricate sketches. They were beautiful, but there was a sadness in them Ethan couldn’t ignore.
One evening, as they sat under the oak tree, Sophie handed Ethan her notebook.
“Here,” she said softly, her voice barely audible over the rustling leaves.
“What’s this?” Ethan asked, flipping through the pages.
“Everything,” she said, her eyes fixed on the ground.
The notebook was filled with sketches and words—pieces of Sophie’s world that she had kept locked away. There were drawings of her mother, vibrant and full of life, and others of her father, dark and imposing. Interspersed were letters she had written but never sent, fragments of thoughts that revealed her deepest fears and hopes.
Ethan’s chest tightened as he read. “Sophie, this is—”
“Keep it,” she interrupted, her voice trembling. “I want you to have it.”
He looked at her, confusion and concern swirling in his mind. “Why are you giving me this now?”
She didn’t answer. Instead, she stood and dusted off her jeans. “It’s getting late,” she said. “We should go.”
Ethan hesitated, but he followed her home, the notebook clutched tightly in his hands.
---
The next morning, Ethan woke to an empty house. Sophie’s bed was neatly made, her belongings untouched. At first, he thought she might have gone for a walk, but as the hours passed, unease began to creep in.
By afternoon, Ethan was frantic. He called her phone, but it went straight to voicemail. He searched the places she loved—the park, the art studio—but she was nowhere to be found.
Finally, he remembered the oak tree.
When he arrived, the sight before him made his heart stop. Sophie was sitting beneath the tree, her notebook in her lap. Her eyes were closed, her face serene, but something about the stillness felt wrong.
“Sophie!” Ethan shouted, running to her side.
As he got closer, he saw the empty bottle lying beside her, its label warning of the danger it contained. Panic surged through him as he knelt beside her, shaking her gently.
“Sophie, wake up!” he cried, his voice breaking.
Her eyes fluttered open, and she looked at him with a weak smile. “Ethan,” she whispered, her voice barely audible. “I’m sorry.”
“No, no, no,” he said, tears streaming down his face. “Don’t do this. Stay with me. We can get through this together.”
She reached up, her hand trembling as she touched his cheek. “You were the best thing in my life,” she said. “But I can’t... I can’t keep fighting.”
Ethan held her close, his sobs echoing through the empty park. “Please don’t leave me,” he whispered.
But Sophie’s eyes drifted shut, her hand falling limp in his grasp.
---
The funeral was held on a gray, rainy day. Ethan stood at the back, clutching Sophie’s notebook to his chest. Her father wasn’t there; no one expected him to be.
As the rain soaked through his clothes, Ethan opened the notebook, turning to the last page. In Sophie’s delicate handwriting, a single note was scrawled:
“Thank you for being my light, even when I couldn’t see it myself. I’m sorry I couldn’t stay.”
Ethan’s tears mingled with the rain as he read the words over and over, his heart breaking all over again.
Sophie was gone, but she had left a piece of herself behind—a reminder of her struggles, her beauty, and the love she had for the boy who tried to save her.
And though the weight of her loss would never leave him, Ethan vowed to carry her memory with him, to live the life she couldn’t.
THE END
